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WCWS Matchup Set: Oklahoma Gets underdog James Madison

The Sooners and Dukes rank 1-2 nationally in winning percentage this season.

John E. Hoover

It's David versus Goliath at Hall of Fame Stadium. Sort of.

Oklahoma will be a heavy favorite when the Sooners start the Women's College World Series this week in Oklahoma City.

OU takes on underdog James Madison in an 11 a.m. game Thursday. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.

While No. 1 overall seed OU (50-2) has been ranked No. 1 for almost the entire season and is making its 14th WCWS appearance in pursuit of its fifth national championship, the Dukes are making their first ever trip to OKC.

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James Madison isn't that much of an underdog. The Dukes (39-2) have the nation's second-best win-loss percentage (.951), behind only Oklahoma. JMU won the Colonial Athletic Association with a 17-1 regular season record and is coming off its second straight postseason victory after eliminating No. 9-seed Missouri by winning two of three in the Columbia Super Regional.

JMU's top player is senior pitcher Odicci Alexander, who pitched complete-game victories over the Tigers this weekend and ranked seventh nationally with a 1.07 earned run average going into this weekend's action.

Oklahoma is coming off a sweep of No. 16-seed Washington and All-American pitcher Gabbie Plain on Friday and Saturday at the Norman Super Regional. The Sooners are 5-0 this postseason, with two run-rule victories and another that finished 24-7.

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John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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