It hasn’t always been smooth sailing for the OU softball team in the 2009 season, but with the result being the regular season Big 12 title, no one is complaining now.

The team started the season with high expectations and an exotic venue, traveling to Hawaii for the Hawaii Paradise Classic in the beginning of February.

Although the Sooners lost their first game of the season against host team Hawaii, they dominated the rest of the tournament winning their next four games by a combined score of 53-1, and winning the tournament.

The rest of February went smoothly for OU, and the team went 13-3 in the month. The first significant bump in the road for the team came during The Preview presented by Worth, a three team tournament in Oklahoma City from March 6-8.

The Sooners lost three of their four games in the tournament, two to Tennessee and one to Northwestern. They recovered from that to win their first two Big 12 games against Texas Tech the very next week, however.

OU made it to 5-0 in Big 12 play before losing three straight, two in a road series against the Texas Longhorns and then the third against Baylor.

The Sooners couldn’t find a rhythm for a time after that, winning a couple and then dropping a game or two. The turning point of the season came on April 15 against Oklahoma State. OU came out with a new intensity and defeated the Cowgirls 8-1.

The victory in the Bedlam Series ended up being the first in a seven-game winning streak, a streak that catapulted the Sooners to the top of the Big 12 at the right time.

The climax of the run came in a series against then-Big 12 leader Missouri, and the Sooners sweep of the Tigers in Columbia, Mo. ultimately decided the conference race.

OU clinched the regular season title outright against Oklahoma State with a 6-0 win in Stillwater, coming full circle in their winning streak.

Prior to last weekend’s Big 12 tournament, OU was ranked No. 10 in the nation with a record of 38-13, 14-4 in Big 12 play.