FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM)--As the No. 13 national seed, Arkansas was the favorite to win the Fayetteville Regional. A tentative favorite, but still the team to beat.
This weekend's Super Regional is the exact opposite, playing at two time defending national champion Oklahoma.
"We’re definitely the underdog, that’s no secret," senior Autumn Buczek said. "But I think that definitely motivates us. To go in with no expectations and we like to sneak up from behind and surprise people."
"Being in a position where everyone is kind of counting you out, they don’t flinch at anything. They’re just ready to win and ready to prove people wrong," third year head coach Courtney Deifel said.
Arkansas has made the NCAA Tournament seven times prior to this season. Six of those trips have ended in Norman.
"There’s gonna be all kinds of things just pumping up Oklahoma and counting us out," said Deifel. "And I think the biggest thing is we can’t count ourselves out."
The Hogs are 2-23 all time against the Sooners including 0-5 in the postseason.
"Nobody really sees us coming out of this Super Regional, so we just have that chip on our shoulder like let’s go shock the world, let’s go prove everyone wrong," senior Tori Cooper said.
The Razorbacks are getting pretty good at turning doubters into believers. Arkansas had a 2-46 combined SEC record in 2015 & 2016 before earning the right to host a regional this spring.
"Anytime you have the chance to prove someone or something wrong, it’s a pretty good position to be in," Deifel said.
"Playing with that chip on our shoulder cause we have nothing to lose," added Cooper. "Like I said the pressure is on them. They’ve got the title to defend."
"We’ve always just gone in like so what, they’re ranked higher than us," Buczek said. "We have no expections here. Let's play free and let's just go do our thing."
As daunting as the task of beating Oklahoma sounds, Arkansas is just two wins away from the Women’s College World Series.
Game one on Friday starts at 4 p.m. while game two on Saturday is at 12 p.m. If the series is tied, a winner take all game three starts at Noon on Sunday.