In many ways, Oklahoma’s heartbreaking loss to Texas Tech in the Women’s College World Series semifinals seemed more like the beginning to a story than an end to one.

The Sooners may have come up just short of earning a spot in the championship series, but it’s hard to imagine this group won’t have more opportunities. They had just eight returners from last year’s national championship run, the last of a historic four-peat, and 14 newcomers were expected to immediately take over that mantle.

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Tarik Masri is the sports editor for The Transcript covering OU athletics and area sports. You can reach him by emailing tarik@normantranscript.com