Sometimes in life, there are those that simply reign over a shortened period of time. Other instances, there are those who by definition, dominate. Sooner Athletic Conference Softball has been dominated by two schools since the Lady Rams joined the fold in 2014, excluding St. Gregory's who left their strong softball program to die in an unfortunate termination of the school's athletic department. The No. 1 team in the country - University of Science and Arts-Oklahoma - and the No. 3 team in the NAIA - Oklahoma City University - will be there with bells on when this year's tournament begins Thursday afternoon at the split sites in OKC and Chickasha.

No. 5 Texas Wesleyan will be challenging No. 4 Southwest Assemblies of God in Chickasha Thursday at 11 a.m. and then will face the Drovers at 5 p.m.

USAO has won 56 games in a row, and finished the regular season 49-0. It's the largest winning streak of any college softball team in history, including all levels of the NCAA. The Drovers rise from 24 losses in 2014 to zero this season is simply eye-opening. The defending champs, nestled in a city with a population of a little over 16,000, have managed to outpace their rivals from the north and swept the season series against OCU. The Stars, not to be outdone, finished 48-6 (four losses coming to USAO) and has totaled an .800 or higher win percentage in every season during the same stretch from 2014 onward.

The one team these two can't forget about - is Texas Wesleyan. The Lady Rams have a past history of upsetting these giants and has faced one of the them in every conference tournament in the last five years. Here's a look back at all the times Texas Wesleyan shook the softball world.

March 28, 2014: Oklahoma City, No. 2 at the time, was run-ruled by the Lady Rams 9-0 in six innings. Amber Tucker homered in the second inning and Amber Marlett gave up just three hits on the mound, embarrassing the Stars on their home field. Oklahoma City has been shutout just once at home since then, and that came 12 days ago - April 19, 2019 - at the hands of No. 1 USAO, 1-0.

April 4, 2014: Sure, the Drovers hadn't risen to power just yet, and were a measly 2-9 in conference play, but Coach Shannon Gower has still won on that field. TXWES won 8-5 in a game that featured 28 hits. A more impressive showing would come later down the line.

April 1, 2016: Looking up at the Drovers early in conference play, Texas Wesleyan earned a 4-3 victory at home against USAO with a walk-off single in the eighth by Samantha Vasquez. The Drovers made it to the conference semifinal that season, while the Lady Rams got one step further.

May 6, 2016: Oklahoma City, No. 1 in the country with a 58-2 record, shocked in their building again, 3-2. TXWES scored three runs in the seventh as Haley Neill drove in the winning run. Terry had a hit and scored in that game as a freshman.

March 11, 2017: USAO, receiving votes in the top 25 and starting to raise to power, were humbled again by Texas Wesleyan. Terry homoered in the sixth and the Lady Rams took the 'W' despite not earning a single strikeout. 

April 6, 2018: The Lady Rams climbed out of a 4-0 hole in the first inning to win 10-8, becoming only the third team to defeat the Drovers during their run to a NAIA national championship. Terry homered twice in that game, again, with no strikeouts from the mound. Why beat them once when you can make a statement twice? TXWES won the first game of the doubleheader in extras, 4-3.

April 17, 2018: Texas Wesleyan got OCU again, with a Tyler Sutton home run and one Makenna Aycock earning her 12th win of the season on the mound. The Lady Rams won 7-4.

In their quest for their first Sooner Athletic Conference Championship, the Lady Rams will have to take down one of these giants to make history, which TXWES has had a knack of doing in recent history. Texas Wesleyan is 0-8 against these two in 2019, which simply means they're due.

2019 LEADERS:
Batting Average: Lacy Mann, .374
Runs Batted In: Bailey Terry, 47
Stolen Bases: Hailey Hollingsworth, 11
Earned Run Average: Makenna Aycock, 3.05
Strikeouts: Makenna Aycock, 158 (program single-season record)

NOTE: Aycock needs to pitch 23.1 innings in the postseason to break a program single-season record set in 1995 by Gina Gotcher.