OKLAHOMA CITY -- When it comes to the UCLA-Arizona softball rivalry, which will add another chapter Friday at the Women's College World Series, it's hard to know where to start.

Is it with the 19 NCAA titles the programs have combined to win? (UCLA leads 11-8.) Or is it the 16 times they've met in the NCAA tournament? (The series is tied 8-8 after UCLA's super regional sweep last season.) Or the 14 times they've played in the Women's College World Series? (Arizona leads 8-6.)

Or how about the 2010 WCWS championship series, the last time UCLA was crowned NCAA national champion and the last time Arizona appeared in the title series?

Or is the rivalry best illustrated by the legends? From Lisa Fernandez and Natasha Watley and Stacey Nuveman of UCLA to Jennie Finch and Taryne Mowatt and Caitlin Lowe of Arizona?

Maybe the best place to start is May 11, 2019, when Arizona took the rubber game in Los Angeles in its three-game series against UCLA. Along the way, the Wildcats handed UCLA star Rachel Garcia her lone loss of the season.

"Somebody asked me how I knew this team was going to go to OKC," Arizona catcher Dejah Mulipola said. "I knew after the UCLA series that we had fight."

Jennie Finch is one of many legends who have participated in the Arizona-UCLA softball rivalry. AP Photo/Jerry Laizure

Everyone, within the programs and beyond, expects more of the same Friday on the Oklahoma City stage. Both teams won their openers on Thursday. Arizona outlasted Washington 3-1 in eight innings and UCLA topped Minnesota 7-2. It didn't take long before talk of the royal showdown became the new topic of conversation.

"Every time there is a UCLA-Arizona game, it is a great battle," UCLA coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said after the Minnesota game. "You literally have to watch the game down to the last pitch."

That's saying a lot considering that, as conference rivals, they play a series every season.

"We're very familiar with each other," Arizona coach Mike Candrea said.

The Bruins aren't looking back at what happened earlier this month, but they are focused on the present challenge.

"We have a lot of experience against Arizona," UCLA senior Taylor Pack said. "We're going to focus on ourselves and not focus on anything about them."

Inouye-Perez supports that sentiment. She also suggests looking forward instead of back, as tempting as that may be.

"The World Series in 2010 was a long time ago, but I just played them a couple weeks ago and it was an epic battle as well," Inouye-Perez said. "So I look forward to a good game."