Somewhere in or around Norman, Oklahoma, there is a very lucky landlord.

Granted, Norman is a college town, home to the University of Oklahoma, and the expected wear and tear on rental properties goes beyond that of a place with fewer, well, students. But somewhere in town is a house in which Lauren Chamberlain and Shelby Pendley, two of the best softball hitters of all time, thought it might be a good idea to install a hitting device in which a batted ball attached to a cord coils upon contact, then uncoils until it is ready to be hit again.

"We talked about putting one of those in our living room," Pendley said of the not-altogether-serious plan. "It hasn't happened yet because we're afraid it might fly off the string and break something in the house."

Or break something in the house next door. Or in the house across the street. Or in the house the next town over.

Opponents and records might continue to crumble. The lamps, at least, are safe for the time being.

Oklahoma's 1-2 punch

Shortly after his team lost to Oklahoma in the Women's College World Series three years ago, USF coach Ken Eriksen equated the challenge posted by the middle of the Oklahoma batting order to facing some of the great New York Yankees teams of years gone by, where the choice to pitch around one future Hall of Famer only led to another Hall of Famer. Some of the faces have changed for the Sooners, but the Bronx Bombers remain an apt comparison for what opponents deal with when facing the two roommates. In Chamberlain and Pendley, Oklahoma has the closest combination college softball might see to Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.

Whether blasting home runs or entertaining her followers on Twitter and Instagram, Lauren Chamberlain is a larger-than-life presence in softball. AP Photo/Alonzo Adams

One is the face and voice of a sport, the other the quiet embodiment of excellence. Good luck stopping them.

Like Ruth, the famously gregarious baseball legend with a larger-than-life personality, Chamberlain is more than just a prolific hitter. As of the beginning of February, she had more than 27,000 followers on Twitter (almost twice as many as star Oklahoma running back Samaje Perine) and more than 33,000 on Instagram, a following few softball players of any age can match. She offers the requisite smattering of selfies and food tweets from someone her age, but also irreverent, oddball Vines and commentary on subjects such as the ever-encroaching reach of early recruiting.

She has a voice, whether on social media or singing the national anthem, and she isn't shy about using it.

"Lauren's very outgoing," Pendley said. "She's just Lauren. I mean, she's not like anyone else; she's her own person. She's always fun to be around, she can always make you laugh if you need a good laugh. She's just kind of the person who, if you look around, she's always doing her own thing, and it's quite funny most of the time."

That is perhaps the diplomatic version. The more unvarnished truth comes from, well, who else.

"I kind of go with the flow, I'm kind of messy -- I don't know, I'm kind of still a kid," Chamberlain clarified.

She is also on the verge of breaking one of her sport's most significant records. Entering her senior season, Chamberlain has 72 career home runs, 12 more than Pendley and 20 more than anyone else currently playing. She needs 18 more to tie the career record set more than a decade ago by former UCLA All-American and United States Olympian Stacey Nuveman. That's despite missing a third of the 2014 season with back and knee injuries and hitting on one healthy leg when she did return for the final stretch of the regular season and Oklahoma's trip to the Women's College World Series. Chamberlain already ranks in the top 10 in NCAA Division I history in home runs even though she has played 68 fewer games than anyone else on the list.

Even in the most prolific offensive era in college softball history -- eight of the 10 highest single-season team home run totals occurred between 2009 and 2011 -- Nuveman's individual record has had to withstand only one serious challenge. It endured. It isn't likely to withstand Chamberlain.

"She's an impressive young lady, not just as a softball player but as a person," said Nuveman, who watches not only as a fan of the sport but as an assistant coach at San Diego State who has to worry about getting Chamberlain out. "The way she handles the pressure and publicity of who she is, is impressive. Not that I have any control over that, but I kind of like that [the record is] going to go to somebody who is a good human being beyond the softball field.

"I say it like it's past tense because I really feel like it's going to happen. And I'm glad it's going to be her."

Although the home runs are Chamberlain's calling card, she has more gears than trot. It is not as high profile a record, but it is a better representation of Chamberlain's ability that she might also break Nuveman's record for slugging percentage. The record is .945; Chamberlain is slugging .950 entering this season (the NCAA doesn't officially track career on-base percentage records, but Chamberlain's career mark is a more-than-healthy .545).