Connect with us

World

Oklahoma softball sweeps Texas in WCWS finals to capture fourth straight national title

Published

6 months ago

on

Oklahoma softball sweeps Texas in WCWS finals to capture fourth straight national title

The Sooners have achieved softball immortality.

Oklahoma is the winner of the 2024 Women’s College World Series, sweeping rival Texas in the championship series to become the first school to win four consecutive softball national championships.

It was the offense that powered Oklahoma to an 8-3 win in Game 1 Wednesday, and in Thursday’s Game 2, Oklahoma rallied to an 8-4 victory to take down the No. 1 team in the country.

The big hits came from Kasidi Pickering, who launched a two-run homer in the second inning, and Cydney Sanders, who cleared the bases with a fourth-inning double that put Oklahoma ahead for good. The Sooners escaped a jam in the top of the sixth — thanks in part to a massive base-running blunder by Texas’ Mia Scott — before tacking on some insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth. Kelly Maxwell then closed it out as OU staked its claim as (arguably) softball’s greatest dynasty.

“We work hard. We do it blue-collar style. We fight. We’re gritty. There’s nothing we feel that we can’t overcome and that’s why we go out and we just play free,” Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso said in her postgame interview with ESPN.

Last season was a historic one for the Sooners. They set the NCAA record for most consecutive wins and had a near-perfect season at 61-1 as they dominated their way to softball’s second three-peat. Oklahoma then lost ace pitcher Jordy Bahl to the transfer portal, its record winning streak finally ended earlier this season at 71 games and for the first time since 2018, the Sooners weren’t the No. 1 national seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Still, Oklahoma continued its postseason reign. The Sooners breezed through the regional and super regional round and secured a spot in the national semifinal. Their impressive 20-game postseason winning streak came to an end in a loss to Florida and put Oklahoma in a win-or-go-home game, but the defending champions survived. An extra inning, walk-off home run from Jayda Coleman put Oklahoma in the championship series, which they won again Thursday.

“This was the hardest of all, without question,” Gasso said. “It’s going to probably be the most remembered for just the magnitude of what these guys have done. It’s unbelievable. Unbelievable.”

The national championship gives Oklahoma its eighth title, which ties Arizona for second most in NCAA history, behind UCLA’s 12 championships. It’s been dominance for the Sooners in Oklahoma City in recent history.

All eight of their national championships under Gasso have come since 2000, and they’ve now won seven of the last 11 Women’s College World Series while appearing in the last five championship series. It also puts a bow on the careers of five standout Oklahoma seniors − Coleman, Tiare Jennings, Kinzie Hansen, Nicole May and Rylie Boone. Those five seniors were part of every national championship team during the four-peat, a four-year run that saw the Sooners go an astonishing 235-15.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading