Oklahoma is on the brink of a four-peat at the Women’s College World Series after taking Game 1 over Texas of the championship series 8-3.
Should the Sooners win, they earn an eighth-overall and fourth-straight WCWS title. No other team has won four consecutive NCAA softball championships.
“This is it,” Sooners pitcher Kelly Maxwell, who transferred in this season from Oklahoma State, said of being on the brink. “This is my last opportunity. I’m just going to do everything I can to keep this team in it. I know that they have my back and I got theirs.”
While Oklahoma has dominated throughout the regular season, they did face an unexpected setback courtesy of a red-hot Florida team. In Monday’s Game 11, the No. 6-seeded Gators snapped the Sooners’ 20-game NCAA tournament win streak, forcing Tuesday’s winner-take-all Game 12 with a convincing 9-3 win. Florida’s victory was fueled by two monster home runs from infielder Skylar Wallace alongside Keagan Rothrock’s ace pitching.
Despite the upset, a recomposed Oklahoma took the field the following day for a tight eight-inning clash culminating in a walk-off blast from Jayda Coleman that sent the Sooners to WCWS final.
But head coach Patty Gasso knows there’s still work to be done in the WCWS.
“We’re not over-jubilant because we know there’s still a lot of work to do against a very, very good team that has very good pitchers, very good hitters,” Gasso said. “We know what’s in front of us still. So you don’t see us celebrating.”
Texas, meanwhile, entered the postseason as the No. 1 overall seed. And the Longhorns are not about to roll over: In their Super Regional against Texas A&M, they lost the first game before winning the next two to advance.
Earlier this season, they lost the first game of their series to Oklahoma before rebounding to take their first series over the Sooners since 2009.
“Now it’s theirs to lose in some respect,” Texas coach Mike White said of the Sooners. “They have to win one of the next two games. I like being in that position, sometimes being the underdog. We’re the top dog for a little bit, so to speak, but were we? They’re three-time national champions. It’s a mind game.
“Champions reframe. How can we reframe from this loss, what we’re facing right now, come out and have a better game and see if we can play some good softball.”
Game 2 of the WCWS Championship Series starts at 8 PM ET on Thursday, June 6th and will be broadcast live on ESPN. Game 3, if necessary, will air on ESPN on Friday, June 7th starting at 8 PM ET.
