Alo Ha! Oklahoma's Jocelyn Alo Sets NCAA Career HR Record in Hawaii
Home is where Jocelyn Alo's heart is. It's also where Alo's record-setting home run finally became reality.
Playing her first college event in her home state of Hawaii, Alo made history Friday by becoming college softball's all-time home run queen with her 96th career homer.
Oklahoma legend Lauren Chamberlain established the NCAA career mark with 95 home runs between 2012-15 but, after a bit of a wait, that number was surpassed by Alo in Honolulu, just 30 miles south of her home town of Hauula.
The big blast, a titanic line drive to right field that gave OU a 9-0 lead, came in the top of the sixth inning of OU’s game against the host school in the Rainbow Wahine Classic at the University of Hawaii.
With her third hit of the night, Alo hit a 2-0 pitch from Wahine starter Ashley Murphy over the wall, setting off a raucous celebration at home plate, across the Islands and throughout the sport.
Jocelyn Alo at the Mary Nutter Classic
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
At eight minutes to midnight Central Time, the game was delayed as the crowd broke into an "Alo! Alo!' chant and Hawaii coach Bob Coolen placed a Hawaiian lei around Alo's neck.
She ended a streak of eight consecutive games without a home run since returning from Houston three weeks ago. During her homeless streak, Alo went 7-for-14 with six RBIs and 16 walks.
On Wednesday, the senior and her teammates conducted a camp for local kids. She couldn't hold back tears as she described to the crowd what it meant for her to play the game she loved back in her home state.
"It's surreal being back here," she said. "I never thought I would play in Hawaii, let along do a camp for you guys. It's really a full-circle moment. I grew up 4 years old just hitting balls with my dad on this field, and now I get to give back to you guys. I'm just so grateful to be here and to inspire Hawaii kids, too. This means a lot to me."
Alo ripped five home runs at the Houston Classic to tie Chamberlain's mark way back on Feb. 20.
But two weeks ago, Alo's chase slowed at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Palm Springs, CA, because she didn't get much to hit. She finished her five-game California tour 3-for-8 from the plate with 10 walks. The same thing happened Monday in OU's home opener, a 9-1 win over Minnesota. She was 0-for-0 at the plate, with three walks.
"It's frustrating," OU coach Patty Gasso said after Monday's home game, "because a hitter wants to hit. So, (Alo) had a good attitude with it. She's doing what she needs to do for the team. But there's frustration because she's been waiting to swing for a while."
The No. 1-ranked Sooners left for Hawaii early Tuesday morning, then opened action Thursday in Hawaii with a 12-3 victory over Baylor — still undefeated at 17-0.
After hitting No. 95, Alo said if she broke the record, there were plenty of other challenges ahead, including OU repeating as this year’s national champion. Setting the home run mark out of sight would be nice, too.
“I definitely want it to be a three-digit number, that's for sure,” she said. “And I would say after that just, I have USA this summer. So just going and competing. I've never played international ball before, so that'll be a whole new thing for me. Pro, obviously. And just kind of seeing where life is gonna take me.
“I don't really know what's gonna happen after this. This is kind of all I've known for the past five years. So I think life will kind of just slap me in the face, obviously, but it'll be a challenge I'm willing to take.”
Alo was the 2021 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year in leading Gasso’s Sooners to their fifth national championship last year.
Alo hit her 95th career home run on Feb. 20 against Texas State. She reached that mark in 634 at-bats and 215 career games. Chamberlain hit No. 95 in her 607th and final at-bat and her 220th game.
“I think it really cements the Sooners as one of the best hitting programs to have played the college game — as of right now,” Gasso said. “To me, if someone could break Jocelyn’s record, it might be Tiare Jennings. (Jennings, an OU sophomore, current has 32 career bombs, including five so far this year.)
“But what you're going to have to do now is average over 30 home runs over the course of your four years, which is really, really hard to do. So I think it's gonna hold strong for a while.
“But to have Lauren have it, Jocy take it, to have Shelby Pendley in the race (Pendley, teammates with Chamberlain, ranks ninth all-time with 84), I mean, it's just a celebration of hitting excellence in this program.”
Now that the pressure to set the mark is off, Alo can add to her total.
Later Friday the Sooners play host Hawaii (originally scheduled for 10 p.m. CT, and the trip concludes Saturday with a 4 p.m. contest vs. the Rainbow Wahine.
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