Sooners Sweep Longhorns in WCWS Championship Series
Texas was able to stay with Oklahoma for four innings, but the Sooners ended up beating the Longhorns, 10-5, to clinch the Women’s College World Series Championship Series in Oklahoma City, Okla., on Thursday.
The Longhorns (47-22-1) were coming off a 16-1 loss in Game 1 to the Sooners (59-3) and Texas had to win on Thursday night to force a decisive Game 3.
Instead, Oklahoma won its sixth national title and its fourth in the last six WCWS. The Sooners have been to the WCWS seven times in the last 10 years.
The Sooners’ win ended Texas’ Cinderella run to the WCWS Championship Series. Texas was the first unseeded team to reach the WCWS Championship Series, was 6-0 in elimination games in the NCAA Tournament and had 18 come-from-behind wins this season.
The Sooners put that to an end. But it didn’t start out that way. Texas got to Oklahoma starter Jordy Bahl for two runs in the first inning, after Texas starter Estelle Czech fended off an early threat in the top of the first.
In the bottom of the first, Texas grabbed a 2-0 lead after a pair of sacrifice flies by Mary Iakopo and Alyssa Washington off Bahl, who pitched four innings for OU.
But Texas could have had much more. With runners still on base, Courtney Day launched one deep to center field that would have cleared the fence had Oklahoma center fielder Jayda Coleman not leapt over the fence and made the catch to end the first.
Oklahoma rallied to tie the game in the fourth inning. Alyssa Brito scored when Kinzie Hansen reached on an error by Texas third baseman Mia Scott to cut the lead to 2-1. Later, Hansen scored on a Taylon Snow single.
Then, in the top of the fifth, Oklahoma cracked the game open. Brito’s double scored Tiare Jennings. Then, with Brito and Grace Lyons on base, Hansen launched a home run to left field to give the Sooners a 6-2 lead.
Czech left the game before the fifth ended, giving up nine hits, six runs (four earned) and a walk, along with two strikeouts. Hailey Dolcini came on in relief to finish the fifth inning.
The Sooners added four more runs in the sixth inning, including a three-run home run by Lyons.
JJ Smith had two hits in the game, as did Scott, who hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh, a home run that required replay to confirm.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
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