OKLAHOMA CITY – There’s only one Oklahoma. There’s also only one softball program to win four straight NCAA championships.
The Sooners officially capped the most dominant four-year span in Division I history Thursday night with an 8-4 victory over rival Texas at the Women’s College World Series Championship Finals at Devon Park at Hall of Fame Stadium after OU thumped Texas 8-3 in Game 1 last Wednesday night.
The clincher came in Game 2 of the bestof- three championship series before a crazed sellout crowd of 12,324 at Devon Park.
OU has now won eight national crowns all-time and six of the last eight.
For good measure, the Sooners have now beaten Texas 33 times in the last 36 meetings and are 6-0 against the Longhorns in the WCWS.
For those in the OU party who claimed their fourth straight national title, this year’s championship ring undoubtedly was the tightest fit.
In the national titleclinching win, for the first 17 outs, the Sooners sent four pitchers to the circle.
Right-hander Karlie Keeney started, was relieved by righty Paytn Monticelli, who was followed by lefty Kierston Deal, and then came righty Nicole May — who was one of three five departing seniors along with Tiare Jennings, Jayda Coleman, Kinzie Hansen and Rylie Boone.
Monticelli was making her first appearance since May 9 and just her fourth appearance since March. The Wisconsin transfer got out of the jam with a ground-out to first base.
May’s most recent appearance came in a 9-3 semifinal loss to Florida, during which she surrendered six hits and four runs (all earned) in the first two innings.
On Thursday night, however, May performed commendably after starting the top of the fifth. In 1.2 innings, she yielded a hit and struck out four of the seven batters she faced.
With two outs, runners at second and third and OU clinging to a 5-3 lead in the top of the sixth inning, it was Kelly Maxwell’s turn.
Maxwell would face just one batter in the sixth. What transpired was, to say the least, an adventure.
Mia Scott’s shorthop grounder to second base bounced out of Avery Hodge’s glove and Scott was safe at first.
After UT’s Joley Mitchell had scored from third to make it 5-4, not only did Scott fail to simply return to first base, she also inexplicably took two slow steps toward second while standing behind OU first baseman Cydney Sanders.
Hodge still had the ball and quickly flipped it to Sanders, who tagged out Scott to end the inning, stranding the tying run at third. Maxwell, who was an obvious pick as the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, calmly snuffed out Texas batters in order in the seventh to seal the deal.
In Game 1’s victory, the onslaught began in the top of the first inning from Jennings, who celebrated her birthday with a two-run blast to leftcenter. It was her 11th career home run at the WCWS, one away from matching Sooner legend Jocelyn Alo’s career WCWS record.
After surrendering a first-inning solo home run, Maxwell (23-2) was in command and retained that one-hitter into the sixth inning before the Longhorns scored two unearned runs on an error that was followed by two run-scoring bloop singles to right.
Maxwell went the distance for a third straight start and wound up scattering four hits, walking four and striking out eight.
