Oklahoma wins second-straight NCAA softball championship

O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A spells out second-straight NCAA softball championship and third in the last five years as it twice defeated top-seeded Florida before record crowds in Oklahoma City

Tuesday night’s 5-4 win at ASA Stadium follows Monday night’s 7-5 thriller that went 17 innings in record time

By Arnie Leshin | June 7, 2017

The joyful Oklahoma softball team piled on in the circle while its head coach couldn’t control her subbing.

So much for winning a second-straight NCAA Division I championship, one in which these 10th seeded Sooners stormed back from the brink of elimination in the region it hosted in Norman, to back-to-back wins over top-seeded Florida that brought their third title in five years and fourth overall.

One night after outlasting the Gators, 7-5, in a record 17 innings played in five hours and 28 minutes, Oklahoma needed only the regulation seven to triumph, 5-4, Tuesday night and sweep the best-of-three World Series championship at another full house packed into ASA Stadium in Oklahoma City.

And Patty Gasso, the head coach behind all of these titles, was in dreamland, happy with what this team had accomplished and saddened when focusing on her father passing away in January.

“I just broke down,” she said. “Right after that last out I needed a shoulder or two to cry on. My dad would have loved this. He was so supportive of my program, so proud that my son was on my staff, and I just had to let all the tears fall.”

But there was no doubt about her feelings for this team, one in which returned seven starters from last season’s championship win in three games over Auburn, and with left fielder Macey Hatfield as the lone senior.

“I just can’t believe we did this,” she said with joy. “We did not get away to a good start this season, struggled at times with poor execution, and we couldn’t find our optimism.”

Still, they won both the Big 12 regular-season and tournament for a fifth-straight year, and were putting all the pieces together when the region began for the field of 64.

Saddled surprisingly as the 10th overall seed by the NCAA selection committee, it looked like trouble would come from teams in other regions, such as Florida, Arizona, Oregon State, Florida State, and UCLA, and maybe even last year’s runner-up, Auburn.

But it was unseeded, unranked North Dakota State, the 4th seed in Norman, that promptly turned back the host team and sent it wobbling into the loser’s bracket. Needing four straight to survive the region and the season, the Sooners got past Arkansas, North Dakota State and 2-0 state-rival Tulsa twice.

Facing elimination in game one against the Golden Hurricanes, down by two runs with two out in the seventh inning, they responded behind a 2-run home run by sophomore Carleigh Clifton to tie the score at 4-4, and then a 2-run shot from junior Nicole Pendley to win the game. Then they had no problem taking game two.

From there, Oklahoma brought a 25-game win streak on the road to 6th seeded Auburn and swept the Tigers in the Super Regionals. Next, it was the short ride from Norman for World Series wins over Big 12 rival Baylor, and Oregon State and Washington of the Pac 12.

That brought the final test versus the pitching-strong Gators capped off by a sweep in two games of the best-of-three and 11 victories in a row as they flipped their gloves high and charged onto the circle.

“I remember telling them that they could win it again,” said Gasso. “I stressed the point that we were beating ourselves mentally, that we needed to use our talents and be optimistic about our chances.”

Which they did. Not a single setback since the Broncos. In Monday’s marathon against Florida, Gasso sent junior left-hander Paige Lowary to the circle rather than usual starter, junior southpaw Paige Parker.

At bat, Oklahoma clouted three home runs against sophomore right-hander Kelly Barnhill, and the Player of the Year had only yielded five all season. And when the long night at the ballpark concluded, it was the Sooners in the driver’s seat, with Lowary finishing up in the circle by striking out the final batter after returning to the circle for the second time.

The next night, Gasso came back with Parker hurling in the circle, but her ace (8-0 in the World Series) didn’t get past the second inning and in came freshman right-hander Mariah Lopez. She worked two solid innings after Parker surrendered a solo home run to Sophie Reynoso with two down in the second.

This tied the score at 1-1 after Sooner freshman Nicole Mendes lined the game’s third pitch from right-handed sophomore starter Alesia Ocasio to give the Sooners a quick lead. Then the Gators pushed across a pair of runs for a 3-1 lead and when Lopez replaced Parker.

Lopez became the pitcher of record on the good side following sophomore Shay Knighten’s bases-loaded double to the fence in right-center in the bottom of the second. Now it was 5-3 and Mendes came in from right field to pitch the fifth. She did well with her control and drop pitch.

But Gasso was quick to call on her relief specialist, Lowary, when Florida put a runner aboard with a single off of Mendez, and she did so in fine style by getting out of the sixth and working a perfect seventh. She struck out the first two batters and then threw out the final out on a bouncer hit back to her. Lowary to Knighten and the celebration began.

The “10th seed” finished with 61 wins, the most in the land, and lost nine times. The Gators sank to a final mark of 58-9.

While Florida returns Barnhill, Ocasio and four other starters, Oklahoma loses only Hatfield, a quality outfielder and reliable hitter, and can hopefully bank on all four pitchers — Paige, Lowary, Lopez and Mendes — coming back. Of course, both programs can also count on new recruits.

Two nights, one much longer than the other, of splendid softball. Record crowds that numbered in the area of 10,000, tense and terrific moments, stellar coverage by ESPN.

And from the two schools that won two championships each over the last four seasons, it was O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A making the most noise to step out of a rocky roller-coaster ride of a campaign to hoisting another championship trophy.

But two parts were needed to get this far and perform as they did, so here’s to the Crimson & Cream and Orange & Blue for bringing it.