Top-seeded Oklahoma rolls on

By Arnie Leshin 

The daily attendance at the NCAA National Division I Softball World Seres keeps rising and in Saturday’s doubleheader, it came close to a record turnout at the Onge Energy field of the Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City.

Announced at 12,533, it opened with top-seeded Oklahoma reeling in the game one victory, 7-2, over unseeded, chili-hot Texas, and in the closer, the third of the Big 12 Conference teams remaining in the hunt, 7th-seeded Oklahoma State, slipped past 14th-seeded Florida, 2-0, to win its second in a row.

While the Sooners, on a record pace at 56-2, got another day off from remaining in the winner’s bracket at 2-0, and will next play on Monday needing one win to gain the best-of-3 series of the finals.

The Longhorns (44-20), who had surprised the likes of 4th-seeded Arkansas in the Super Regionals and 13th-seeded Washington and No. 5 UCLA in the Elite Eight, remains in the hunt, but must triumph on Sunday to survive. i

Texas still claims being slighted by the NCAA committee by not getting seeded after disposing of the Razorbacks.

The Bruins, now 49-9, are in the same predicament and also needs to tack on another victory Sunday to move on,

Joining the Sooners was Big 12 and state rival Oklahoma State, the 7th-seed that came away by shutting down Florida in game two on Saturday. The Cowgirls (48-12) won their second straight and another triumph Sunday will put them in the Monday field.

Meanwhile, the Gators (49-18) are still hanging in there, but another defeat on Sunday will have them heading back to Gainesville.

And while the Big 12 had won 8-of-9 of these playoffs before Texas took its loss, the Pac-12 also placed three schools in the Elite Eight field, but it lost its three opening round tests, and that ousted the Beavers and Wildcats. Still left are the Bruins, who eliminated 9th-seeed Northwestern of the Big Ten.

That leaves six schools. Last year’s finals paired the Sooners with 2nd-seeded Florida State. The Seminoles won the opener, but Oklahoma surged back to claim the next two and hoist its fifth national championship. This time, FSU came in seeded second and was quickly shown the exit by Mississippi State, which then lost to Texas in the Super Regionals.

The Sooners batted first and did not score. In the bottom of the frame, the Longhorns scored once, only to have Oklahoma burst ahead for good in the top of the 2nd.

Up first, junior Rylee Boone beat out a bunt down the first base line on the first pitch. Another infield bunt by senior Jena Johs advanced Boone to second, and centerfielder Jayda Coleman lined the first pitch to the fence in right field and in raced Boone to knot the score at 1-all.

Next, senior Jocelyn Alo, the all-time DI career home run hitter, now has 120 career four-baggers after lining a rise ball over the fence in  right-centerfield and it was 3-1. It was then upped to 6-1 when sophomore Tiare Jennings belted a 3-run shot deep over the fence in right.

In the fifth, sophomore Alyssa Brito singled with one down, got to second on a ground out in back of first, and sped home on senior Grace Lyons’ hit up the middle that made it 7-1.

In the Texas bottom of the seventh, senior Jenae Alexander clouted a home run that made it just over the leaping glove of Boone at the right field fence with one out. In the first, it tallied when sophomore Alyssa Washington doubled down the line in left and scored on freshman Mia Scott’s looper that landed right behind third base.

In the final inning, senior right-hander Hope Troutwein was still in the circle for the Sooners, and on her 98th pitch got a second-out pop up to third base, and three pitches later, a short fly ball to right was hauled in by Boone and it put Troutwein’s nation-leading earned run average at 0:56, and her overall record at 15-1.

Oklahoma State had no problem keeping Florida off the bases, but it did not have much of a day on its offensive end, which is why it stayed close.

In the last three innings, the Gators did get two baserunners on, one on a single into right and another on a walk, and in the other one, starting pitcher Kelly Maxwell issued a walk, there was an infield mix-up on a throwing play, and Maxwell then struck out the last batter.

The two Cowgirls runs came across in the fourth inning and that proved to be all they were need.

As for the latest full house, the biggest crowd for one game at the prestigious venue was 13,779 in the 2017 semifinals.