OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma became the first program to win four consecutive Women’s College World Series titles, beating Texas 8-4 on Thursday to sweep the championship series in two games.
Cydney Sanders drilled a three-run double to lift the Sooners out of a 3-2 hole in the fourth, and then the bullpen took over from there.
Oklahoma State transfer Kelly Maxwell came on in the sixth to get the Sooners out of a jam, and then closed it out in the seventh to clinch the title. Before Thursday, Maxwell threw back-to-back complete games, throwing a combined 267 pitches, to get the Sooners in position to win another title.
The Sooners finish the season 59-7 and are 235-15 over the last four seasons.
Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso tied legendary Arizona coach Mike Candrea with her eighth WCWS title.
Gasso said of her senior class, which finished with four national championships, “They’re very resilient and they feel invincible. That’s the way they play. … They’re never afraid. They’re not afraid to lose.
“This is probably the hardest coaching season that I’ve had in a while because of a lot of the naysayers …. It’s heavy. Heavy is the head that wears the crown. … These players are exhausted, but they keep going.”
Texas coach Mike White said of the Sooners, “They’re well-trained, obviously. They got a system going that’s working. They’re tough to beat right now. Hopefully we’re catching up. I think a lot of the other programs are catching up. Kind of able to flip the tables here.
“As I told the team, I want to be on the other side of the podium here one of these days, making that last speech more enjoyable than it is right now.”
The Longhorns struck first on Thursday, scoring in the second inning on a two-out single by Kayden Henry.
The Sooners answered right back in the bottom half on freshman Kasidi Pickering’s two-run home run.
The Longhorns again staged a two-out rally in the third, tying the game on Alyssa Washington’s RBI single, before adding an unearned run in the fourth to take the lead.
But in the bottom half, the Sooners got three consecutive singles before Sanders dug in.
Sanders had been just 2-for-14 in the WCWS before the at-bat, with both of her hits being home runs.
But Sanders reached out and drove Estelle Czech’s 2-2 offering into the gap in right-center to clear the bases and put the Sooners up 5-3.
Oklahoma added three more in the sixth after the Longhorns cut the deficit to one earlier in the inning. Ella Parker’s two-run single capped the scoring.
For Texas (55-10), the season ends with a loss to their archrivals in the championship series for the second time in three seasons.
–Field Level Media
