In a matchup between the top two seeds in the tournament, this contest lived up to its billing.

After a two-hour rain delay, the No. 1 seeded Oklahoma Sooners (52-3) eliminated the No. 2 seeded UCLA Bruins (47-7) from the 2021 Women’s College World Series with a 10-3 victory. With the win, OU advances to the semifinals where a rematch with James Madison awaits.

Freshman pitcher Nicole May got the start in the circle for the Sooners on Saturday night, but in 2.0 innings, the righty allowed three runs on six hits while striking out just one batter in her first WCWS start. Giselle ‘G’ Juarez spelled her in the third and shut down the Bruins the rest of the way to the tune of four Ks to just three hits on 74 total pitches.

In the top of the third inning, UCLA’s Rachel Garcia recorded a three-run home run to strike first in this matchup between the top two seeds. The Bruins took a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the frame.

With one out in the bottom of the third, senior Nicole Mendes walked after getting hit by a pitch, then later the recently named USA Collegiate Softball Player of the Year Jocelyn Alo tripled to center to cut into the Sooners’ three-run deficit. Next, sophomore Kinzie Hansen singled up the middle for an RBI. OU would eventually leave the bases loaded, but was still able to gain some momentum as it was a 3-2 game going into the fourth.

In the bottom of the fourth, senior Taylon Snow reached on a fielding error by UCLA. Following her at-bat, Mendes reached on a fielding error that ultimately landed two Sooners in scoring position with one out. Next, Jennings doubled to right to send her two teammates home and give Oklahoma the 4-3 lead.

With one out in the bottom of the fifth, sophomore Mackenzie Donihoo blasted a solo homer to center, extending OU’s lead to 5-3.

In the bottom of the sixth, Mendes leads things off with a double down the first base line, then Jennings walked to put two on for the Sooners. Next, an Alo flyout to center allowed Mendes to take third before Jennings stole second for a pair in scoring position. Hansen then sent both of her teammates homes with a two RBI double to center, pushing Oklahoma further out in front to a 7-3 advantage. Finally, following a pitching change, junior Grace Lyons singled up the middle to drive in the eighth run of the game.

Amazingly, that wasn’t the end of the scoring for the Sooners. Donihoo’s big day grew even bigger with this two-run bomb to effectively seal the deal and send the reigning champs back home to Southern California.

Up next, Oklahoma will take on James Madison in the semifinal round on Sunday. In the opening game of the WCWS, James Madison pulled off a monumental 4-3 upset over the Sooners in extra innings. In order to advance to the championship series, OU must win two games against JMU, while the Dukes only need to win once. First pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m. CT on ESPN.

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OKLAHOMA CITY — The No. 1 overall seed Oklahoma softball team rallied from a 3-0 deficit versus second seed UCLA to score 10 unanswered runs and storm into the Women’s College World Series semifinals on Sunday.

The Pokes live to fight another day.

The post OSU Bounces Back with 5-3 Win over Grand Canyon in Tucson Regional appeared first on Pistols Firing.

Patty Gasso’s group survives and advances to a meeting with the reigning champs.

On Saturday, the Oklahoma Sooners (51-3) eliminated the Georgia Bulldogs (34-23) from the 2021 Women’s College World Series with a decisive 8-0 run-rule shutout victory. With the win, OU advances in the elimination bracket for a double-header meeting with the UCLA Bruins.

Against UGA, USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Jocelyn Alo set a new program record with her 31st home run of the season. Once again, she proved her status as a generational talent in this sport.

Ace lefty Giselle ‘G’ Juarez got the start in the circle for Oklahoma on Saturday, and in 6.0 innings, the redshirt senior looked dominant as she struck out 10 of the 20 batters she faced while allowing just three hits on 81 total pitches. Freshman Nicole May would spell the veteran for the final two outs of the contest.

With two outs in the top of the second inning, freshman Jayda Coleman got the Sooners’ first hit of game with a single to left. In the following at-bat, sophomore Mackenzie Donihoo put her team on the board with a two-run blast to left. OU would take its 2-0 lead into the bottom of the frame.

With one out in the top of the fourth, senior captain Lynnsie Elam grounded through right for a single, then Coleman returned to the plate and reached on a fielder’s choice. Next, Donihoo hit a hard grounder into left that resulted in Coleman rounding the bases all the way home. Oklahoma took its 3-0 lead into the bottom of the inning.

In the top of the fifth, NFCA Freshman of the Year Tiare Jennings got things started with a four-pitch walk. Later, sophomore Kinzie Hansen let if fly with a two-run bomb of her own, making it a 5-0 advantage for the Sooners.

Donihoo kept her bat hot in the top of the sixth with a lead-off single to left. Later, senior Nicole Mendes crushed a double to right, putting two Sooners in scoring position with one out. Next, Jennings grounded out to second, but in doing so allowed Donihoo to score from third and extend OU’s lead. As for the game winning swing, Jocelyn Alo absolutely smashed a pitch out of orbit to pad her team’s lead by another two runs and put the top seed into run-rule territory. Ultimately, that’s how this elimination game would end up.

Up next, Oklahoma is set to play UCLA tonight in the second elimination game of the day for the Sooners. Strangely enough, this contest is between the top two seeds of the tournament and the favorites to reach the championship series entering the WCWS. Now, only one of these two teams is guaranteed to advance to the semifinals on Sunday, while the other will be sent home. First pitch between OU and the Bruins is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT on ESPN.

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The Women’s College World Series is the season-ending prize that every college team shoots for, and the Oklahoma softball team is making its ninth consecutive appearance and 18th overall. The Sooners’ 18 WCWS appearances is tied for third among NCAA Division I schools. Only UCLA with 13 and Arizona with eight have more national titles […]

Oklahoma softball: Sooners have stellar WCWS history – Stormin in Norman – Stormin in Norman – An Oklahoma Sooners blog

The top-seeded Oklahoma softball team responded from its WCWS opening loss with an 8-0 run-rule win over unseeded Georgia  on Saturday to stave off elimination. Oklahoma slugged three home runs, giving them a nation-leading 150 for the season, and fifth-year senior “G” Juarez shut down Georgia on three hits over 5 1/3 innings aided by […]

Oklahoma softball: No. 1 OU vs. No. 2 in Saturday night WCWS showcase – Stormin in Norman – Stormin in Norman – An Oklahoma Sooners blog