OKLAHOMA CITY — This Oklahoma softball juggernaut is already secure as one of the greatest teams of all time.
But on Saturday, after cruising to a 7-2 win over arch-rival Texas to move to 56-2 on the season, OU star Jocelyn Alo said those two losses worked as motivation as the Sooners advanced to the Women’s College World Series semifinals for the sixth consecutive year.
After beating the Longhorns, Alo pointed back to that April 16 loss, when Texas snapped the Sooners’ record 40-game winning streak as Texas pitcher Hailey Dolcini gave up just two hits in a 4-2 upset.
“I think we had the edge this time, little bit of a chip on our shoulder,” Alo said. “Last time we had faced Dolcini she shut us out. And no one shuts out the Sooners. We had something to prove for sure.”
To Alo’s point, the Sooners have scored 20 runs in their first two games, tied with the 1995 Arizona Wildcats for the second-most in WCWS history. Overall, through the postseason, Oklahoma has outscored opponents 72-7 and has not given up more than two runs in any game.
Hope Trautwein got the win for the Sooners, throwing a complete game while giving up two runs on six hits.
Alo matched those two runs in her first at-bat against Dolcini on Saturday, hitting a home run to left field in the first inning to drive in leadoff hitter Jayda Coleman.
Dolcini settled in after those first two at-bats but ultimately gave up five runs in six hits on 4⅓ innings, including a spectacular homer to left field by Tiare Jennings that landed in the second-to-last row in the bleachers.
“I’ve seen a lot of far home runs but that was elevated to allow her to really get underneath it and get her power in it,” coach Patty Gasso said. “It was definitely another momentum builder for the team.”
The top five hitters in the OU lineup — Coleman, Alo, Jennings, Grace Lyons and Alyssa Brito — had 9 of team’s 10 hits and all 7 RBI.
Texas coach Mike White said the Oklahoma lineup is like a “murderer’s row,” but even knowing that, he said the Sooners are still difficult to pin down.
“Saying that murderer’s row, they keep changing it,” White said, laughing. “It’s like the row changes and whoever’s not hitting they switch them in there.”
The Sooners will next play on Monday. They’ll face whoever wins Sunday afternoon’s game between No. 5 UCLA or Florida.
The game featured a historic footnote as the first College World Series game on network television, airing on ABC. Gasso, who’s been the Oklahoma coach since 1996, took a chance to reflect on the sport’s growth.
“It’s an absolute honor,” she said. “To think that we are in a game on ABC is just a wow factor.”
Oklahoma State 2, Florida 0: Kelly Maxwell threw a three-hitter and struck out nine, and No. 7 seed Oklahoma State beat No. 14 Florida 2-0 to advance to the Women’s College World Series semifinals.
Maxwell (21-4), a first-team NFCA All-American, struck out 14 in a win over Arizona on Thursday.
Chyenne Factor had two hits and knocked in a run for the Cowgirls (48-12).
Lexie Delbrey (15-4) took the loss for Florida.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
