For the first time since 2016, we’ll need a decisive Game 3 to figure out who the 2021 Women’s College World Series Champion will be.
The National Champion that year?
Oklahoma.
Will history repeat itself five years later? Well, the Sooners certainly wouldn’t go down without a fight, as they defeated Florida State, 6-2, on Wednesday night at Hall of Fame Stadium.
Oklahoma’s win also means that for the first time since the WCWS expanded to a championship series in 2005, all 17 possible games of the tournament will be played.
For the first five innings, it appeared that Florida State would end the college softball season with its second consecutive win over the Sooners after winning 8-4 in Game 1.
Kathryn Sandercock took the circle after picking up a save in the first game of the championship series and started strong. She’d work out of a two-on, nobody-out jam by getting Kinzie Hansen to ground into a double play before Nicole Mendes grounded out to second.
Sydney Sherrill singled with one out in the home first and watched three-hole slugger Elizabeth Mason club a 3-1 pitch over the left center field fence to give Florida State a 2-0 lead.
Cassidy Davis walked on four pitches in the next at-bat to make it look like the ‘Noles would have more in store, but Oklahoma starter Giselle Juarez struck out Dani Morgan and Kalei Harding to end the threat.
Mason’s homer was all Florida State could get. Juarez allowed a hit from Davis in the fourth and from Anna Shelnutt in the fifth along with two more walks.
Aside from that, the lefty got better as the sun got lower in the Oklahoma City sky, throwing a complete game on 106 pitches, striking out six Seminoles and lowering her ERA to 2.24 on the year.
Oklahoma rewarded Juarez effort with runs. Well, eventually.
Jana Johns gave the Sooners a leadoff solo homer in the third to crack Sandercock’s shutout.
Florida State’s ace fought back and retired nine of the next ten she faced. But as Oklahoma has continued to do this postseason, the Sooners’ lineup got better in the late innings.
A four-run sixth inning started on a throwing error by Josie Muffley. Next at-bat, Sandercock’s 2-0 offering to Jocelyn Alo became historic. The senior crushed a two-run shot, Oklahoma’s 159th on the year, breaking Hawaii’s mark of 158 in 2010.
✔️ 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝-𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫.
✔️ 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫.
✔️ 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫.🤙 @78jocelyn_alo 🤙 pic.twitter.com/tSXvnxqbDR
— Oklahoma Softball (@OU_Softball) June 10, 2021
Lost in it all was that Alo’s side suddenly had a 3-2 lead. Three straight singles – the third an RBI knock from Mackenzie Donihoo – made it 4-2 and forced Lonni Alameda to go to Caylan Arnold out of the bullpen.
The Sooners welcomed her to the game with an RBI single from Jayda Coleman to make it 5-2. Mendes added on a sacrifice fly in the seventh to cap off the four-run lead, which was more than enough for Juarez, who struck out a pair in the final frame to keep Oklahoma’s season alive.
Thursday’s game will mark a chance for Oklahoma to earn its fifth National Championship all time, while Florida State can win its second in program history. It will also move up a few hours in timeslot, broadcasted live on ESPN at 3 p.m. Eastern from Oklahoma City.
— Will Turner, Extra Inning Softball
