Oklahoma Sooners win historic fourth consecutive Women’s College World Series softball title

CNN
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The University of Oklahoma Sooners seized a victory over the Texas Longhorns Thursday night, becoming the first NCAA Division I softball team to win four consecutive Women’s College World Series national championships.

Sooners players rushed the pitching circle after securing the 8-4 win in Game 2 of the best-of-three series. As players dog-piled onto each other, the crowd cheered them on at Devon Park in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Sooners head coach Patty Gasso, who is now tied for the most national championships as a head coach in NCAA Division I softball, said the team’s accomplishment is “unbelievable.”

After going up 5-3 in the bottom of the fourth inning, the Longhorns came creeping back into the game following a third baseman Mia Scott infield hit to make it a one-run game.

However, Sooners outfielder Jayda Coleman singled in a run in the bottom of the sixth to extend the lead back to two. Later in the inning, Ella Parker sealed the deal with a two-run single.

Oklahoma pitcher Kelly Maxwell closed out the game in the top of the seventh inning. She retired all three batters including getting Longhorns’ Katie Stewart to ground out to third to seal the Sooners’ historic fourth-straight NCAA title.

Gasso credited the program’s hard work ethic for its success.

“We do it blue-collar style,” Gasso told the ESPN broadcast. “We fight, we gritty. There’s nothing we feel we can’t overcome and that’s why we go out and just play free. … This was the hardest of all, without question, and it’s probably going to be the most remembered for just the magnitude of what these guys have done.”

Gasso added that four consecutive title wins for the program is “hard to believe.”

The win gives the No. 2 seeded Oklahoma squad its eighth title in program history, tying it with the University of Arizona for second most all-time championships. University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) holds the record with 12 titles.