Oklahoma’s quest for a fourth straight Women’s College World Series championship is off to a great start.
The Sooners started pitching at Texas on Wednesday in an 8-3 Game 1 victory over their Big 12 rivals. Oklahoma is now one win away in the best-of-three series from capturing its eighth NCAA softball championship and sixth since 2016.
Texas successfully entered Game 1 as the tournament’s #1 seed. The Longhorns pitched three straight one-hit shutouts in WCWS play en route to the championship series. Freshman All-American Teagan Kavan (20-2) pitched two of those shutouts and took the mound against Oklahoma.
But Wednesday’s match started ominously. Kavan allowed leadoff hitter Jayda Coleman to reach on a hit-by-pitch. Six pitches later, Coleman crossed home plate.
In Oklahoma’s next at-bat, All-America shortstop Tiare Jennings launched a 3-2 Kavan riseball over the left centerfield wall for a 2-0 lead and the first runs gave Texas the WCWS.
The runs were the first Kavan allowed since May 5 in the Longhorns’ regular-season finale. More would follow.
But not before Texas struck back. The Longhorns responded with a solo home run from second-team All-American Mia Scott, who sent a first-pitch Kelly Maxwell offering into the right-field stands to cut the Oklahoma lead to 2-1.
That’s as close as Texas could get.
Oklahoma’s Ella Parker led off the third inning with an infield single. Two batters later, second-team All-America catcher Kinzie Hansen sent her home with a two-run home run off Kavan to increase the Sooners’ lead to 4-1.
Kasadi Pickering then sent a 1-1 pitch over the centerfield wall for back-to-back home runs to increase the Oklahoma lead to 5-1. This was launched from another riser high above the plate.
That was the end of Kavan’s day. She finished the game allowing five earned runs on five hits, three home runs and two walks in 2 1/3 innings. She did not record a strikeout.
Maxwell shuts down multiple Texas threats to secure the win
Texas had a chance to break Oklahoma’s lead in the bottom of the third. Maxwell walked Scott and Bella Dayton and brought on Reese Atwood, Texas’ National Player of the Year, with two on and two out. But Atwood sent Maxwell’s second pitch right back to the mound for an inning-ending groundout.
The Sooners scored a pair of insurance runs before Texas threatened again in the sixth. The Longhorns scored two runs to narrow the deficit to 7-3, then two more runners reached base with two outs. Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso did not pull Maxwell, even though her starter allowed four hits and threw a wild pitch in the inning.
Maxwell rewarded Gasso’s trust. The graduate transfer from Oklahoma State eliminated Victoria Hunter to end the Texas threat and preserve Oklahoma’s 7-3 lead. The Sooners added another run in the seventh, and the Longhorns failed to rally with their final chance in the bottom of the inning.
Maxwell closed the match with a 1-2-3 seventh to secure the Oklahoma victory. A third-pitch strike by Viviana Martinez ended the game. Maxwell earned the complete-game victory while allowing three runs (one earned) on four hits, one home run and four walks. She struck out eight Texas batters.
With the win, the Sooners take a 3-2 lead in the season series against their future SEC rivals. More importantly, they come within one win of the national championship.
