Current:Home > ScamsOklahoma softball eyes four-peat after WCWS Game 1 home run derby win over Texas-LoTradeCoin
Oklahoma softball eyes four-peat after WCWS Game 1 home run derby win over Texas
View Date:2024-12-24 00:07:43
The Oklahoma Sooners women's softball team is one win away from a historic four-peat.
No. 2 seed Oklahoma defeated the No. 1 seed Texas Longhorns, 8-3, on Wednesday in Game 1 of the Women's College World Series at Devon Park in Oklahoma City, which marked a rematch of the 2022 WCWS final.
All but three of the Sooners' eight runs were scored with the long ball, a trend for the powerful Oklahoma offense. Oklahoma has scored 19 of 24 runs via home runs in WCWS this year.
Senior pitcher Kelly Maxwell held Texas' electric offense to four hits and she racked up eight strikeouts in the win. Maxwell's performance in the circle was impressive considering she pitched her first back-to-back games of the season after she threw 148 pitches on Tuesday in Oklahoma's 6-5 walk-off win over Florida to advance to the championship series.
Oklahoma is in pursuit of its fourth consecutive WCWS title. aiming to become the first NCAA Division I softball program to do so. And statistics are on the Sooners' side — the winner of Game 1 has gone on to win the best-of-three championship series 78% of the time. Texas, on the other hand, is vying for its first-ever women's softball title.
Here are the best moments from Game 1 of the WCWS:
Oklahoma's Tiare Jennings goes yard in the first
Oklahoma came out swinging and put two runs on the board in the first inning, thanks to a home run from infielder Tiare Jennings, one of 10 seniors on Oklahoma's roster. Jennings connected with a rise ball from Texas freshman pitcher Teagan Kavan and blasted it straight to center field to score herself and Jayda Coleman, who was hit by a pitch to lead off the game. It marked Jennings' 11th career Women's College World Series homer and the 98th career home run for Jennings.
Texas' Mia Scott is hot early
Texas responded with a first-inning home run of their own from junior Mia Scott to cut the Sooners' lead to one run. Scott sent a 1-1 pitch from Oklahoma senior Kelly Maxwell to right field in the bottom of the first inning for her 12th home run of the year.
Oklahoma hits back-to-back homers
The Sooners extended their lead to 5-1 in the top of the third inning with back-to-back home runs off Texas' Kavan. Senior catcher Kinzie Hansen got it started and sent an inside rise ball to left field for a two-run home run with an exit velocity of 76 MPH.
Freshman outfielder Kasidi Pickering hit a solo shot to center field the next at-bat, forcing Kavan out of the game. Kavan was replaced by junior pitcher Mac Morgan.
Rally time? Texas scores two to fend off run rule
With a 7-1 lead, Oklahoma flirted with the run rule in the bottom of the sixth inning. However, Texas got a rally started. Shortstop Viviana Martinez hit a hard shot up the first base line and legged out a triple after the ball got past Oklahoma first baseman Cydney Sanders. Texas' Katie Stewartsingled to right field to score Martinez and another single from Joley Mitchellscored Alyssa Washington, who advanced to scoring position on a wild pitch.
Ashton Maloney robs home run
It appeared that Oklahoma's Kasidi Pickering hit her second home run of the night in the top of the seventh inning, but not on Ashton Maloney's watch. Texas' right fielder Ashton Maloney made a leaping catch over the wall to rob Pickering of the bomb.
How to watch 2024 Women's College World Series final
Game 2 of the 2024 WCWS championship series will be broadcast on ESPN on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET. The matchup can also be live streamed on ESPN+ and the ESPN app.
veryGood! (51)
Related
- Trump’s economic agenda for his second term is clouding the outlook for mortgage rates
- Testimony from Sam Bankman-Fried’s trusted inner circle will be used to convict him, prosecutors say
- While a criminal case against a Tesla driver ends, legal and ethical questions on Autopilot endure
- Mystery Solved: Here’s How To Get Selena Gomez’s Makeup Look From Only Murders in the Building
- Horoscopes Today, November 13, 2024
- Duke Energy prefers meeting North Carolina carbon target by 2035, but regulators have final say
- Air pollution may be to blame for thousands of dementia cases each year, researchers say
- Georgia tribunal rejects recommendation to fire teacher over controversial book
- My Little Pony finally hits the Toy Hall of Fame, alongside Phase 10 and Transformers
- Spain vs. Sweden: Time, odds, how to watch and live stream 2023 World Cup semifinal
Ranking
- Digital Finance Research Institute Introduce
- Georgia tribunal rejects recommendation to fire teacher over controversial book
- Breaking up big business is hard to do
- US-focused Opera News, to cease publication in November after 87 years
- Mississippi Valley State football player Ryan Quinney dies in car accident
- Iran claims there will be no restrictions on access to money released in U.S. prisoner exchange
- Shania Twain promises 'all the hits' for latest Las Vegas residency starting in 2024
- Small Minnesota town will be without police after chief and officers resign, citing low pay
Recommendation
-
The Army’s answer to a lack of recruits is a prep course to boost low scores. It’s working
-
Why does my iPhone get hot? Here's how to beat the heat, keep you devices cool this summer
-
Toronto Maple Leafs Prospect Rodion Amirov Dead at 21 After Brain Tumor Diagnosis
-
The Golden Bachelor's Gerry Turner Breaks Down in Tears While Recalling Wife's Death
-
Joey Graziadei Details Why Kelsey Anderson Took a Break From Social Media
-
What happens when thousands of hackers try to break AI chatbots
-
NYC outdoor dining sheds were a celebrated pandemic-era innovation. Now, there’s a new set of rules
-
District Attorney: Officers justified in shooting armed 17-year-old burglary suspect in Lancaster