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Bottom of the Order Seals the Deal For Oklahoma in National Championship

The Sooners relied on the latter half of the batting lineup to start, and finish, the party Thursday night.

Ross Lovelace

Bottom of the Order Seals the Deal For Oklahoma in National Championship
Bottom of the Order Seals the Deal For Oklahoma in National Championship /

OKLAHOMA CITY — So many times over the course of the season, Oklahoma’s star power has overwhelmed opponents. Texas head coach Mike White went as far as to call the top of the Sooners’ order “Murderers Row.”

Thursday, however, the Longhorns were able to limit the damage done by Oklahoma’s top hitters, as it was the bottom of the lineup stepping up to provide the fireworks.

After a slow start, Alyssa Brito, Kinzie Hansen and Taylon Snow left fingerprints all over the game, leading the Sooners’ comeback charge. Once the Sooners took the lead, they never looked back, dominating Texas 10-5 en route to a second straight national championship, and the program's sixth overall.

After a rare strikeout early on from Jocelyn Alo, and Tiare Jennings grounding into a double play, it seemed like Oklahoma had no answers. Three scoreless innings later, the Sooners were searching for a big splash.

With highway robbery all over the outfield, Game 2 was shaping up to be a defensive battle. It seemed as if OU was leaving multiple runners on base at the end of each inning. That’s when the latter half of Patty Gasso’s lineup got to business.

Brito started things off with a crushing double to right center, bringing the stadium to its feet. Next up, Hansen needed a little luck and an errant throw on a ground ball, but managed to get all the way to third, bringing Brito home for the first Oklahoma score of the night. Snow, who’s been huge for the Sooners down the stretch, then extended the run with a single to center field. After the back end’s first flurry, OU had tied the game 2-2 in the fourth inning.

The bottom of the lineup started things off in the fourth frame. Two innings later, they sealed the deal.

To open up the sixth, Jennings singled and Grace Lyons was hit by a pitch, placing two runners on when Brito was back up to bat. She cranked another double, this one down the left field line, bringing Jennings home.

Hansen then stepped up and launched Oklahoma’s first home run of the game, a devastating three-run shot to left. This was Hansen’s first home run in 20 games, since OU and Texas met during conference play. The duo of Brito and Hansen did it again, extending the Sooners’ lead 6-2.

"It's not about me," said Hansen. "That's something that I really learned throughout this year is coming up and hitting that home run, these girls have been doing it all year when I wasn't able to. When I came up, my mindset was just do it for them."

Jordy Bahl capped off her first start back by finding her groove later on in the game, only allowing two runs in the opening inning. After the Sooners' bats came alive, they were able to coast to another easy victory.

On the night, Brito, Hansen and Snow combined to hit 6-for-10 with five RBIs and a home run. Snow and Brito also made incredible defensive plays throughout the game, saving the Sooners on multiple occasions.

With the bottom of the lineup sealing the deal, the Sooners turned the page on one of the most dominant seasons in sports with a national championship. Oklahoma finished the year with a record of 59-3, as 40 of the wins came via run rule and 33 of OU’s 61 games ended in a shutout, as the Sooners finished the season with a run differential of +514.

"When you can trust your training and be yourself, that's when you know we really started to peak at the perfect time," said Hansen. "Truthfully, this probably is one of the best teams I've ever been a part of."

Gasso herself warned at the beginning of the season that this was one of the most complete teams she’d ever coached. It’s only fitting that five months of utter domination later, it ends in back-to-back national championships.

"They don't realize how good they are," said Gasso. "Maybe I don't realize how good they are. Everybody asks us, and we just play. We just play. We love to have fun and love to play. You ask me to compare, you ask me what it feels like ... It feels like something we do every day at practice."

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Ross Lovelace
ROSS LOVELACE

Experience Ross is a young, up-and-coming sports reporter who has covered the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Oklahoma Sooners over the past six years. He's made guest appearances on various radio stations and has helped out with the All Sooners podcast whenever he gets the chance. Ross enjoys public speaking and has done so at multiple churches and high schools across the OKC metro area. In addition to writing, Ross has been the Play-by-Play announcer for Crossings’ basketball and football programs since 2020. In high school, Ross worked for self-starter blogs and latched onto Thunder Digest, where he discovered his passion for writing. From there, he worked for the OU Daily as a women's basketball reporter and was hired by All Sooners. Ross landed an internship with Sports Illustrated's Inside the Thunder and has since become a full-time contributor. One day, Ross hopes to work in the NBA. Work History Education Ross holds a bachelor's degree in Public Relations and a minor in Communication from the University of Oklahoma. Personal Born and raised in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Ross played basketball and wrote for his own Thunder blog at Crossings High School in OKC, OK. He enjoys reading, New York Jets football and a week at the beach. Ross is engaged to be married at the end of the year. His Twitter handle is @Rosslovelace.

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