How Oklahoma's Jocelyn Alo, Facing Elimination, Found Another Gear

Jocelyn Alo extended her career in style with a 4-for-4 hitting performance, including a grand slam and a three-run bomb against the UCLA Bruins on Monday.

Ryan Chapman | Jun 6, 2022

How Oklahoma's Jocelyn Alo, Facing Elimination, Found Another Gear /

OKLAHOMA CITY — Monday could have been Jocelyn Alo’s last as a collegiate softball player.

The top-seeded Oklahoma Sooners dropped Game 1 against the UCLA Bruins, putting the nation’s wire-to-wire No. 1-ranked team on the brink of elimination.

Unbothered by the stakes, Alo ensured her team’s stay in Oklahoma City was not going to be cut short.

The most explosive hitter in the history of college softball delivered with her back against the wall, hitting 4-for-4 and driving in seven RBIs by way of a three-run bomb and a soul-crushing grand slam in the Sooners' 15–0 victory over UCLA.

Clearly, the pressure of the moment never fazed Alo.

Headed into the contest, the Sooners slugger said she was solely focused on the scouting report and game plan to attack UCLA’s pitching staff.

“Just controlling the strike zone and just kind of not trying to be a big hero in those moments [was the plan],” Alo said after the second contest. “Especially when your backs are against the wall.

“Just going out there and just continuing to play our game.”

Jocelyn Alo hit a pair of towering home runs on Monday

The super senior punctuated Oklahoma's dominant win on Monday with a grand slam

With the victory, the Sooners advanced to the WCWS championship series for the third straight year

Gasso said she didn’t notice anything different about her star in the dugout, either. All Alo brought to the table was the same burning passion she takes into every contest.

“She gets so fired up for her family, for our team,” Gasso said. “She's the most confident young lady I've ever met in my life, to the point where you are, like, ‘OK, don't say that, Jocy.’ But that's her. She wears it.

“It’s not to kind of stick it in anybody's face, it's more about her excitement. She's just really raw with excitement and love for the game, and her exuberance just is fun to watch.”

UCLA head coach Kelly Inouye-Perez had a front-row seat to Alo’s dominant performance, and all she could do was tip her visor to the OU star.

“It's just impressive,” Inouye-Perez said after the doubleheader. “The strength factor is one thing. There's different types of hitters that have great hands and they have some that are really strong. I think she has both. She has the ability.

“I got a straight view of her home run, and I'm, like, ‘Oh, that's going to—please let it tail foul.’ And, unfortunately, it didn't.

“Just a lot of respect for her. She's a quality hitter. She's a strong girl. She's got great hands. She's a tough out, and she performs on the stage in a big way and she got us today. … Clearly, there's a reason why she's the Player of the Year.”

Alo’s seven RBIs tied the Women’s College World Series single-game record set by Washington’s Niki Williams back in 2009.

With 10 RBIs total at the WCWS, Alo sits just one behind the all-time record set by UCLA’s Andrea Harrison back in 2010.

But in Patty Gasso’s summation, Alo’s impact on the sport goes well beyond helping the Sooners reach their third straight WCWS championship series.

“I think Jocelyn Alo is a big reason why this sport has gone to another level,” Gasso said. “People come here to watch her like she's Babe Ruth. They pay to see Jocelyn Alo, and ... I hope we see another Jocelyn Alo.

“I hope she's a Sooner when we see her, but that's how she—she has a love for the game, a confidence. … If you are around it, it's just to see that and to be around it, it just bleeds all over our team. They all want a little piece of what Jocy has.”

Alo’s career will end one way or another by the time the dust settles on Thursday or Friday night.

And regardless of if she goes out a two-time national champion or not, Alo’s name will be remembered for years to come.

“It's been such an honor [to coach her],” Gasso said. “[Alo] wants to go out her way and just leave her mark. She keeps saying, 'I want to leave my mark.'

“She's left her mark. She's done it. Right now it's just icing on the cake for her.”

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Published Jun 6, 2022

RYAN CHAPMAN

Ryan is deputy editor at AllSooners and covers a number of sports in and around Norman and Oklahoma City. Working both as a journalist and a sports talk radio host, Ryan has covered the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the United States Men’s National Soccer Team, the Oklahoma City Energy and more. Since 2019, Ryan has simultaneously pursued a career as both a writer and a sports talk radio host, working for the Flagship for Oklahoma sports, 107.7 The Franchise, as well as AllSooners.com. Ryan serves as a contributor to The Franchise’s website, TheFranchiseOK.com, which was recognized as having the “Best Website” in 2022 by the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters. Ryan holds an associate’s degree in Journalism from Oklahoma City Community College in Oklahoma City, OK.