Oklahoma Softball: Sooners Dominate Texas As Records Fall in Memorable WCWS Performance
OKLAHOMA CITY — One win away.
That’s how close the Oklahoma Sooners are to back-to-back National Championships after dominating the Texas Longhorns in Game 1 of the championship series of the 2022 Women’s College World Series.
Jocelyn Alo and Taylon Snow set the tone with first-inning home runs to pace OU in a 16-1 victory on Wednesday night at Hall of Fame Stadium.
The Sooners (58-3) erupted for five runs in the first inning against Texas (47-21-1) to bury the ‘Horns early on college softball’s biggest stage.
Oklahoma’s offense has had plenty of great nights this year, so Alo wasn’t shocked that her team put on a show to kick off the championship series.
“I wouldn't really say it surprises us,” she said after the game, “but it's definitely cool to see what it is that we can do as the stakes get higher and as the stages get bigger.
“We just continue to keep our heads done and do what we do.”
Playing in the program’s third straight championship series, OU head coach Patty Gasso knows what her offense is capable of when the bright lights turn on.
“I am not surprised,” she said. “I think they showed me last year how good they could be offensively. I think having another year together showed they're not afraid of these settings. They really embrace all of this excitement and the big stage.”
Alo’s two-run shot and Snow’s three-run bomb forced Longhorns coach Mike White to withdraw his ace pitcher Hailey Dolcini after facing just seven batters. Sophia Simpson, Texas’ No. 2 pitcher for a large stretch of the year, issued back-to-back walks and White again turned to the bullpen.
UT finally settled on Logan Hulon, a sophomore right-hander who had pitched just 19 1/3 innings ahead of Wednesday, all before the Longhorns got through Oklahoma’s lineup once.
While Texas fired up the pitching carousel, OU tasted blood in the water.
Jana Johns, Tiare Jennings (twice) and Alo (again) added home runs of their own, ensuring the 12,234 fans in attendance got to keep the party rolling all night in the stands.
More red could be seen in the stands of Hall of Fame than on the banks of the Red River on Wednesday night, and Snow said the team drew on that adrenaline early on.
“Having that power, I feel like it makes our lineup dangerous,” Snow said. “It's comforting to know that we can go out there and just, like I said before, have each other's back. Hitting that home run in that environment, I mean, I feel like all of us can say it's crazy. It's really exciting.”
OU’s six home runs set a new WCWS record for long balls in a game, previously held by UCLA from the 2019 championship series.
Alo and Jennings’ pair of home runs were the fourth and fifth home runs each player’s WCWS, which also set a new record (Alo’s 12 career bombs here is also a record). Alo also set the new mark for RBIs (13) in one WCWS.
As a team, the Sooners also set a record for total runs scored at one WCWS, besting the 49 runs scored by last year’s OU team.
The 16 runs scored also matched record for a WCWS game, which was previously held by three other teams (UCLA in 2010, Florida in 2011 and UCLA in 2019).
Oklahoma lodged a steady attack, scoring at least one run in each inning.
Grace Lyons cashed in on a leadoff double from Alo in the second inning to extend the Sooner lead to 6-1, and then Johns and Jennings each smacked no-doubters in the third inning to push the advantage to 10-1.
Johns grabbed another RBI with a single in the fourth inning, and pinch-hitter Grace Green hit bounced out to the shortstop, allowing Snow to score.
Alo and Jennings went back-to-back in the fifth inning, as the power duo each uncorked solo shots to extend the lead to 14-1.
Jennings capped off her five-RBI night with a single in the sixth inning, and Alyssa Brito scored Alo with a single up the middle, all but closing the book on OU’s 16-1 win.
Despite the display of dominance from Oklahoma, Texas actually struck first on the night.
Longhorn center fielder Bella Dayton got aboard with a two-out double, and OU pitcher Hope Trautwein issued three straight walks to allow Texas’ only run of the game.
Getting out of the jam was a boost for the Sooners, as it let the offense get to work.
“It was really big for us,” Gasso said. “I know Hope had a little trip-up with some base-on balls. Luckily we got out of it relatively unscathed.
“But to be able to come back and answer with five the way we did just really was the way we wanted to start the game. They punched first, but we punched back and we punched harder.”
The Sooners were well in command by the time Trautwein returned to the circle in the second inning, and the super senior settled in. Trautwein pitched five complete innings in the win, striking out two Texas batters while surrendering two hits and four walks.
Right-hander Nicole May entered the game in the sixth inning and closed out the contest for the Sooners.
Oklahoma can clinch the program’s sixth National Championship on Thursday.
The Sooners and the Longhorns meet in Game 2 of the championship series at 6:30 p.m. at Hall of Fame Stadium, and the game will be broadcast on ESPN2.
Want to join the discussion? Click here to become a member of the AllSooners message board community today!
Sign up for your premium membership to AllSooners.com today, and get access to the entire Fan Nation premium network!
Follow AllSooners on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest OU news.