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    OU Softball - FSU postgame 1

    OU Softball: Oklahoma's Grace Lyons Plays the Hero in Her Swan Song

    The Sooners' captain came through one last time, delivering a third straight national championship for Oklahoma.

    OKLAHOMA CITY — Throughout her career at Oklahoma, Grace Lyons was everything Patty Gasso could’ve asked for in a captain. Thursday night, she got a chance to showcase it one last time.

    Gasso’s super senior lifted Oklahoma ahead of Florida State with a solo home run to take the lead in the top of the fifth inning, guiding the Sooners to a 3-1 win and a third straight National Championship.

    "It's surreal," Lyons said. "Today I definitely was thinking of the possibility that it was my last game, playing in this uniform. Just the emotions that come with that.

    "It's so cool to know that these players saw that my legacy, my intention and my legacy was going to be different. That means so much to me, more than any softball hit, home run, play, like that speaks volumes."

    Over the course of her five-year career in Norman, Lyons and the Sooners went 253-18, won two Big 12 Tournament's and closed it out with a third straight ring. Her impact on the program will be felt for years to come.

    "The Lord is good," Lyons said. "I mean, the home run was awesome, but just the feelings of coming home to my team and just the joy that a home run can't bring. It's all from the Lord. I think it was just a genuine joy as I rounded just knowing that it was a total team effort, and that team is something special."

    After struggling for the majority of the Sooners’ postseason run, Oklahoma's captain always seemed to come in clutch when the Sooners needed it most.

    Grace Lyons' storybook ending

    Grace Lyons' storybook ending

    Against Stanford, she ended her 0-for-11 drought to pull the Sooners out of a big hole. Her late-season slump had taken her batting average from over .500 in mid-February to .323 going into Monday’s battle against the Cardinal. During a tie game late in the ninth inning, the senior captain fired a double off the left field wall to spark a late run for Oklahoma. Tiare Jennings’ RBI brought Lyons around the bases, eventually sealing the win for the Sooners.

    Thursday, with the game tied once again, the short stop had a hand in OU’s monumental inning to take the lead. Instead of a double, she decided to do it herself this time, launching a ball into orbit over Kaley Mudge’s glove and behind the fence, and lifting Oklahoma ahead of Florida State 2-1.

    The Sooners’ fifth inning ended up being the biggest response of the season. 

    With little to no momentum all night, struggling to threaten Florida State’s defense, the bottom of the lineup stepped up. Cydney Sanders netted an immediate response to Florida State’s fourth inning bomb to take the lead by drilling a no-doubter to right field and tying the game up.

    Sanders’ home run took a lot of pressure off of Oklahoma and helped the offense settle down. The very next at-bat, Lyons completed her OU swan song with a home run to left center to take the lead on the biggest stage possible. It made perfect sense for her to put the Sooners on top — and keep them there.

    "I think Grace Lyons came to college softball wanting to leave a more different impact than what players usually want to leave on their programs," pitcher Jordy Bahl said. "She's done just that.

    "When she hit that home run in the fifth, just seeing her round the base, seeing the look on her face, it was just emotional. Like I said, that was still middle of the game. You're trying not to be emotional at that point, but it was just hard. It's just been a complete honor to be on the field with her."

    In the sixth inning, the Sooners would tack on a third run off of an Alynah Torres infield single, but the game was already won on Lyons’ rocket. Oklahoma completed the three-peat, knocking off the Seminoles 3-1 and kicking the potential third game to the curb.

    OU's captain finished her last game as a Sooner 2-for-3 with a single off the wall and the go-ahead home run.

    "Grace Lyons is one of the best people I've ever met in my life," center fielder Jayda Coleman said. "She helped me in my faith and on the field she's helped me in every aspect of life. Man, when she hit that home run, I think my eyes started seeing black dots almost. I almost passed out.

    "I'm just so happy for her. Just really owned that moment. Really helped us in that time."

    In all, Lyons’ career was one for the ages. It seemed only right she went out on top, sealing the Sooners’ third straight National Championship. From the 2022 USA Softball Women’s National Team, to the three-time Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, to a USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top-10 Finalist — she’s netted nearly every accolade in the book.

    But above all the personal honors, she led her team three national championships, and will always be known as the Captain of Gasso’s ever-dominant 61-1 record-breaking squad.

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