Oklahoma Slugs Its Way To Victory In Game 1 Of WCWS Finals

OKLAHOMA CITY—The Red River Rivalry was renewed in Oklahoma City on Wednesday night, as No. 1 Oklahoma faced off against unseeded Texas in Game 1 of the best-of-three 2022 Women’s College World Series championship series. And it was one of the most triumphant wins in WCWS history, as the Sooners took down the Longhorns 16-1 at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium.

Hope Trautwein got the start in the circle for the Sooners and worked through some early nerves in her first championship series appearance. A double from Bella Dayton in the top of the first inning got things going for the Longhorns. It looked for a moment like Texas could play spoiler once again after two consecutive walks loaded the bases and another walk to Courtney Day brought in the first and only run of the game for the Longhorns to put them up 1-0.

But in front of a WCWS championship series record-setting crowd of 12,234 people, the Sooners would not be denied.

They responded in a big way in the bottom half of the frame against Texas starter Hailey Dolcini. Jayda Coleman led off with a double and NCAA home run queen Jocelyn Alo put the Sooners ahead 2-1 with a blast to left. Taylon Snow then launched a three-run shot to extend the Sooners’ lead to 5-1.

Grace Lyons drove in the Sooners’ sixth run of the game with an RBI single scoring Alo in the second inning to make it 6-1.

A solo shot from Jana Johns in the bottom of the third made it 7-1 Oklahoma, which was soon followed by a three-run home run from Tiare Jennings that went deep into the Oklahoma night to extend the Sooners’ advantage to 10-1.

A single from Johns plated OU’s 11th run of the game in the fourth, which was followed by an RBI groundout from Grace Green that allowed Oklahoma to set a WCWS record with its 50th run of the event.

The Sooner onslaught did not stop there, as Alo and Jennings hit back-to-back jacks in the fifth to make it 14-1 Oklahoma. Alo’s home run was remarkably the 122nd of her illustrious college career.

Jennings drove in another run with a double in the fifth and an RBI single from Alyssa Brito capped the scoring at 16-1 in favor of the Sooners.

Game 2 of the WCWS championship series will take place on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2. Should the Sooners win, they will be national champions for the sixth time in program history, while Texas needs a win on Thursday to keep its Cinderella run alive and force an if-necessary game to decide the national champion on Friday night.

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