Oklahoma Sweeps Texas, Wins Sixth National Title

By Kayla Lombardo
on June 9, 2022

OKLAHOMA CITY—It felt inevitable for almost the entirety of the 2022 college softball season, and the Sooners made the inevitable their reality on Thursday night at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium. No. 1 Oklahoma took down unseeded Texas 10-5 in Game 2 of the Women’s College World Series championship series to capture the program’s second straight national title and sixth overall.

After not pitching in the Lonhorns’ 16-1 loss to the Sooners on Wednesday night, Estelle Czech got the start for Texas in the circle and she was sharp in the game’s early goings. Jayda Coleman led off the contest with a single to right before an error put runners on first and second with one out. But Czech escaped the jam and kept things scoreless heading into the home half of the frame.

Oklahoma’s Jordy Bahl made her first-ever WCWS start, and Janae Jefferson welcomed her with a leadoff single for the Longhorns. Mia Scott then followed with a single of her own and Bella Dayton walked before a sac fly from Alyssa Washington gave the Longhorns a 1-0 lead. Another sac fly from Mary Iakopo followed to extend the Texas advantage to 2-0. Courtney Day then stepped up to the plate and blasted a would-be two-run homer, but Coleman robbed her and brought it back into the park.

A Texas error began the second, and then a double from Jana Johns put runners on second and third for the Sooners, but Czech escaped the jam.

The scoring stalled until the top of the fourth when Alyssa Brito led off the inning with a double and came around to score on a Texas error. A single from Taylon Snow then tied the game at two runs apiece.

And then the floodgates opened. The Sooners busted open the game in the fifth when a two-out double from Brito gave them the lead for the first time all night, which was then followed by a triumphant three-run blast off the bat of Kinzie Hansen to bring the score to 6-2.

The Sooners' scoring was capped in the sixth when a sac fly off the bat of Tiare Jennings brought in a run and a three-run home run from Lyons sealed the deal for the Sooners and extended their lead to 10-2.

A three-run home run from Texas' Mia Scott cut the deficit to 10-5 in the bottom of the seventh, which was where the score would remain.

Oklahoma finishes its season with a 59-3 record, while Texas ends its remarkable postseason run with a record of 47-22-1 for the 2022 campaign.