Oklahoma softball tops Texas, completes sweep in Women’s College World Series championship

OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma made college softball history Thursday night at the expense of its most despised rival.

The Sooners (59-7) became the first Division I softball team in NCAA history to win four consecutive national titles with a wild 8-4 win over Texas in the second game of the best-of-three championship series at the Women’s College World Series at Devon Park. The Sooners won the first game 8-3 on Wednesday.

Texas (55-10), which edged OU for the Big 12’s regular-season championship and earned the top seed in the NCAA Tournament, ended arguably its best season in school history by falling to Oklahoma for the second time in three seasons in the WCWS championship series.

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After the game, Texas coach Mike White acknowledged Oklahoma’s dominance while hoping his young squad absorbs some hard-earned lessons.

“It’s an incredible feat,” White said. “We know how tough it is just to get here, let alone win four. It’s an amazing achievement, especially for those classmen that were freshmen and now have four rings. That’s something that drives all of us to get better, to be able to come back and win.”

The teams traded the lead four times through a wild first four innings, and Texas seemed on the verge of reclaiming the lead in the sixth in a dramatic standoff between two of the Big 12’s best players. With Oklahoma clinging to a 5-3 lead and All-Big 12 third baseman Mia Scott at the plate for Texas, Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso turned to ace Kelly Maxwell, who didn’t start for the first time in three games for the Sooners. Scott ripped a shot to first baseman Cydney Sanders and beat the throw as Joley Mitchell crossed home plate to trim OU’s lead to one run.

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But in a bizarre sequence, Scott ran though first base and danced toward second while drawing the attention of the Sooners. Second baseman Avery Hodge then flipped the ball to Sanders, who tagged out Scott at first for the third out, which left shortstop Vivi Martinez stranded on third.

“I saw Mia Scott kind of come off the bag,” said Maxwell, who was voted the WCWS most outstanding player after going 3-0 while throwing 27 innings and allowing nine earned runs. “I was just telling Avery, ‘Turn around, turn around, let’s get her, c’mon!’ She finally heard me. We got it done. It was huge. I mean, they definitely had the momentum in that moment.”

Scott wasn’t available to talk to the media, but White said the play personifies the fearless style of play that has helped make her a three-time all-conference selection.

“That’s part of how she is; she’s really aggressive,” he said. “She pushes the envelope a lot of times. This time it didn’t work out. No one feels worse than Mia Scott right now. Everything happens for a reason. She’s cheeky. That’s part of her MO. That’s what she does. It was a big moment in that game. Everybody knows it. She’s already beaten herself up. I know she is. Hopefully she learns from that.”

Oklahoma dispensed with any more drama down the stretch. The Sooners put up three runs in the bottom of the sixth, and Maxwell shut the door in the seventh with three straight outs.

The Sooners ended the game with 12 hits and the championship series with 21 total hits. Texas tallied its most runs against Oklahoma in six games this season, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Sooners from making history.