Sooners bats crush Texas
Oklahoma hits record-setting 6 HRs in win
OKLAHOMA CITY — Jocelyn Alo and Tiare Jennings fueled Oklahoma’s record-setting offensive burst to help the Sooners move a victory away from successfully defended their Women’s College World Series title.
Alo and Jennings each hit two home runs and topseeded Oklahoma rolled past unseeded Texas, 16-1, Wednesday night in Game 1 of the best-of-three championship series.
Oklahoma (58-3) set a World Series record with six home runs and matched records for runs and victory margin.
Alo and Jennings each have five home runs in the World Series, surpassing the single-series record of four set by several players, including Alo last year. Alo increased her career Division I homer record to 122, and Jennings drove in six runs to set a record for RBIs in a series with 15.
The teams will meet again Thursday in Game 2, with Oklahoma in position to win its sixth national title.
Texas (47-21-1) needs a win to stay alive. The Longhorns have won six elimination games since the start of the NCAA tournament.
Oklahoma escaped a bit of difficulty in the first and controlled the game from there. Hope Trautwein (221) gave up just two hits and a run in five innings, and Nicole May allowed just one hit in two innings.
Alo cranked a no-doubt home run into the left field seats in Oklahoma’s half of the first, and Taylon Snow followed shortly afterward with a three-run blast — just her fourth home run of the season — to make it 5-1 heading into the second. Texas used three pitchers in the inning, and ace Hailey Dolcini (24-12) registered just two outs before getting pulled.