Southmoore beats Owasso for Class 6A state softball title
All Lexi Hernandez wanted was a pitch to hit.
After getting walked three times in the semifinals, Hernandez told her dad and uncle she was going to be more aggressive at the plate.
She got her chance in the first inning Saturday evening of the state championship.
“This is no lie,” Southmoore coach Jason Lingo said, “sometimes her eye is too good and she doesn’t swing at borderline pitches. And when it got 3-2, I thought they were going to throw it on the edge so I told her, ‘Swing it!’”
With a 3-2 count and two outs, Hernandez hammered a two-run home run over the right-field wall to score her and Taitum Bradshaw for a 2-run Southmoore lead. The home run was just Hernandez’s second of the year.
“I got my pitch,” Hernandez said of the high and inside pitch. “I’ve been working on that pitch because I was struggling! And I got a hold of it.”
With Hernandez’s home run and Southmoore’s stout defense, the SaberCats topped Owasso 5-1 to win the Class 6A state championship for the second straight year. Southmoore returned all ten of its key players from last year’s championship team and the experience showed in the state final.
Last season it took a walk-off double from Riley Sharp to win the championship. This time around, it was a convincing win as the defense made multiple stops including two diving and one leaping catch in the outfield to halt Owasso’s offense.
“Last year Brylee Fanning was a freshman and Riley Sharp was a sophomore,” Lingo said. “They both hit (home runs) in the seventh inning of the state semifinals to propel us to the championship. That’s the only two home runs they had all year. Then Lexi comes out and does this today. So the kids like the moment. They play for it and so they like it.”