Oklahoma outslugs Texas, nears 4th straight WCWS title
THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY
Oklahoma pitcher Kelly Maxwell pitches in the second inning.
OKLAHOMA CITY >> Oklahoma blasted three home runs and Kelly Maxwell held Texas to four hits as the Sooners beat the Longhorns 8-3 in Game 1 of the Women’s College World Series championship series today.
Oklahoma (58-7) will have a chance to win an unprecedented fourth consecutive WCWS title on Thursday, while Texas will try to force a decisive Game 3.
Maxwell struck out eight, walked four and allowed just one earned run in the complete-game victory.
After Texas’ Mia Scott hit a solo homer in the first, Maxwell held the Longhorns without another hit until the sixth, when Texas staged a rally to score two more.
By that time, though, the Sooners had scored seven, and Maxwell struck out pinch hitter Victoria Hunter to end the inning and strand two.
Texas (55-9) hadn’t given up a run in three WCWS games coming in, and had only allowed three hits in winning its games by a combined 15-0.
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However, it just took just two batters for the Sooners to get on the board, with Tiare Jennings blasting a two-run home run to left-center after Jayda Coleman was hit by a pitch to begin the game.
Scott cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the inning.
The Sooners stretched the lead in the third, with a two-run homer by Kinzie Hansen followed immediately by a solo shot by Kasidi Pickering.
Oklahoma added runs in each of the final three innings to stretch the lead.
