Oklahoma defends softball title with 5-4 win over Florida

By CLIFF BRUNT
Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Even as defending champions, it seemed for most of the season that Oklahoma was unlikely to repeat.

The Sooners earned just a No. 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They lost their NCAA opener to North Dakota State before rallying, then had to go to Auburn and win a super regional.

Even when they recovered at the Women’s College World Series and reached the championship round, they faced No. 1 seed Florida and its two All-American pitchers.

In the end, Oklahoma found a way, including a 17-inning win in Game 1. On Tuesday night, Shay Knighten hit a three-run double in the second inning, and the Sooners defeated Florida 5-4 to win it all again.

The Sooners (61-9) took both games from Florida in the best-of-three series to earn their third NCAA title in five years.

“I still cannot believe that this happened, with where we started and where we finished,” Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso said.

“There’s so many stories. The journey was unbelievable. I think if you looked at us in February and March, even parts of April, you would never imagine us sitting here right now with trophies in front of us.”

Knighten, who hit a three-run homer in the 17th inning on Monday, was selected the World Series’ Most Outstanding Player.

Oklahoma freshman Mariah Lopez (18-1) got the win in relief of Paige Parker. Though Parker has an 8-0 career World Series record, she struggled on Tuesday and lasted just 1 2-3 innings. She threw 108 pitches in the 5½-hour game on Monday night.

“I think Paige probably could tell you she didn’t have her best stuff, but she is the reason why we’re sitting here right now, and she knows that. I know she knows that,” Gasso said.

“To be able to give Mariah (Lopez) the ball, a freshman who’s been waiting patiently, and for her to step up and do what we asked her to do in that setting was another reason why we’re sitting here with a trophy. It’s another reason why we’re here, period.”

Paige Lowary stepped in and threw two innings of perfect relief for her nation-leading 11th save. With a one-run lead, she retired Florida’s Nos. 2-4 hitters in order in the seventh. On Monday night, ESPN announcers said one of her pitches reached 75 mph on the radar gun.

“Paige Lowary came in, and she was hot,” Gasso said. “She was ready. I don’t know how hard she was throwing, but it looked like 100 miles an hour. The adrenaline was there and she was hitting her spots just so confident.”

Florida (58-10) did not allow an earned run in three games to reach the championship series, but the Sooners were able to break through against what statistically was the nation’s best pitching staff.

Florida pitcher Kelly Barnhill, USA Softball’s National Collegiate Player of the Year, did not play Tuesday. Florida coach Tim Walton went with No. 3 pitcher Alesia Ocasio (8-2), and she got the loss. Delaney Gourley allowed the double to Knighten in relief.

“It just wasn’t our tournament,” Walton said. “You look at the statistics, it’s eerie how close the games were statistically. So I think that you’ve got two evenly matched teams. One just found a way to hit the ball over the fence more than we did, and give them a lot of credit.”

Oklahoma’s Nicole Mendes homered on Ocasio’s third pitch of the game to give the Sooners a 1-0 lead. Sophia Reynoso responded with a solo shot for Florida in the second.

With the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the second, Ocasio singled to knock in Justine McLean, then Kayli Kvistad walked with the bases loaded to score Amanda Lorenz and make it 3-1.

Knighten’s big hit in the bottom of the second put Oklahoma up 5-3.

“Being in those moments, I’ve just got to keep myself calm, just stay relaxed and just kind of not think about what if, just kind of go for it,” she said. “And it paid off.”

Florida’s Chelsea Herndon came back with a solo blast in the third to cut Oklahoma’s lead to 5-4. The pitchers took over from there.

“Just a hard-fought two games,” Walton said. “Wish we could have pushed it to a third, and give us a chance. But I thought overall our players — really proud of our team.”

Oklahoma had just one senior in its lineup and has no senior pitchers. Gasso said her team will be focused again next season.

“We learned a lesson,” she said. “We are good at learning lessons. We’re not going to let this get in our way.”

___

Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CliffBruntAP.

___

Box Score

2017 Oklahoma Softball
#1 Florida vs #10 Oklahoma
Jun 06, 2017 at Oklahoma City, Okla. (USA Softball Stadium)

Florida 4 (58-10)
Player	ab	r	h	rbi	bb	so	po	a	lob
Lorenz lf	2	1	0	0	2	1	2	0	1
DeWitt 2b	3	0	1	0	0	1	1	1	0
Ocasio p/3b	4	0	1	1	0	2	0	0	0
Kvistad 1b	2	0	0	1	1	0	7	0	0
Wheaton c	3	0	0	0	0	0	5	0	5
Reynoso ss	3	1	1	1	0	0	1	4	0
Clemens dp	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
J. Roberts ph	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Voss pr/cf	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Herndon rf/dp	3	1	1	1	0	0	2	0	0
McLean cf/rf	3	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Hoover 3b	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Gourley p	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Totals	26	4	6	4	3	5	18	5	6
Oklahoma 5 (61-9)
Player	ab	r	h	rbi	bb	so	po	a	lob
Mendes, Nicole rf/p	4	1	1	1	0	2	0	0	1
Clifton, Caleigh 2b	2	1	2	1	1	0	1	1	0
Knighten, Shay 1b	3	0	1	3	0	1	8	0	1
Aviu, Fale dp/rf	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Pendley, Nicole cf	3	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	3
Romero, Sydney 3b	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	0
Hatfield, Macey lf	3	1	1	0	0	1	4	0	0
Wodach, Lea c	2	1	0	0	1	1	5	0	0
Arnold, Kelsey ss	3	1	1	0	0	0	0	3	0
Parker, Paige p	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Lopez, Mariah p/dp	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Lowary, Paige p	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Totals	26	5	8	5	2	5	21	7	5

Score by Innings R H E ----------------------------------------- Florida............. 031 000 0 - 4 6 1 Oklahoma............ 140 000 X - 5 8 1 -----------------------------------------

E - DeWitt(3); Hatfield, M.(2). DP - UF 1. LOB - UF 6; OU 5. 2B - Knighten, S.(13). HR - Reynoso(3); Herndon(5); Mendes, N.(7). HBP - Kvistad. SH - DeWitt(6). SB - Aviu, Fale(6); Arnold, K.(10).

Florida	ip	h	r	er	bb	so	wp	bk	hbp	ibb	ab	bf	fo	go	np
Ocasio L,8-2	1.1	4	4	4	1	0	0	0	0	0	8	9	0	4	42
Gourley	4.2	4	1	1	1	5	0	0	0	0	18	19	5	3	69
Oklahoma	ip	h	r	er	bb	so	wp	bk	hbp	ibb	ab	bf	fo	go	np
Parker, Paige	1.2	4	3	3	3	0	0	0	0	1	8	12	2	3	44
Lopez, Mariah W,18-1	2.1	1	1	1	0	2	0	0	1	0	8	9	4	1	28
Mendes, Nicole	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	4	1	2	20
Lowary, Paige S,11	2.0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	6	6	1	2	29

Win - Lopez, M. (18-1). Loss - Ocasio (8-2). Save - Lowary, P. (11). HBP - by Lopez, M. (Kvistad). Inherited runners/scored: Gourley 3/3; Lopez, M. 3/1; Lowary, P. 1/0. Pitches/strikes: Ocasio 42/25; Gourley 69/46; Parker, P. 44/23; Lopez, M. 28/21; Mendes, N. 20/11; Lowary, P. 29/22. Umpires - HP: Terry Holt 1B: Scott Thomas 3B: Erin Peterson Start: 7:07 pm Time: 2:21 Attendance: 8507 Weather: Clear, 89F, N 6mph Mendes, N. faced 1 batter in the 6th.

Play-by-Play

2017 Oklahoma Softball
#1 Florida vs #10 Oklahoma
Jun 06, 2017 at Oklahoma City, Okla. (USA Softball Stadium)

Florida starters: 18/lf Lorenz; 23/2b DeWitt; 8/p Ocasio; 21/1b Kvistad; 25/c Wheaton; 74/ss Reynoso; 28/dp Clemens; 19/rf Herndon; 52/cf McLean; 9/3b Hoover;

Oklahoma starters: 11/rf Mendes, N.; 20/2b Clifton, C.; 17/1b Knighten, S.; 34/dp Aviu, Fale; 1/cf Pendley, N.; 2/3b Romero, S.; 6/lf Hatfield, M.; 15/c Wodach, Lea; 3/ss Arnold, K.; 8/p Parker, P.;

Florida 1st - Lorenz walked (3-0 BBBB). DeWitt out at first 3b to 2b, SAC, bunt (0-0); Lorenz advanced to second. Ocasio popped up to 1b (0-1 K). Kvistad walked (3-0 BBBB). Wheaton grounded out to 1b unassisted (0-1 K). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.

Oklahoma 1st - Mendes, N. homered to left field, RBI (2-1 BKB). Clifton, C. singled to right field (2-1 KBB). Knighten, S. reached on a fielder's choice to shortstop (1-2 KFB); Clifton, C. out at second ss to 2b. Aviu, Fale grounded out to 2b (1-2 BFF); Knighten, S. advanced to second. Pendley, N. reached on a fielder's choice to shortstop (2-2 BBFK); Knighten, S. out at second ss unassisted, interference. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

Florida 2nd - Reynoso homered to left field, RBI (1-2 BFFF). Clemens flied out to cf (3-2 BBKBK). Herndon grounded out to ss (0-0). McLean singled, advanced to second on a fielding error by lf (1-2 SKB). Lorenz intentionally walked (3-1 BKBBB). DeWitt singled to left field (1-2 BKF); Lorenz advanced to second; McLean advanced to third. Ocasio singled to right field, RBI (3-2 BBKFB); DeWitt advanced to second; Lorenz advanced to third; McLean scored. Lopez, M. to p for Parker, P.. Kvistad hit by pitch, RBI (1-1 KB); Ocasio advanced to second; DeWitt advanced to third; Lorenz scored. Wheaton fouled out to lf (0-1 K). 3 runs, 4 hits, 1 error, 3 LOB.

Oklahoma 2nd - Romero, S. grounded out to ss (2-2 KKFBB). Hatfield, M. singled through the left side (1-2 FFBF). Wodach, Lea walked (3-1 BBKBB); Hatfield, M. advanced to second. Arnold, K. singled to catcher (2-2 BFBF); Wodach, Lea advanced to second; Hatfield, M. advanced to third. Ocasio to 3b. Gourley to p for Hoover. Mendes, N. struck out swinging (0-2 FKFS). Clifton, C. walked, RBI (3-2 BKSBBB); Arnold, K. advanced to second; Wodach, Lea advanced to third; Hatfield, M. scored. Knighten, S. doubled to right center, 3 RBI (0-0); Clifton, C. scored; Arnold, K. scored; Wodach, Lea scored. Aviu, Fale singled through the left side (0-2 KFF); Knighten, S. advanced to third. Aviu, Fale stole second. Pendley, N. flied out to rf (1-1 KB). 4 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.

Florida 3rd - Reynoso lined out to lf (1-0 B). Clemens struck out swinging (1-2 KSBFS). Herndon homered to center field, RBI (0-0). McLean grounded out to ss (1-2 KKBF). 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

Oklahoma 3rd - Romero, S. flied out to rf (0-0). Hatfield, M. grounded out to ss (0-0). Wodach, Lea flied out to lf (1-2 BKFF). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

Florida 4th - Lorenz flied out to cf (2-2 KBKBF). DeWitt flied out to lf (0-0). Ocasio struck out swinging (0-2 KKS). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

Oklahoma 4th - Arnold, K. grounded out to ss (2-1 BBK). Mendes, N. flied out to lf (1-0 B). Clifton, C. singled to right field (1-1 BK). Knighten, S. struck out swinging (1-2 BKFS). 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

Florida 5th - Mendes, N. to p. Aviu, Fale to rf. Lopez, M.. Kvistad popped up to 3b (3-1 BKBB). Wheaton grounded out to 3b (1-1 BK). Reynoso grounded out to ss (2-2 BBKSF). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

Oklahoma 5th - Aviu, Fale grounded out to 1b unassisted (3-2 BBKBK). Pendley, N. singled to left field (3-0 BBB). Romero, S. lined into double play 1b unassisted (0-1 K); Pendley, N. out on the play. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

Florida 6th - J. Roberts pinch hit for Clemens. J. Roberts singled through the left side (3-2 BKFBB). Voss pinch ran for J. Roberts. Mendes, N. to rf. Aviu, Fale to dp. Lowary, P. to p for Lopez, M.. Herndon grounded out to 2b (1-2 BFF); Voss advanced to second. McLean lined out to lf (0-2 KFFFF). Lorenz struck out swinging (2-2 KBBFS). 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

Oklahoma 6th - Voss to cf. Herndon to dp. McLean to rf. Hatfield, M. struck out swinging (2-2 BKBKS). Wodach, Lea struck out swinging (1-2 KBKFS). Arnold, K. reached on a fielding error by 2b (2-2 BSFB). Arnold, K. stole second. Mendes, N. struck out swinging (1-2 BSFS). 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.

Florida 7th - DeWitt struck out swinging (2-2 FSFBBS). Ocasio struck out swinging (1-2 FBFFS). Kvistad grounded out to p (1-1 BF). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

Knighten’s HR in 17th lifts Oklahoma past Florida in Game 1

By CIFF BRUNT
Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shay Knighten didn’t let Oklahoma waste any more opportunities.

Her three-run homer off Kelly Barnhill in the top of the 17th inning gave the Sooners a 7-5 victory over Florida in Game 1 of the championship series on Monday night.

Oklahoma left the bases loaded in the 15th and 16th innings before Knighten put the Sooners in control.

“I was just looking to find a pitch in the zone that I could hit hard,” she said. “I wasn’t looking for really a particular pitch. It was just something — I knew she was throwing hard, so it’s just get there, just get there, and if it was in the zone, I was going to swing.”

The matchup between programs that have split the past four national titles was the longest championship series game in NCAA history. It lasted 5 1/2 hours, and all four pitchers threw more than 100 pitches.

“Epic, epic battle,” Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso said. “I don’t know what else — that was it. This is one of the greatest games I think in College World Series history, I would guess. It was like two heavyweight fighters throwing punch after punch. Florida just kept answering everything that we put out there, and we tried to answer back, and it was a game of will, a game of team, a game of character.”

Florida coach Tim Walton said he was impressed with his team’s resilience. The Gators extended the game twice after being down to their last strike.

“I told my team in about the — I don’t know if it was the eighth or the 21st, whatever inning it was, I told them great job, proud of you guys,” he said.

Oklahoma (60-9) can clinch a repeat championship Tuesday in Game 2 of the best-of-three series. The Sooners won national titles in 2013 and 2016. Florida won in 2014 and 2015.

Oklahoma’s Paige Lowary (16-3) got the start, was replaced, then re-entered to claim the win.

Paige Parker was the most outstanding player of the series last year and had won all eight of her World Series decisions, so it was a bit of a surprise that Lowary got the start. Parker pitched 6 2/3 innings of relief.

“It was a team decision,” Gasso said. “It was a pitching staff, coaching staff decision. These two were right with us when we talked about it, and then we presented it to the team and they were all for it.”

Barnhill (26-4), USA Softball’s National Collegiate Player of the Year, took the loss for Florida (58-9). She pitched nine innings and struck out 13. Delanie Gourley struck out 13 in eight innings of relief.

The Sooners scored the first earned runs top-seeded Florida has allowed in four World Series games.

With Oklahoma up 2-1 and two outs and two strikes against Florida’s Sophia Reynoso in the bottom of the seventh, Reynoso popped the ball up. It dropped, and Alesia Ocasio scored from first to tie the game and force extra innings.

Knighten doubled off Gourley in the 12th with no outs, and Fale Aviu followed with a two-run homer to put the Sooners up 4-2, setting up Florida’s second escape act.

After Lowary re-entered the game with two outs in the 12th, Amanda Lorenz, down to her last strike, knocked in two runs to tie the score at 4.

Lowary, a transfer from Missouri, settled down and gave up just one more run.

“It was highs and lows, and for Paige Lowary especially to finish on the note that she did, it was to me the highlight of our season,” Gasso said.

The game severely worked the pitching staffs for both teams, but Florida’s Ocasio and Oklahoma’s Mariah Lopez have had strong seasons as No. 3 pitchers.

The Gators still feel they are in a good position.

“Tomorrow is a new day, and we’re still in the national championship,” Lorenz said. “We have two more games left, and I’m really proud to see what we have tomorrow because obviously we showed the softball world a really good game tonight, and we’re not done yet.”

___

Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CliffBruntAP

Matthew Owens to call Tide vs. Lady Vols for USRN

On Monday night, Matthew Owens will have the call between Alabama's Softball team vs. Tennessee's Lady Vol's Softball team for the Ultimate Sports Radio Network (USRN) on Mixlr starting at 7pm ET.

UT is ranked No. 16 in the NFCA Coaches' Poll, No. 14 the USA Softball Top 25 & No. 11 in the RPI. The Vols’ 16-game win streak is the second longest current streak in Division I behind Arizona. Tennessee has lost three straight to Alabama but has won the past two meetings in Knoxville. The Vols have swept their past three weekend series’ and earned their  rst SEC road sweep since 2015 last weekend at No. 20 Kentucky. UT is 9-3 vs. ranked foes this season with eight straight wins against ranked opponents.

Last weekend, Alabama won two out of three games against eighth-ranked LSU in Tuscaloosa before defeating UAB, 8-0, on Tuesday. Alabama is now 35-7 overall and 10-5 in SEC play. The Crimson Tide leads the SEC in strikeouts (384), is second in walks (191) and opposing batting average (.165) and third in ERA (1.46), wins (36), hits allowed (165) and  elding percentage (.976). In conference-only games, Alabama is ranked second in hits (97), batters struck out (101) and wins (10) and is third in runs scored (63), total bases (135), walks (52) and opposing batting average (.214).