Oklahoma Softball Punches Ticket to OKC

Saturday, May 24

2 p.m.

University of Oklahoma

50-7

Alabama

40-23

Oklahoma Sooners

Alabama

Photo by: Morgan Givens/University of Oklahoma

Oklahoma Softball Punches Ticket to OKC

May 24, 2025 | Softball

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No. 2 Sooners Defeat No. 15 Alabama, 13-2, To Sweep Super Regionals

By: John Rohde

NORMAN – No. 2 Oklahoma Softball (50-7) made it nine straight trips to the Women's College World Series (WCWS) with a 13-2, five-inning, run-rule win against No. 15 Alabama (40-23) on Saturday afternoon to claim the Norman Super Regional.

A sellout crowd of 4,564 at Love's Field watched the Sooners advance to their 18th WCWS appearance, all of which have come since 2000.

The outcome also secures a 50-plus win record for the ninth consecutive season for Oklahoma, while claiming its 18th straight Super Regional victory.

OU players and coaches donned hats emblazoned with "CHAMPS" in gold lettering during their post-game interview session.

"The fact we are wearing these hats right now," Sooners coach Patty Gasso said, her voice cracking with emotion. "I'm going to look back and I still can't grasp how big this is. I didn't expect this (at the beginning of the season). I'm really excited about this."

Gasso welcomed 14 newcomers last fall after losing 13 letterwinners, six starters (including four All-Americans) and three of her primary pitchers from the 2024 championship squad.

"I didn't know what the expectations were," Gasso admitted. "I can look back in September. It was hard-working, but still a little bit scattered. It was a completely new beginning. Some of the best softball athletes who have ever played the sport left this program. We were just kind of a bare cupboard."

The upcoming WCWS starts Thursday at Devon Park in Oklahoma City, where the Sooners will open against the Tennessee-Nebraska Super Regional winner, a best-of-three series that is tied at 1-1 through Saturday.

Given who OU's opponent was in the Norman Super Regional, there was symmetry to Saturday's contest. Alabama is the last team to prevent the Sooners from advancing to the WCWS back in 2015, and it was the Tide which won two of three in its regular season series at home against OU April 12-14.

"They (OU players) felt they had a chance to make it right," Gasso said. "They walked away from Alabama ... They're a great team, their fans were phenomenal and we looked a little bit lost at times. To be able to get that opportunity to show it right, play it right, meant a lot to us. It was kind of wonderful to get to the World Series through them because they're so good."

OU junior left hander Kierston Deal (10-2) dropped a 6-1 decision at Alabama on April 13 and capitalized on her chance at redemption Saturday at home, allowing three hits over 4.0 innings, with two walks and four strikeouts.

Meanwhile, Sooners hitters amassed 14 hits, six for extra bases, and added five walks.

OU scored eight runs in the third inning and added four more in the fifth as the Sooners left little doubt to the outcome.

Sophomore designated player Ella Parker went 3-for-4 with a home run, two doubles and three RBI. Freshman shortstop Gabbie Garcia went 2-for-4 with two home runs and four RBI. Abigale Dayton continued her hot hitting super regional and went 2-for-3 with three RBI. Freshman third baseman Nelly McEnroe-Marinas homered for the 15th time with a shot into the loge boxes in centerfield.

OU got going offensively when McEnroe-Marinas led off the second inning with a walk and later scored on a two-out single up the middle from Dayton to give OU a 1-0 lead.

Deal worked her way out of a jam in the bottom of the second to keep things, 1-0, in favor fo the Sooners. After Salen Hawkins doubled down the left field line with one out and Marlie Giles walked, Deal manufactured back-to-back strikeouts against Abby Duchscherer and Larissa Preuitt to end the threat.

The Sooners blew the game open in the top of the third when nine straight batters went to the plate without registering an out.

Garcia recaptured the team's home run lead with a two-run blast down the right-field line that exited at 76 mph and knocked in Sydney Barker, who had just singled up the middle.

After McEnroe-Marinas walked and Cydney Sanders moved her to third base with a single to right, second baseman Ailana Agbayani scored McEnroe-Marinas with a perfectly executed suicide squeeze that didn't even draw a throw to first base and upped the score to 4-0.

Junior catcher Isabela Emerling made it 5-0 with a single to left. Dayton followed with a two-run single up the middle to make it 7-0.

After Pickering singled to right, Parker smacked a two-run double down the line to push the advantage to 9-0.

Alabama scored its first run of the Super Regional when senior second baseman Kali Heivilin, the only player on the roster with double-digits in home runs, hit a two-out solo shot to left-center. Giles added a two-out, solo shot deep to left to make it 9-2 and force OU to add a run to secure the run-rule through five innings.

Parker met the minimum run-rule differential requirement by blasting a 252-foot home run right-center that exited as 77 mph to make it 10-2.

Garcia hit her second home run of the game and 20th of the year with a two-run blast to center that upped the gap to 12-2.

McEnroe-Marinas joined the fun by hitting a 268-foot, 77-mph, solo homer to center at 38 degrees to set the final margin.

"I think there are some things we can do at the World Series," Gasso said. "We still wear Oklahoma across our chest and I'm proud of that, but this is a team that's made a little bit different, in a different way you've seen over the last four years."

Garcia said, "We're a scrappy team. We knew that from the start and we're just going to keep balling out."

Notes

The Sooners have won 23 games in run-rule fashion
Oklahoma has homered in 53 of 57 games
The Sooners are 7-0 in postseason play this season
Dayton went 3-for-4 with three runs and four RBIs in the super regionals
The Sooners have won 18 straight NCAA Super Regional games
Deal earned her 10th win of the season
OU has a pair of eight run innings in this year's NCAA Tournament
Audrey Lowry has spun five consecutive scoreless outings. Prior to allowing a single in the fifth inning she had retired 16 consecutive batters

Abby Dayton pointing at the crowd during NCAA Super Regionals

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Thursday, August 21

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Tuesday, August 12

Sooner Alumnae Return to Love's Field for AUSL Series

Thursday, June 19

Next Event

Tennessee

W, 4-3

May 29 (Thu)

1:30 p.m.

Box Score Recap Box Score (PDF)ESPN https://thevarsitynetwork.com/audioapplink/source/university-of-oklahoma:oas-1680/content/oklahoma:allaccess-Live-2020 Preview Live Stats

Full Schedule

Team Stats

Pitching:

W: Deal, Kierston (10-2)

L: Catelyn Riley (11-4)

Oklahoma Sooners

Batting:

2B: Parker, Ella 2

HR: Parker, Ella 1 ; Garcia, Gabbie 2 ; McEnroe-Marinas, Nelly 1

RBI: Parker, Ella 3 ; Garcia, Gabbie 4 ; McEnroe-Marinas, Nelly 1 ; Agbayani, Ailana 1 ; Emerling, Isabela 1 ; Dayton, Abigale 3

Base Running:

RUNS: Pickering, Kasidi 1 ; Parker, Ella 1 ; Barker, Sydney 1 ; Coor, Hannah 1 ; Garcia, Gabbie 2 ; McEnroe-Marinas, Nelly 3 ; Helton, Chaney 1 ; Agbayani, Ailana 1 ; Milloy, Tia 1 ; Dayton, Abigale 1