OU Softball: Oklahoma Closes Out Florida Sigh to Return to WCWS

NORMAN — Florida Sigh valiantly held off Oklahoma for five innings. 

The Seminoles’ decorated senior class wasn’t going to exit the NCAA Match without a fight, however Kasidi Pickering’s two-breeze bomb keep aside the Sooners on the level of returning to the Females’s College World Series. 

It wasn’t unless Jayda Coleman robbed Jaysoni Beachum’s home breeze in the backside half of the frame that the occasion at Love’s Field essentially began, on the change hand. 

The senior outfielder, having fun with her closing contest in Norman, tracked the Florida Sigh freshman’s ball your complete method to the wall, leaped and extended her glove above the white line, and hauled in the thunderbolt out, igniting the packed stadium accurate into a fired-up frenzy. 

Coleman’s heroics were fundamental for the Sooners to enact off Florida Sigh 4-2 on Friday, punching OU’s tag aid to the Females’s College World Series. 

“Proud, prideful day for the Sooners,” OU coach Patty Gasso acknowledged after the game. “… The Sooners essentially were trending upwards. I liked the tight video games. I mediate it be essentially accurate for us. I am essentially joyful with this group tonight.”

Pickering’s home breeze spread out a first payment fight. 

Florida Sigh began freshman Ashtyn Danley in the circle, however speedy moved to Makenna Reid, who hadn’t pitched since April. 

Reid lived off her off-mosey, maintaining the Sooners off steadiness, however savvy wicked working keep aside Oklahoma on top in the third. 

Tiare Jennings’ single keep aside her aboard, and a pair of passed balls moved the OU shortstop over to 3rd. 

Freshman Ella Parker drew a stroll to ship Alyssa Brito to the plate. 

After the first pitch to Brito, Parker began transferring to 2d, audacious Florida Sigh catcher Michaela Edenfield to throw all of the strategy down to 2d. 

Edenfield obliged, and as Parker prolonged the intentional rundown, Jennings had ample time to shuttle down the road and inferior home plate to begin the scoring. 

“We were taking a glimpse to salvage a technique or the other and Ella did an awfully nice job of making the rundown,” Gasso acknowledged. “You assemble the traipse with the 2d baseman after which it be a must to gain her to end, flip her physique and take a glimpse at to throw to home plate, which is terribly fundamental. So we gave up an out, however we received a breeze and that became once stunning with us.”

Nonetheless Florida Sigh had a appropriate away resolution. 

Beachum, the Seminoles’ principal person freshman, homered on a rope to left self-discipline to degree the game at 1-1 in the backside half of the inning. 

Rapidly after the home breeze, Gasso switched out starter Kierston Deal in desire of Karlie Keeney. 

Deal handiest surrendered the lone breeze, however she fell on the aid of 2-0 in the count to six of the 12 batters she faced. 

Keeney settled things down in the third and the fourth, allowing Oklahoma to begin up a three-breeze lead in the fifth. 

Coleman scored on a wild pitch sooner than Pickering’s third home breeze of the NCAA Match and her 10th on the 365 days made the salvage 4-1.

“I became once appropriate so cheerful for Kas. She began that,” Parker acknowledged after the private. “Just appropriate so over the moon infected for her. I mediate I jumped essentially high coming home for that.”

Exact now after Coleman’s not likely fetch in the backside of the fifth, Florida Sigh bought a breeze aid. 

Kalei Harding hit a long home breeze to left to slash aid the deficit to 4-2, however Gasso caught with Keeney to discontinuance out the fifth.

Brito became once unable so to add any insurance protection runs in the sixth inning, grounding out with the bases loaded, prompting Gasso to ship Nicole May into the game for the final two innings to strive to shut out the victory.

May became once accurate. She kept the ball in the park and relied on her protection to discontinuance down the competition, including getting a penguin dive from Cydney Sanders into contaminated territory to file the 2d out of the sixth. 

May retired the Seminoles (46-16) in record in the seventh, ending Florida Sigh’s season.

Oklahoma (54-6) now awaits Duke and Missouri to enact out the Columbia Ample Regional to be taught its first opponent on the WCWS. 

Duke took a 1-0 lead over the Tigers on Friday evening. 

The Sooners will doubtless be in action on Thursday in OKC.