Oklahoma blasts Alabama with run-rule victory to advance to Women's College World Series

After a hard-fought 3-0 loss to Oklahoma on Friday, Alabama was boat-raced by the Sooners on Saturday. A lopsided 13-2 loss in the Norman Super Regional ended the team’s run shy of the Women’s College World Series.

And, perhaps to no one’s surprise, the four-time defending national champions were virtually unstoppable at home. Friday might as well have been a tune-up.

Because on Saturday, Oklahoma absolutely opened up a can on Alabama. Things started innocuously enough, with the Sooners taking a 1-0 lead in the second inning courtesy of an RBI single by center fielder Abigale Dayton.

Then the floodgates opened. And the game was over before it really began.

Oklahoma plated eight runs in the top of the third inning, batting around and unleashing an offensive flurry on the Crimson Tide. The play-by-play for the inning looked more like a manifesto than an orderly rundown of the inning’s action.

The action started when Gabby Garcia launched a one-out, two-run homer to right field. That made the score 3-0 and was only the tip of the iceberg. It would also not be her last homer in the contest.

After a single and a walk, second baseman Ailana Agbayani singled in a run with a bunt single to the pitcher. An RBI single by Isabaela Emerling to left field plated another run, making it 5-0 in the inning.

A couple two-RBI hits then followed. First, Dayton hit a single up the middle to plate two more runs for Oklahoma. Then Ella Parker doubled down the right field line, scoring two more runs and extending the lead to 9-0.

The damage stopped there in the third inning, but it was plenty. Alabama had trouble recovering and couldn’t truly figure out pitcher Kierston Deal, despite hitting a pair of solo home runs later in the contest. Deal went 4.0 innings and struck out four, giving up just two runs on three hits in the contest, with Oklahoma tacking on a few more runs via the long ball in the fifth inning.

Game 1 Summary – Alabama vs. Oklahoma

Oklahoma continued to be a buzzsaw in postseason play, winning its 17th straight game in the Super Regionals on Friday against Alabama. The Sooners took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning with a Kasidi Pickering two-run home run. That was all that was needed, though Oklahoma would tack on another run to make it 3-0 in the bottom of the fifth. Pitcher Sam Landry went seven innings and gave up just four hits, striking out five in the process.