OKLAHOMA CITY — Kelly Maxwell turned in the big throwing performance Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso had been waiting for.
Maxwell pitched two-hit ball with 11 strikeouts as the three-time defending national champion Sooners beat UCLA 1-0 on Saturday to reach the semifinals of the Women's College World Series.
Maxwell has been good all year, but not as dominant as he was on Saturday. Gasso said the senior responded well to a conversation they had earlier in the day.
“She hasn't pitched for free,” Gasso said. “That's what's been going on. So seeing her do that today is something I'll never forget.”
Maxwell threw 116 pitches, but looked as strong at the end as he did at the beginning. He struck out UCLA star Maya Brady three times. Seven of his strikeouts came against the top four players in the Bruins' batting order.
“Kelly decided to throw one of the best games of his life today,” Gasso said. “There was no way we were going to keep her after the work she was doing.”
Tiare Jennings' solo home run in the third inning provided all the scoring for the second-seeded Sooners (56-6).
“Kelly was struggling, our team was struggling defensively,” Jennings said. “Today was just a dogfight. Continuing to hit the ball hard was the only thing I was thinking about.”
Oklahoma earned a day off and would have to lose twice on Monday to be eliminated.
Freshman Kaitlyn Terry and sophomore Taylor Tinsley combined to allow just four hits for No. 6 UCLA, which saw its winning streak end at 14 games. The Bruins (43-11) will play an elimination game Sunday against Stanford.
“Sometimes it's not your day, it's the pitcher's day,” Brady said. “She made a lot of good pitches. I think we're good enough to say that we didn't play our best either. Obviously, she's a great pitcher and she had some great things working today.”
It lived up to the expectations of a game that faced rival blue bloods. UCLA has the most World Series titles with 12, and Oklahoma is third with seven. UCLA beat Oklahoma for the 2019 championship, the last time the Sooners didn't win. Oklahoma defeated UCLA in the 2022 semifinals.
In the top of the third inning, Oklahoma's Alynah Torres misjudged Jadelyn Allchin's high fly ball and the ball hit her in the face. She left the game and did not return. The batter was out on the infield fly rule, but the runners advanced to second and third with two outs. Maxwell struck out Sharlize Palacios to end the threat.
Gasso is not sure if Torres will be available on Monday.
“He did pretty well,” Gasso said. “He definitely wouldn't be able to return to the game. He's receiving medical attention from our excellent doctors. We'll see if he'll be available. Luckily we have the day off tomorrow, right?”
Jennings' home run was the 96th of her career, breaking a tie for third in Division I history with former Oklahoma star Lauren Chamberlain. Oklahoma almost had more than that inning, but Janelle Meono caught Kasidi Pickering's deep fly ball against the wall for the second out, and UCLA escaped further damage.
UCLA got two with one out in the sixth, but Maxwell escaped again. He flied out and then recorded his 10th strikeout to end the threat.
Maxwell faced Brady for the fourth time with two outs and none in the seventh and forced her to ground out to end the game.
UCLA left seven runners on base, including three in scoring position.
“It's the game,” Inouye-Perez said. “You have to hold on to the runners in scoring position. Like I said, they had a pitch, they capitalized, we didn't. As a result, we're going to take a different path.”
Texas 10, Florida 0
Mac Morgan pitched a one-hitter and No. 1 seed Texas beat No. 4 Florida in five innings to also reach the semifinals. Morgan took a no-hitter into the fifth inning before Katie Kistler led off the fifth with a single.
Morgan threw only 71 pitches. The junior's success helped the Longhorns rest freshman ace Teagan Kavan, who had a hit Thursday in the win over Stanford.
“Honestly, I was just trying to produce ground balls for my defense because my defense showed up for me,” Morgan said. “It was my turn to show up to them. My drop ball was working. I was looking for locations and trying to make my defense work.”
Texas (54-8) needs a win on Monday to reach the best-of-three championship series. The Longhorns are seeking their first national championship after finishing runners-up in 2022.
Florida (52-14) plays Alabama in an elimination game on Sunday.
“They just kicked our butts,” Florida coach Tim Walton said.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
