OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma clawed its way to a record fourth consecutive NCAA softball title, getting a bases-clearing double from Cydney Sanders and beating Texas 8-4 on Thursday night for a two-game sweep of the Women's College World. Series championship.
The Sooners won their eighth title overall, all under coach Patty Gasso, and tied with Arizona for the second-most national championships behind UCLA's 12. Gasso's eight national titles tie Arizona's Mike Candrea for the most of any coach in DI softball history. , according to ESPN Stats & Information.
Additionally, Oklahoma's senior class finished with as many national championships (four) as it did NCAA Tournament losses (41-4).
Second-seeded Oklahoma (59-7) scored eight runs in each of the two games and had 21 total hits against a top-seeded Texas team that came away with three consecutive one-hit shutouts in the World Series.
Kasidi Pickering hit a two-run homer in the second inning for the Sooners, and Ella Parker hit a two-run single in the sixth that increased Oklahoma's lead. Gasso used five pitchers, and ace Kelly Maxwell, a transfer from Oklahoma State, got the final four outs for the save a day after his complete victory in Game 1.
Texas (55-10) has yet to win a national title. The Longhorns lost to the Sooners in the 2022 championship series. This year, Texas won the Big 12 regular-season title, but Oklahoma beat the Longhorns in the Big 12 tournament.
Both programs will leave the Big 12 for the Southeastern Conference next season.
