AP Photo/Kyusung Gong

Oklahoma Sets NCAA D1 Softball Record with 48th Straight Win, Advances to WCWS

Paul Kasabian

The Oklahoma Sooners softball team owns the longest winning streak in the sport's NCAA Division I history after taking its 48th straight game thanks to an 8-7 victory in nine innings over Clemson in Game 2 of their Super Regionals matchup on Saturday.

OU also earned its seventh consecutive Women's College World Series berth in the process.

The 56-1 Sooners entered Saturday tied with the Arizona Wildcats atop the all-time win streak list. Arizona won 47 straight matchups from April 5, 1996 to March 23, 1997.

The Sooners stand alone now, although Clemson didn't make it easy.

Oklahoma led off the game with back-to-back home runs via Jayda Coleman and Tiare Jennings.

An Alyssa Brito home run and a Sophia Nugent RBI groundout put the Sooners up 4-0 in the top of the fourth.

Undeterred, Clemson posted a three-run, two-out rally in the bottom of the frame. A Caroline Jacobsen double and an Alia Logoleo walk led to a Maddie Moore three-run shot on a 1-2 count to cut the lead to 4-3.

Clemson kept pouring it on the fifth and took the lead courtesy of a McKenzie Clark two-run homer.

The Tigers' relentless pressure continued with a hit-by-pitch, a single and a pair of walks for a 6-4 edge. Another RBI led to a 7-4 lead, and Clemson found itself in the driver's seat.

Neither team scored in the sixth, but Oklahoma tied it up in the seventh.

The Sooners had a runner on first with two outs when Haley Lee singled to right on a 1-2 count. Kinzie Hansen then strolled up to the plate and found herself down 0-2, but she then deposited the next pitch over the wall for a dramatic homer that led to a seven-all tie.

The offenses then went quiet for an inning-and-a-half with nine straight batters getting out. Jennings put an end to the silence, however, by crushing the first pitch she saw in the ninth for a game-winning solo homer.

Clark hit a two-out single in the bottom of the ninth for Clemson, but a flyout to center ended the game.

OU now advances to Oklahoma City for the Women's College World Series once again as it is seeks its sixth national title since 2013.

   

Read 0 Comments

Download the app for comments Get the B/R app to join the conversation

Install the App
×
Bleacher Report
(120K+)