Oklahoma’s top-ranked softball team complete a two-game sweep of Florida State with a 3-1 win over the Seminoles in Game 2 of the Women’s College World Series on Thursday night at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, winning their third straight national championship and third in a row.
OU becomes just the second team in NCAA history to win three years in a row, joining UCLA, who did it from 1988 to 1990.
It’s the sixth title in the last 10 years for OU, something that UCLA is the only other school to achieve.
Oklahoma finishes the season by extending their NCAA record 53-game winning streak, and their final record is 61-1, the best single season winning percentage in Division 1 history.
Oklahoma got back-to-back solo home runs from Cydney Sanders and Grace Lyons in the top of the fifth inning to take a 2-1 lead after Florida State struck first.
The Seminoles got a solo homer from Mack Leonard in the bottom of the fourth to take a 1-0 lead.
FSU came close to another home run in the third inning, but Kalei Harding was robbed on a leaping catch by Jayda Coleman in center field.
OU added another run in the sixth inning when Alynah Torres reached on a fielder’s choice to score Jordy Bahl.
Bahl relieved Alex Storako in the pitching circle in the fifth inning after OU had taken the lead.
Bahl retired all nine batters she faced, getting a strikeout to end it.
Bahl was named the WCWS Most Outstanding Player, and did not give up an earned run in five appearances in the WCWS.
Among their many accomplishments, OU broke their own record with their sixth straight win in WCWS Finals games.
OU has won 30 in a row over ranked opponents.
Since the start of 2016, Oklahoma is 31-9 at the WCWS, and in the last three seasons is 16-3 in the WCWS and 36-4 at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium.
The Sooners become the first team to lead the nation in runs per game, earned run average, and fielding percentage in the same season.
In addition to Bahl, four other Sooners were named to the All-Tournament Team: Rylie Boone, Kinzie Hansen, Tiare Jennings, and Coleman.