The “Red River Rivalry” may have gained notoriety on the football field, but it was the softball diamond that saw the latest chapter in the Texas vs. Oklahoma showdown Thursday night. And the Sooners turned in another classic in their blood feud against the Longhorns.
Following an 8-3 win in Game 1 on Wednesday, Oklahoma put on an encore performance with a championship clinching 8-4 victory over Texas Thursday to claim their 4th straight national championship. A feat not other institution can boast in the history of the sport.
“We work hard. We do it blue-collar style. We fight. We’re gritty. There’s nothing we feel that we can’t overcome and that’s why we go out and we just play free,” Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso said in her postgame comments.
Outfielder Kasidi Pickering hit a homer, going 2 for 3 with 2 runs scored and 2 RBIs on the night. Meanwhile Cydney Sanders reached base twice drove in 3 runs to help power the Oklahoma offence on a night where questionable base running decisions limited the Longhorns damage. For her efforts, Kelly Maxwell was named the tournament’s most outstanding player following the game.
After losing top pitcher Jordy Bahl to the transfer portal in the offseason, Oklahoma entered the NCAA tournament as the number 2 ranked squad in the nation marking the first time since 2018 they didn’t receive top billing.
“This was the hardest of all, without question,” Gasso said. “It’s going to probably be the most remembered for just the magnitude of what these guys have done. It’s unbelievable. Unbelievable.”
With the win, Oklahoma has now captured 7 of the previous 11 national titles, all with Gasso as head coach. With 8 championships overall, the Sooners are now tied with Arizona for the second most national titles in NCAA history. Only UCLA’s 12 trophies are currently better than the dynastic Sooners who have emerged as the gold standard of softball since 2000.
The win also caps off perhaps the greatest post-secondary run in college softball history for 5 seniors in Norman as Jayda Coleman, Kinzie Handsen, Rylie Boone, Nicole May and Tiare Jennings were integral parts of all 4 national championships. During their time with the school the team went a ridiculous 235-15, good for a .940 win percentage.
Photo: Gary Leland. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.