Oklahoma drubs Texas in WCWS championship series opener

Associated Press
Thursday, June 9, 2022 12:31 a.m. | Thursday, June 9, 2022 12:31 a.m.

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Oklahoma’s Jocelyn Alo celebrates her home run against Texas during the first inning the first game of the NCAA Women’s College World Series softball championship series in Oklahoma City.

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TULSA WORLD

Oklahoma players cheer Jocelyn Alo (78), who approaches home after hitting a home run against Texas during Game 1 of the NCAA Women’s College World Series championships in Oklahoma City on Wednesday, June 8, 2022.

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Oklahoma’s Taylon Snow (5) is greeted at the plate after hitting a home run against Texas during the first inning of the first game of the NCAA Women’s College World Series softball championship series Wednesday, June 8, 2022, in Oklahoma City.

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Texas second baseman Janae Jefferson, right, falls against Oklahoma’s Alyssa Brito, left, after forcing her out at second base during the first inning of the first game of the NCAA Women’s College World Series softball championship series Wednesday, June 8, 2022, in Oklahoma City.

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Texas second baseman Janae Jefferson, right, forces out Oklahoma’s Alyssa Brito (33) at second base during the first inning of the first game of the NCAA Women’s College World Series softball championship series Wednesday, June 8, 2022, in Oklahoma City.

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Oklahoma’s Jayda Coleman (24) celebrates her double against Texas during the first inning of the first game of the NCAA Women’s College World Series softball championship series Wednesday, June 8, 2022, in Oklahoma City.

OKLAHOMA CITY — Jocelyn Alo and Tiare Jennings fueled Oklahoma’s record-setting offensive burst to help the Sooners move a victory away from successfully defending their Women’s College World Series title.

Alo and Jennings each hit two home runs and top-seeded Oklahoma rolled past unseeded Texas 16-1 on Wednesday night in Game 1 of the best-of-three championship series.

Oklahoma (58-3) set a World Series record with six home runs and matched records for runs and victory margin.

A World Series record 6️⃣ HRs and a 16-1 win tonight for Oklahoma ????

Sheesh.

(via @NCAASoftball)pic.twitter.com/FtztFKu2GO

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 9, 2022

Alo and Jennings each have five home runs in the World Series, surpassing the single-series record of four set by several players, including Alo last year. Alo increased her career Division I homer record to 122, and Jennings drove in six runs to set a record for RBIs in a series with 15.

The teams will meet again Thursday in Game 2, with Oklahoma in position to win its sixth national title. Texas (47-21-1) need a win to stay alive. The Longhorns have won six elimination games since the start of the NCAA tournament.

Oklahoma escaped a bit of difficulty in the first and controlled the game from there. Hope Trautwein (22-1) gave up just two hits and a run in five innings, and Nicole May allowed just one hit in two shutout innings.

Alo cranked a no-doubt home run into the left field seats in Oklahoma’s half of the first, and Taylon Snow followed shortly afterward with a three-run blast — just her fourth home run of the season — to make it 5-1 heading into the second. Texas used three pitchers in the inning, and ace Hailey Dolcini (24-12) registered just two outs before getting pulled.

Tonight was Jocelyn Alo's 2nd multi-HR game at the Women's College World Series. She is the ONLY player in Women's College World Series history with 2 multi-HR games in her career, let alone a single year. pic.twitter.com/9MQt0xZpMa

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 9, 2022

Jana Johns hit a solo shot in the third to make it 7-1 and Jennings hit a three-run blast later in the inning to make it 10-1. Alo and Jennings hit back-to-back homers in the fifth to make it 14-1.