Coach Patty Gasso and the second-seeeded OU softball team will look to win an unprecedented fourth consecutive Women’s College World Series title on Thursday night against top-seeded Texas.
The Sooners rolled to an 8-3 win over the Longhorns in Wednesday’s opener.
Here’s what you need to know about Game 2 of the WCWS finals between the Sooners (58-7) and Longhorns (55-9):
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OU vs Texas softball live score updates in Game 2 of WCWS finals
LIVE UPDATES:Texas vs. Oklahoma softball Game 2 score, highlights from WCWS finals
Top 7: OU 8, Texas 4
Kelly Maxwell is back in the circle, trying to close out a title-clinching win.
Viviana Martinez popped out to left for the first out.
Reese Atwood struck out swinging for the second out.
Katie Stewart grounded out to third to seal the Sooners’ fourth-straight NCAA title.
—Jeff Patterson, Staff writer
More:OU softball holds off Texas, captures record fourth consecutive WCWS championship
Bottom 6: OU 8, Texas 4 | Sooners add insurance runs
After Rylie Boone singled, Cydney Sanders walked and Avery Hodge was hit by a pitch, the Sooners had the top of the order due up with only one out.
Jayda Coleman gave the Sooners a much-needed insurance run with an RBI single to right to make it 6-4 OU.
Tiare Jennings popped up for the second out.
Ella Parker then broke it open with a two-run double to center.
After a walk to Alyssa Brito loaded the bases, Kinzie Hansen had a shot to end the game via run rule with a walk-off grand slam, but she grounded out to third to end the inning.
The Sooners are three outs away from their eighth NCAA softball championship.
—Jeff Patterson, Staff writer
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Top 6: OU 5, Texas 4 | Kelly Maxwell relieves Nicole May with two on, two out
After an Ashton Maloney double gave the Longhorns runners at second and third with two outs, OU coach Patty Gasso went to the lefty.
Kelly Maxwell, who had pitched gems the previous two days, came on in relief of Nicole May.
Mia Scott reached on an RBI infield single to second, but a massive baserunning blunder ended the inning.
Scott rounded first after Avery Hodge bobbled the ball and Scott was tagged out to send the game to the bottom of the sixth with OU leading 5-4.
—Jeff Patterson, Staff writer
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End 5: OU 5, Texas 3 | OU can’t add to lead off Citlaly Gutierrez
OU got a two-out walk by Alyssa Brito but that was all the Sooners got in the fifth, taking a two-run lead into the sixth.
Citlaly Gutierrez came on in relief for the Longhorns, striking out Tiare Jennings and Ella Parker before walking Brito and getting Kinzie Hansen to ground out softly to end the inning.
— Ryan Aber, Staff writer
Mid-5: OU 5, Texas 3 | Nicole May gets through a quick inning
Nicole May came up big in her first inning of relief, using her changeup to keep Texas off-balance, striking out two in working a one-two-three frame.
May got Katie Stewart and Alyssa Washington to strike out swinging after a leadoff groundout.
— Ryan Aber, Staff writer
End 4: OU 5, Texas 3 | Cydney Sanders gives Sooners the lead
Cydney Sanders’ only two hits of this WCWS had been home runs.
But Sanders broke that stretch in the fourth inning, belting a bases-clearing double to right-center with the bases loaded and one out to put the Sooners’ up 5-3.
Sanders’ reached out and poked Estelle Czech’s 2-2 offering into the gap to score Kinzie Hansen, Kasidi Pickering and Rylie Boone.
After Alyssa Brito flied out to the warning track to begin the inning, the Sooners scratched a rally together.
Hansen singled to left, Pickering to right and Boone beat out a slow chopper to first to load the bases.
— Ryan Aber, Staff writer
Mid-4: Texas 3, OU 2 | Longhorns take the lead
Avery Hodge had been excellent at second base for the Sooners.
But in the fourth inning, Hodge couldn’t handle Mia Scott’s sharp grounder her way, allowing Kayden Henry to come around to score to put the Longhorns up 3-2.
The unearned run came against Kierston Deal, who is the Sooners’ third pitcher of the game.
— Ryan Aber, Staff writer
End 3: OU 2, Texas 2 | Ella Parker nearly gets another
OU freshman Ella Parker nearly gave the Sooners a two-run lead, blasting Estelle Czech’s 2-1 pitch to the wall in right-center field before it was tracked down to end the inning.
Avery Hodge began the inning with a single. Each of the next two batters moved her over but the Sooners couldn’t quite break through.
— Ryan Aber, Staff writer
More:How OU softball freshman Kasidi Pickering’s calm confidence anchors WCWS lineup vs Texas
Top 3: OU 2, Texas 2 | Paytn Monticelli comes on in relief
Karlie Keeney got the first two batters out in the third.
Then things started falling apart for her.
The Longhorns got back-to-back two-out singles before Keeney walked Katie Stewart.
Texas captain Alyssa Washington hit a hard grounder up the middle to tie it, the ball just eluding Tiare Jennings’ outstretched glove.
The Longhorns could only manage one run, though, and Sooners coach Patty Gasso went with sophomore Paytn Monticelli out of the bullpen.
Monticelli hadn’t appeared in a game since May 9 against Kansas.
Monticelli initially struggled with her command before getting Joley Mitchell to ground out to end the inning.
— Ryan Aber, Staff writer
More:Why was Oklahoma softball’s Rylie Boone called out vs. Texas? WCWS base-running rules, explained
Bottom 2: OU 2, Texas 1 | Kasidi Pickering homers to give Sooners lead
Freshman Kasidi Pickering blasted another WCWS home run, this time a two-run homer to left to put the Sooners up 2-1.
Pickering jumped on Mac Morgan’s first pitch of the at-bat, an elevated dropball.
Pickering homered in Wednesday’s win over the Longhorns as well.
With the home run, Pickering and Ella Parker are the first freshmen combo in OU history with at least 10 home runs and 50 RBIs.
Alyssa Brito started the inning off with a double off the center field wall before Pickering put OU ahead two batters later.
With two outs, Avery Hodge drew an apparent walk to give OU runners on first and second.
But OU’s Rylie Boone left first base early and after a review, Boone was called out to end the inning.
— Ryan Aber, Staff writer
More:How OU softball freshman Kasidi Pickering’s calm confidence anchors WCWS lineup vs Texas
Mid-2: Texas 1, OU 0 | Longhorns break through first
Karlie Keeney wasn’t hurt by walks in the first.
In the second, she wasn’t quite as lucky.
After Keeney walked two, Kayden Henry blooped a single to right and Reese Atwood raced around to score to give the Longhorns a 1-0 lead.
Avery Hodge made another strong defensive play to end the inning, racing in and flipping quickly to Cydney Sanders to retire the side.
—Ryan Aber, Staff writer
End 1: OU 0, Texas 0 | Sooners can’t take advantage of Jayda Coleman’s leadoff single
Jayda Coleman led off with a rocket shot to third off Texas starter Mac Morgan.
Mia Scott got a glove on Coleman’s hit, but it bounced away as Coleman reached on the infield single.
But Tiare Jennings and Ella Parker followed with grounders, Jennings’ a fielder’s choice to retire Coleman and Parker’s leading to a double play to keep the game scoreless after one.
—Ryan Aber, Staff writer
Mid-1: Avery Hodge with another excellent defensive play
Making her fourth consecutive start after the injury to Alynah Torres, Avery Hodge continues to make the most of her opportunity.
Hodge attacked a Viviana Martinez grounder, grabbing it right at second base, quickly touching the base and firing to first for a double play to end the first inning.
It’s the latest strong defensive play from Hodge, who had a couple of important plays in the field in Wednesday’s win.
—Ryan Aber, Staff writer
Oklahoma vs Texas starting lineup for Game 2 of WCWS finals
Avery Hodge remains in the starting lineup for OU at second base in place of Alynah Torres.
—Jeff Patterson, Staff writer
Uni-watch: New looks for OU softball, Texas in Game 2 of WCWS finals
The Sooners are donning their all-crimson uniforms Thursday night, while the Longhorns are going with the all-white look.
—Jeff Patterson, Staff writer
Pregame update: Karlie Keeney starting in the circle for Sooners
Karlie Keeney will start for OU in Game 2 of the Women’s College World Series finals on Thursday night.
Nicole May is the only pitcher other than Kelly Maxwell to start a WCWS game in the circle for the Sooners this season.
Keeney has made just one appearance in the WCWS, throwing 1/3 of an inning in Monday’s loss to Florida.
She made one appearance against the Longhorns in the regular season, throwing one scoreless inning in the April 6 loss in Austin.
Keeney is 6-1 with a 1.66 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 59 innings.
Maxwell has pitched back-to-back complete games over the last two days for the Sooners, throwing a combined 267 pitches to earn wins over Florida and Texas.
—Ryan Aber, Staff writer
More:OU softball turns to Karlie Keeney as starting pitcher vs Texas in WCWS finals Game 2
ESPN: OU vs Texas set WCWS Game 1 audience record
Game 1 of the WCWS championship series peaked with 2.1 million views and averaged 1.9 million views, setting a Game 1 record for the finals, ESPN announced.
—Jeff Patterson, Staff writer
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OU softball highlights vs. Texas in Game 2 of WCWS finals
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What time does OU softball vs. Texas start?
- Date: Thursday, June 6
- Time: 7 p.m. CT
- Where: Devon Park in Oklahoma City
More:OU softball vs Texas prediction for WCWS championship Game 2: Can Sooners win NCAA title?
What channel is OU softball vs. Texas on today in WCWS finals?
- TV: ESPN (Fubo)
- Streaming: ESPN+
- How to watch online: Watch ESPN (here’s how to stream it live)
More:OU softball topples Texas as Kelly Maxwell, Sooners close in fourth-straight WCWS title
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