OU softball's Alex Storako, Haley Lee sign with OKC Spark

Alex Storako and Haley Lee only had one season with OU after transferring as fifth-year seniors.

But the duo's time in Oklahoma isn't over yet.

The former OU softball standouts, who helped the Sooners claim their third straight national title last week, signed with the Oklahoma City Spark of the Women's Professional Fastpitch league, the team announced Tuesday.

Oklahoma City selected Storako first overall in the league's first-ever draft, which was held in April, while Lee was taken in the fourth round.

Storako, a right-handed pitcher, was outstanding in her lone season with the Sooners. The Michigan transfer went 18-0 in the circle and finished with a 1.15 ERA, striking out 108 batters in 103 ⅔ innings.

Lee played at Texas A&M during her first four years of college before heading to OU for her final season. Mainly serving as the Sooners' designated player, she had a .370 batting average with 14 homers and 51 RBI.

Storako and Lee will join an Oklahoma City team that includes many standout players with in-state ties, including former OU star Jocelyn Alo.

Oklahoma City opens its season with a game against the Smash It Sports Vipers at the University of Central Oklahoma at 7 p.m. Thursday.

More: Tramel's ScissorTales: Jordy Bahl's transfer from OU softball shows home still counts

Wake Forest, Oral Roberts give new look to College World Series filled with name brands

The College World Series has its usual mix of regulars in the eight-team field, but it's a couple of relative newcomers that could provide the biggest storylines at the annual two-week party at Charles Schwab Field.

Wake Forest has been the dominant team in the country since February and is the first No. 1 national seed since 2018 to reach the CWS. The Demon Deacons haven't gone this far since their 1955 team won the national championship.

Oral Roberts is the lowest seed to make it to Omaha since Stony Brook in 2012 and is in the field for the first time since its only other appearance in 1978.

As for those familiar names, LSU is in for the 19th time, Stanford for the 18th time and third straight and Florida for the 13th. TCU will make its sixth appearance since 2010 and Virginia its sixth since 2009, and Tennessee is back for the second time in three years.

Stanford punched its ticket with a 7-6 win over Texas on Monday in a game that ended in odd fashion. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Texas outfielders Dylan Campbell and Eric Kennedy lost Drew Bowser's high fly in the twilight sky. The ball dropped about 15 feet in front of Campbell, allowing Alberto Rios to score from second base.

Tennessee advanced with a 5-0 win over Southern Mississippi in a game that started four hours late because of rain and lightning in the Hattiesburg area. Drew Beam pitched six innings, and Zane Denton's three-run homer in the fifth broke open a 1-0 game.

CWS bracket play begins Friday with TCU (42-22) matched against Oral Roberts (51-12) and No. 2 Florida (50-15) against No. 7 Virginia (50-13). Saturday's openers match Wake Forest (52-10) against No. 8 Stanford (44-18) and No. 5 LSU (48-15) against Tennessee (43-20).

Extra points

NFL: Cleveland Browns defensive tackle Perrion Winfrey had a misdemeanor assault charge against him dropped in Texas after he completed a pretrial diversion program. According to Harris County Court documents, Winfrey’s case was dismissed on June 9. The 22-year-old Winfrey had been arrested in April after he allegedly became violent in an argument with a woman he was dating. Winfrey has had a turbulent tenure with Cleveland since the Browns drafted him in the fourth round in 2022. The former OU standout was disciplined by the team last season on at least two occasions, and Winfrey acknowledged he needed to mature as a professional.

OKC DODGERS: The Oklahoma City Dodgers scored 17 runs over three innings on the way to a tying a Bricktown-era record for runs scored during a 24-5 win Sunday night against the El Paso Chihuahuas at Southwest University Park. Drew Avans led off the series finale with a home run and the Dodgers built a 2-0 lead in the first inning. El Paso answered with two runs to enter the third inning in a 2-2 tie. The Dodgers then scored 17 straight runs over the third through fifth innings to take a 19-2 lead. Michael Busch hit a two-run homer in the third inning out to center field and over the batter’s eye for a 4-2 lead. With the bases loaded in the fourth inning, Avans lined a bases-clearing double to left-center field for a 14-2 advantage. In the fifth inning, Justin Yurchak belted a grand slam out to right field for a 19-2 lead. The 12 runs scored by the Dodgers over the fourth and fifth innings came on just four hits. The Dodgers’ 20th run of the night came in the seventh inning and OKC led, 20-5, before adding four more runs in the eighth inning. David Freitas drew a bases-loaded walk and Yurchak hit a two-run double before Avans’ RBI single brought in OKC’s 24th run of the night, tying the club record.

—Staff and wire reports

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Former OU softball stars Alex Storako, Haley Lee sign with OKC Spark