Kelly Maxwell had her signature performance as a Sooner. An 11-strikeout opus over seven shut-out innings in OU’s 1-0 win Saturday afternoon against UCLA.

Maxwell’s gem was just the latest in a 2024 Women’s College World Series that’s been defined by dominant pitching.

Welcome to the throwback days of softball, where runs are becoming increasingly rare.

“That's what softball was like back in the day,” OU coach Patty Gasso said. “When you have Lisa Fernandez on the mound, you're not scoring more than one run.”

Through the first seven games of the WCWS, hitters have combined to go 63 for 322.

That’s a .196 batting average.

If .196 sounds bad, how about .157? That was the average here last year in 14 games.

Last year seemed an outlier, but perhaps it was the start of a trend.

More: Why OU softball's pitching depth is critical during run in Women's College World Series

Here are the combined batting averages for teams at the Women’s College World Series in the last 10 years:

• 2014: .238

• 2015: .257

• 2016: .256

• 2017: .229

• 2018: .259

• 2019: .231

• 2021: .241

• 2022: .265

• 2023: .157

• 2024: .196 (through first seven games)

Great pitching or poor hitting? The simplest explanation is the former. Pitching has long had the upper hand on this stage, but we haven’t seen back-to-back years with batting averages under .200 in the WCWS since 2002 and 2003.

Mario Mendoza-level production.

“I think the pitching staffs out there are very, very good,” Gasso said. “The way you can interchange some, if needed. It's a young group of pitchers that are really doing an outstanding job.”

To that point, Oklahoma State was shut out by a freshman and a sophomore in Florida’s Keagan Rothrock and Stanford’s NiJaree Canady. The Cowgirls combined to go 5 of 43 (.116) at the plate.

There were seven shutouts in the WCWS last year, the most since 2008. Four of the first seven games this year have been shutouts.

More: Alynah Torres injury update: OU softball infielder exits WCWS game after pop fly hits head

Saturday, UCLA freshman Kaitlyn Terry and sophomore Taylor Tinsley allowed just one run on four hits against the Sooners. Tiare Jennings’ solo blast represented the only run scored.

While the tag team of Terry and Tinsley flummoxed OU, Maxwell pitched a complete game for the Sooners.

“Gone are the days,” Gasso said of a pitcher going the distance. “Everyone has a good pitching staff. That's the difference. If you can call on two or three or four that you know can get the job done, that's what I'm seeing happening across the country.”

But in the Women’s College World Series, coaches typically revert to relying on one arm.

Like Maxwell for the Sooners, Canady for the Cardinal and Rothrock for the Gators. Each has tossed a shutout in this World Series.

“Everybody would love to run rule teams on this stage,” UCLA coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said. “It's not something you can come in and expect when you're facing the best pitchers in the country.”

Especially not in this old-school environment, where one run might be enough.

More: Why OU softball's pitching depth is critical during run in Women's College World Series

Joe Mussatto is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joe? Email him at jmussatto@oklahoman.com. Support Joe's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU softball Kelly Maxwell delivers ace outing for OU softball vs UCLA in run-starved WCWS