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Look: Jayda Coleman walk-off home run sends Oklahoma softball to WCWS championship series

ehsan kassim, usa today network
·2 min read

The dreams of a four-peat remain alive for Oklahoma softball.

On Tuesday at Devon Park in Oklahoma City, the No. 2 seed Sooners walked off with a 6-5 victory over No. 4 seed Florida in the Women's College World Series semifinals when Jayda Coleman hit a walk-off opposite field home run to give the Sooners the victory and advance to the WCWS.

REQUIRED READING: Mussatto: OU softball isn't ready to give up its Women's College World Series crown yet

Coleman's home run went just over the glove of left fielder Korbe Otis, who jumped into the crowd but could not bring the ball back into the park. Oklahoma trailed 2-0 and 5-2 before Ella Parker singled in a run in the bottom of the sixth inning to help send the game to extra innings. Parker also had a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning to respond to a Gators' two-run home run in the top of the first inning.

Here's what Coleman had to say of the hit after the game in an interview with ESPN's Holly Rowe:

"I don't even know. (Alyssa) Brito, she prayed over me right before the at-bat, and I swear, God just took over me," Coleman said. She was then asked how she handled the pressure of what was potentially the last swing of her Oklahoma career.

Responded Coleman:

"Just play for each other. I'm playing for Tiare (Jennings), I'm playing for Brito, I'm playing for Kelly (Maxwell)," Coleman said. "Playing for all the seniors. And we just want to have a good time, glorify the lord and just keep going."

The Sooners will play conference rival and No. 1 overall seed Texas in the championship series, which starts at 7 p.m. CT Wednesday. The Longhorns took two out of three from Oklahoma in the regular season, but the Sooners won the Big 12 Conference Tournament championship over Texas.

"Oh, it's going to be a freaking dog fight," Coleman said of the meeting with Texas. "Everyone's going to be here, watching, the stadium's going to be loud. It's going to be a really good game."

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Jayda Coleman walk-off homer sends Oklahoma to WCWS championship over Florida