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Oklahoma tops Texas, completes sweep in Women's College World Series softball championship

OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma made college softball history Thursday night at the expense of its most despised rival.

The Sooners (59-7) became the first Division I softball team in NCAA history to win four consecutive national titles with a wild 8-4 victory over Texas in the second game of the best-of-three championship series at the Women’s College World Series at Devon Park. The Sooners won the first game 8-3 Wednesday.

Texas (55-10), which edged OU for the Big 12’s regular-season championship and earned the top seed in the NCAA Tournament, ended arguably its best season in school history by falling to Oklahoma for the second time in three seasons in the WCWS championship series.

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After the game, Texas coach Mike White acknowledged Oklahoma’s dominance while exxpressing hope that his young squad absorbs some hard lessons.

Oklahoma's Kasidi Pickering (7) celebrates with teammates after hitting a home run in the second inning of Game 2 of the Women's College World Series championship series. The Sooners beat Texas 8-4 to earn their fourth straight national championship.
Oklahoma's Kasidi Pickering (7) celebrates with teammates after hitting a home run in the second inning of Game 2 of the Women's College World Series championship series. The Sooners beat Texas 8-4 to earn their fourth straight national championship.

"It's an incredible feat," White said. "We know how tough it is just to get here, let alone win four. It's an amazing achievement, especially for those classmen that were freshmen and now have four rings. That's something that drives all of us to get better, to be able to come back and win."

The teams traded the lead four times through a wild first four innings, and Texas seemed on the verge of reclaiming the lead in the sixth in a dramatic standoff between two of the Big 12's best players. With Oklahoma clinging to a 5-3 lead and All-Big 12 third baseman Mia Scott at the plate for Texas, Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso turned to ace Kelly Maxwell, who didn't start for the first time in three games for the Sooners. Scott ripped an infield single that second baseman Avery Hodges couldn't handle as Joley Mitchell crossed home plate to trim OU's lead to one run.

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But in a bizarre sequence, Scott ran though first base and danced toward second while drawing the attention of the Sooners. Hodge then flipped the ball to first baseman Cydney Sanders, who tagged Scott for the third out, which left shortstop Vivi Martinez stranded on third.

"I saw Mia Scott kind of come off the bag," said Maxwell, who was voted the WCWS most outstanding player after going 3-0 while throwing 27 innings and allowing nine earned runs. "I was just telling Avery, 'Turn around, turn around, let's get her, c'mon!' She finally heard me. We got it done. It was huge. I mean, they definitely had the momentum in that moment."

Texas' Reese Atwood slides home to score ahead of the tag by Oklahoma catcher Kinzie Hansen during the second inning of Thursday night's game.
Texas' Reese Atwood slides home to score ahead of the tag by Oklahoma catcher Kinzie Hansen during the second inning of Thursday night's game.

Scott wasn't available afterward to talk to the media, but White said the play personifies the fearless style that has helped make her a three-time all-conference selection.

"That's part of how she is; she's really aggressive," he said. "She pushes the envelope a lot of times. This time it didn't work out. No one feels worse than Mia Scott right now. Everything happens for a reason. She's cheeky. That's part of her MO. That's what she does. It was a big moment in that game. Everybody knows it. She's already beaten herself up. I know she is. Hopefully she learns from that."

Oklahoma dispensed with any more drama down the stretch. The Sooners put up three runs in the bottom of the sixth, and Maxwell shut the door in the seventh with three straight outs.

The Sooners ended the game with 12 hits and the championship series with 21 total hits. Texas tallied its most runs against Oklahoma in six games this season, but it wasn't enough to keep the Sooners from making history.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Sooners top Longhorns, complete sweep in WCWS softball championship