The crowd was on its feet. Fans had their phones out filming. Paige Lowary was in the circle with two outs with Florida’s Kayli Kvistad at the plate. Lowary throws a 70 mph pitch, ball makes contact, ground out. It’s over.
Watch the final out from OKC as @OU_Softball clinches its second consecutive national title! #WCWS pic.twitter.com/Tm0SeVpwsj
— NCAA Softball (@NCAAsoftball) June 7, 2017
No. 10 seeded Oklahoma (61-9) defeated No. 1 seeded Florida (58-10) in a 2-0 championship series sweep. The Sooners are the lowest-seeded team to ever win the World Series. They took game one in the longest WCWS final game in history. They clinched the program's fourth national title, the third in five years and the second consecutive championship.
BOOMER SOONER.
— ESPN (@espn) June 7, 2017
No. 10 Oklahoma takes down No. 1 Florida to win its 3rd #WCWS title in 5 years. pic.twitter.com/hav70u6TrT
“I still cannot believe that this happened with where we started and where we finished,” Coach Patty Gasso said. “There’s so many stories. The journey was unbelievable. I think if you looked at us in February, March, even parts of April, you would have never imagined us sitting here with trophies in front of us.”
It took a lot of fight to get where they sat Tuesday night.
The Sooners started out the season losing games to teams like Auburn, Washington, Cal Poly and Arizona. They weren’t where they wanted to be, and it showed.
Oklahoma turned its season around after spring break, going 24-1. Then came the Norman Regional. They dropped game one against the North Dakota State Bison and had to win four consecutive games to advance to the super regionals at Auburn.
It scared them. They didn’t want their season to end because of old habits and getting comfortable. Oklahoma turned it around again. Gasso and company went on an 11-game win streak to end its season with another national championship.
The title series wasn't an easy one, either. It took 17 innings Monday for the Sooners to come away with the win. Game two took an entire pitching staff and timely hits past the wall to give Oklahoma the win.
SHAY KNIGHTEN DOES IT AGAIN! The bases-clearing double gives @OU_Softball the lead! #WCWS pic.twitter.com/zaF0Cmiup3
— NCAA Softball (@NCAAsoftball) June 7, 2017
“We’re a humble group, so we’re not going to be bragging about it,” Gasso said. “We just play hard and we try to win for the university, and we’re Championship U right now. If you aren’t winning championships, you better get moving. To bring another one to the University of Oklahoma is our job and we’re proud to do it.”
In the sport, the Sooners are becoming a dynasty. They secured three titles in five years and have their entire core staff returning, setting them up for a third title in three years in 2018.
No. 10 seed, huh? 🤔 #WCWS pic.twitter.com/S2KRf27tqS
— espnW (@espnW) June 7, 2017
DYNASTY!
— Lauren Chamberlain (@LChamberlain44) June 7, 2017
While team won’t buy into the hype, its work ethic and the desire to use the sport to touch others is making it one.
“I don’t think of it that way, all we’re trying to do is win,” Gasso said. “Whoever wants to call it that, it’s fine, but we don’t. We won’t. We’ll just try and continue to win games and championships.”
But trophies and winning records aren't the only thing Gasso and her staff is about.
“All I try to do is be the best coach I can for these players. When they commit to OU, I commit back to them. Our goal is to make them as great as they can,” Gasso said. “Through all this, what we’re doing is not focusing so much on trying to win games, as much as trying to lift others up. When you’re doing things like that, you’re just not nervous. You just feel like you have a duty to do it. We take on a lot of this platform to change lives.”
