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OKLAHOMA CITY — For the eighth time and fourth year in a row, the Oklahoma softball team is once again national champions.

Members of this historic senior class will see their careers come to an end in style, as they walked off the field Thursday night being a part of history as the Sooners defeated Texas 8-4 in Game 2 of the WCWS championship series.

Rylie Boone, Kinzie Hansen, Tiare Jennings, Nicole May and Jayda Coleman never ended a season with a loss. It is the first time in softball history a team has won four straight national championships.

“I truly believe they are the product of making each other better,” OU athletic director Joe Castiglione said. “Their focus is always how to make the teammates around them better.”

Entering the season, there was more pressure than ever on the Sooners to win another national championship. Ending last season on a 53-game winning streak, the opening of a new stadium and the final rodeo for the historic senior class this season all made a mountain of expectations for OU's softball team in 2024.

After some unexpected regular season losses — including consecutive losses to the Longhorns in Austin in April — the Sooners played their best softball at the right time and rode the momentum toward winning another national championship.

“It’s probably the hardest coaching season I’ve had,” head coach Patty Gasso said. “These players are exhausted, but they keep going.”

“Trying to do everything I can for this team, but in reality I didn’t have to do anything at all,” Jennings said. “I was at my best was when there were no expectations of myself.”

The game got off to a puzzling start, as Gasso sent graduate right-hander Karlie Keeney to the circle to make her first start since May 5 against Oklahoma State. Keeney came into Thursday with a 6-1 record with a 1.66 earned run average.

After a clean first inning, Keeney found herself in trouble in the second, as she walked two Longhorns in the inning, which led to an RBI single by Kayden Henry.

The Sooners responded instantly. A leadoff double by senior Alyssa Brito got the rally going. Two batters later, freshman Kasidi Pickering jumped on the first pitch from Mac Morgan and deposited her 12th home run of the season into the left field bleachers, putting the Sooners up 2-1.

It was Pickering’s second home run in as many games and fifth in her postseason debut.

Texas would rally in the next inning and regain the lead in the fourth.

The Longhorns loaded the bases in the third against Keeney, then Alyssa Washington drove home Viviana Martinez to tie the game with two outs. Keeney went 2.2 innings and allowed four hits, two runs and four walks, but her ability to give the Sooners quality innings would be huge for Kelly Maxwell to get extra rest.

With the bases loaded and two outs, Gasso surprised again by turning to sophomore right-hander Paytn Monticelli. 

Monticelli had only pitched 19 innings prior to Thursday and hadn’t appeared since May 9 against Kansas.

After working to a full count, she forced Texas designated player to ground out to first and escape the jam.

Gasso then made another pitching change in the fourth, bringing Kierston Deal to the circle.

Texas would take the lead on an error by second baseman Avery Hodge, who had been lights-out defensively since replacing the injured Alynah Torres on Saturday. Deal would pitched only one inning but ultimately earned the win in Thursday’s contest.

Trailing again, Oklahoma needed an answer offensively.

After three straight singles in the inning, the bases were loaded for Cydney Sanders.

Sanders had been 4-28 in the postseason leading up to Thursday, but but two of those four hits were home runs in the WCWS.

Battling back from being behind 0-2 in the count, Sanders lined a 2-2 pitch into the right-center field gap. Sanders’ bases-clearing double was the biggest hit of the game to that point, and it gave the Sooners a 5-4 lead. Although only being 5-30 in the postseason, Sanders kept delivering clutch hits throughout the WCWS.

“I went into the locker room and said ‘this pitcher isn’t going to beat me’,” Sanders said. “It ended up working out for me and it was amazing.”

From there, everything started to go the Sooners’ way.

Nicole May looked like the same pitcher she was against Texas in the Big 12 tournament championship, where she came out of the bullpen and pitched the final 1.2 innings and did not allow a baserunner. On Thursday, May once again gave the Longhorns problems.

She pitched a 1-2-3 fifth inning, then struck out Texas left fielder Bella Dayton with runners on second and third with one out. May struck out four Longhorns in 1.2 innings on Thursday.

The Sooners would then add three more runs in the bottom of the sixth.

Jayda Coleman and freshman Ella Parker would collect RBIs on singles, as the Sooners could see another championship in their sights. Coleman went 2 for 4 in her last game in a Sooner uniform.

After getting the final out in the sixth, Maxwell delivered a 1-2-3 inning to capture OU's fourth straight national championship and validated her decision to transfer to Norman for her last season.

Maxwell was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2024 Women’s College World Series after pitching 27 innings during the WCWS and recording her third save of the season in Thursday’s win.

“I’m just thankful I got to be a part of this,” Maxwell said. “We’ve been through a lot this year, and I know that wherever we go after this will be taken care of.”

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