Karli Spaid attempts to steal a base versus Oklahoma in 2023.
Karli Spaid calmly strolled to the batter's box as 4,450 Oklahoma fans roared around her.
“Let’s get a double,” the senior Miami (Ohio) infielder thought to herself, with one runner on base during the top of the first inning. Immediately, Spaid knew she had more than a base hit once the pitch was launched.
The Chicago native hammered Nicole May’s fastball over the right-center field wall for a historic first home run in the inaugural game inside of Love’s Field grand opening on Friday.
As she rounded the bases, Spaid couldn’t stop screaming. She threw her arms in the air. The senior infielder waltzed into OU’s cathedral of a softball stadium, stole the limelight and etched her name forever in the history book with her home run during No. 1 Oklahoma’s (16-0) 9-7 win over the RedHawks (10-3) in Norman.
Although she later hit the game-tying home run, succeeding UCLA star Maya Brady, who did so at the 2022 WCWS, as the most recent player to hit a pair of home runs in the same game off OU’s vaunted pitching staff, her first no doubter will always be the most memorable.
Growing up, Spaid watched the Sooners softball dynasty in high school. For that reason, she soaked in the moment while getting off the bus and teared up while watching the flyover during the national anthem.
Flyover before first pitch at Love’s Field. pic.twitter.com/toU9YkmSUM
— George Stoia III (@GeorgeStoia) March 1, 2024
“I’m just kind of speechless,” Spaid told the OU Daily of the moment following the RedHawks 12-10 win over Louisiana at Marita Hynes Field. “OU is such a historic program. Just being able to open on their field and play that game was just an honor to begin with. That's all I can say.
“I thought about it a little bit before the game and I'm like, ‘OK, that's not what you need to think about in the box.’ … Then it kind of happened. So that was awesome.”
For Spaid, she couldn’t have imagined being in this position. The Sooners have one of, if not the greatest ensemble of hitters in softball history, including the top two all-time home run leaders in Jocelyn Alo and Lauren Gipson, formerly Chamberlain, with Tiare Jennings six blasts away from reaching the top 10, among a plethora of others who have entrenched themselves in the record book.
Spaid, however, will be remembered as the first slugger to slap a moonshot in the Sooners’ new facility.
On Tuesday, OU head coach Patty Gasso was asked which players on her team discussed hitting the first home run in Love’s Field. She, personally, had dreamed about it before the game.
“I’ll tell you the truth, I did think about it and that would be quite an honor,” Gasso said. “But I thought about it. Do I give them the ball or do we keep the ball? We're keeping the ball. I’ll give a replica to them. But I think there's some things that we need to make sure we hold on to. I think there'll be a lot of firsts here in the next couple of months.”
For Spaid’s parents, Chris and Daniela, the moment was even more special. The pair took a flight from Chicago to Oklahoma City before cheering on Karli from the front row of section 20 in Love’s Field.
“I knew she had it inside of her, absolutely,” Daniela said of the moment, while among a contingent of Miami (Ohio) fans. “It's just unbelievable to be here and to have her be able to do that.
“She is a role model for girls out there and women, doing what she loves to do. Secondly, I think it has a lot to do with the environment that she's in.”
Chris shared the same sentiment. After watching her first game at Love’s Field and second at Marita Hynes Field, he congratulated Karli with a smothering hug.
“It's awesome, man. There's no other way to describe it. Just pretty darn cool,” Chris said.
Love's Field during the Love's Field opening ceremony on March 1.
‘Figured we’d be first’
While Karli stole the first home run from the Sooners, they finally got their own inside of Love’s Field during the fifth inning.
Senior utility Alyssa Brito, who has a team-leading six home runs so far in 2024, blasted OU’s first bomb to left field inside of the complex, tying the game 3-3. From their home in Tustin, California, Brandon Brito, her father, celebrated his daughter’s sixth blast after flying in from a work conference out of the state.
“It was really special,” Brandon told the OU Daily after the game. “Everybody understands the significance of the team and what they're trying to do in the new field. For the fanbase to be able see her do that in front of families there. It was incredible.”
Brandon, like the rest of Sooner nation, was surprised the first homer in Love’s Field was from an opposing team. Oklahoma led the Big 12 with a whopping 117 and 155 home runs in 2023 and 2022, respectively.
The RedHawks are no slouch offensively, however. This season Miami (Ohio) has already tallied 43 home runs. Before the OU Invitational, it led the nation with an average of 3.09 home runs per game. Karli now has 10 home runs on the season.
“I'm not gonna lie, probably 99% of everyone figured we'd be the first one to hit a home run,” Brandon said. “But that's the way it goes. … It didn't really bother me to be quite honest. I think Miami showed people that they can hit.”
For Brandon, he knows Gasso, Alyssa and the other members of OU aren’t disappointed about not hitting the first bomb inside of Love’s Field. They were focused on soaking in the moment, winning the game and striving for improvement.
Despite missing out on the first home run, senior catcher Kinzie Hansen got the last laugh when she crushed a walk-off two-run blast, extending the Sooners win-streak to 68 games.
“To be quite honest, I don't think they even thought about it or it bothered them one bit,” Brandon said. “They were more probably frustrated or just like 'OK, we just got punched. We have to punch back right now.’”
Like OU, Karli shared the same sentiment. She was more focused on winning the game, and, more importantly, soaking in the glory of Love’s Field.
“That's what's crazy about the sport, everybody has their moments and they come at different times. I think it's just an honor,” Karli said.
Still, even if Alyssa wasn’t the first player to hit a home run in the new facility, she will forever be remembered as the first Oklahoma player to leave the yard there.
“She's gonna cherish it,” Brandon said. “She's just kind of enjoying every moment of it, and I think for her being able to have such a special moment like that. Special place, special time. You know, tie the game up. Big situation. She's going to tuck that one away forever.”
After hitting her sixth home run of the season, Brandon received a text from Alyssa’s grandfather.
“She’s going to be able to keep that, right?” the text read.
Brandon thinks that Gasso and the Sooners will keep the piece of history in the program, but he says it’d be nice to have around.
“They’ll want to keep it because it’s OU’s first home run (in Love’s Field).” Brandon said. “I would love it if she did get it. I think that’s something so special.”
Shannon Smith holds softball.
‘They yoinked it from me’
Shannon Smith raised his hands in the air, rose to his feet and shouted to the Sooners fans around him.
He is an avid OU softball fan and former baseball player and was the first person to catch a home run inside of Love’s Field. Despite the moonshot not coming from a batter in the crimson and cream, Smith shuffled the ball into the pocket of his gray hoodie and continued drinking his Michelob Ultra.
Smith showed OU Daily the softball — inflicted with a black mark from Spaid’s bat — from his pocket. There, he admired it for a second before putting it away for his own safe keeping.
Shannon Smith takes picture.
“I wish it was one of the OU girls, but I'm not gonna throw it back,” Smith told the OU Daily moments after catching the home run. “I’m going to take it home to my daughter, hopefully one day she's out here playing for the Sooners.”
Before the game, Smith and a few of his friends walked to the top of Love’s Field’s concourse and admired its beauty. They joked about catching a home run or two despite not bringing a glove to the complex.
Historic home runs have become a keepsake item for the players that hit them and the fans that catch them. New York Yankees star hitter Aaron Judge’s 62nd home run ball — an ALCS all-time record breaker — was auctioned off for $1.5 million. The record price for a home run ball is $3 million for Mark McGwire's 70th home run ball from the 1998 MLB season.
Even if Smith received a lump sum offer, he wasn’t willing to take it. It likely wouldn’t receive an MLB-level bid, if put on the auction block.
“Somebody in the program probably has some money,” Smith said. “If a little girl wanted the ball, though, I’d probably just give it to her.”
After holding onto the historic item, Smith’s catch was revoked by OU’s security staff and he was given a replica ball wrapped in a plastic bag. For years, the Sooners’ security has collected every home run ball and given fans commemorative replacements.
“They yoinked it from me,” Smith told the OU Daily after losing the item.
After the fact, the OU Daily reached out to several OU spokespeople about the location of the first home run ball hit in Love’s Field and what the procedure was of potentially commemorating the item.
“I haven’t heard,” one spokesperson replied over text.
From their seats in the first row of section 20, Spaid’s parents have not heard of the location of Karli’s homer. To them, it’s not a big deal, but they hope it gets honored somewhere.
“I don't think anybody's bigger than the game,” Chris told the OU Daily. “Just have it written down somewhere I guess, so we'll look back on it in a year.”
Karli, however, wants her ball back.
“If it's in somebody's hands, I would love it,” Karli said. “If somebody's got it, send it my way for sure.
“If not, I just want it to be commemorated in some way. I hope that ball is not in some bucket somewhere.”
Even if she never gets the ball, though, she’ll always have the memory of crushing it into the stands.
“I think I'll definitely tell people when I’m older,” Karli said. “That will be my fun fact to bring up.”
This story was edited by Gracie Rawlings.
