OKLAHOMA CITY - Levi Alo and Ignacio Jennings stood back-to-back and posed for the camera.
The fathers of Oklahoma’s star sluggers, redshirt senior utility Jocelyn Alo and sophomore infielder Tiare Jennings, respectively, smiled as they hoisted up each of their daughter’s home run balls that had floated beyond the outfield wall and into the stands of USA Hall of Fame Stadium just minutes before.
Posted up in the fourth row behind third base, the pair’s pose paid homage to what their daughter’s had just done – clobber back-to-back dingers in the bottom of the fifth inning. After the game, Alo grinned behind the podium in the basement of the stadium, as she relished the moment between Igancio and Levi with Jennings.
💣 We're just gonna put 'em both in one clip. 💣𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭. 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫. 𝐇𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐃𝐮𝐨. 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫.@_tiarejennings @78jocelyn_alo | 📺 ESPN pic.twitter.com/orL1cfIuSH
— Oklahoma Softball (@OU_Softball) June 9, 2022
Both of their fathers had raised them side-by-side and now get to cherish them playing at the highest level, which is special for both of OU’s home run hitters.
𝐃𝐚𝐝 𝐣𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐬Back-to-back 😆💣 pic.twitter.com/xdQQaP6S35
— Oklahoma Softball (@OU_Softball) June 9, 2022
“I think my favorite part is seeing the parents get the balls in the stands,” Alo said. “For Taylon Snow, having her first home run here, I'm sure it was extra special. … Tiare and my dad with their backs together just pretending to be us, I think that’s super cool.”
Alo and Jennings didn’t form their special bond from happenstance. It was fostered when Jennings was just 10 years old and started learning from Alo on the pair’s summer ball team, the Orange County Batbusters. While they never played in the same age group, their on-field relationship, created nearly 11 years ago, helped No.1-seeded Oklahoma (58-3) demolish Texas (47-21-1) 16-1 in Game 1 of the Women’s College World Series Championship Series Wednesday.
The dynamic duo finished the game 7-for-8 with four home runs, two coming on back-to-back at-bats in the fifth inning that gave OU a 13-run lead, and eight RBIs. Maria Jennings, who stood and watched the game with Ignacio, had seen their bond start when she watched the Batbusters practice at Pacifica High School in Garden Grove, California.
As Jennings raced around the track of the high school in one of her first practices, Alo and former Olympian Dejah Mulipola joined the 10-year-old Jennings, taking her under her wing like a little sister.
“I remember the three of them being Polynesian,” Maria told the Daily. “(Alo and Alyssa) were the studs, and I was just like, ‘oh my gosh, they're taking in my baby.’ I loved it, and it was just a typical Polynesian connection. And ever since then, it was just they grew from there.
“Now, I just think it just brings that comfortability and just that sisterhood that they already had (on the Batbusters). They carry it over and I think everybody just gets on board, and they're all just sisters and really teammates. I mean, It is incredible."
Alo’s leadership on the Batbusters and Sooners has helped Jennings take the next step in her career. Having already blasted 27 home runs in her freshman season, the sophomore infielder has followed up her first year campaign with 29 homers and 86 RBIs, alongside a .402 batting average.
Her dominance has extended into the postseason as well. The San Pedro, California, native has launched seven home runs since the start of the Norman Regional on May 20. With the help of Alo, who’s just one spot ahead of Jennings as the two-hole in the lineup, the sophomore infielder finished with two home runs against the Longhorns for the fifth time this season and has now eclipsed former Sooner Sydney Romero for the sixth spot in the program’s all-time home run list with 56.
As Alo enters potentially her final game and reaches the curtain-call finish for her collegiate career, Levi is just soaking in the final year of the pair’s relationship that he’s seen for almost a decade.
“It's been such a joy,” Levi said “Words can't explain how fun it is beyond just taking it all in. Hopefully we can just close this out tomorrow and ride out into the sunset. I knew I was going to get one year with Ignacio and the Jennings family, and then COVID-19 happened. We ended up getting two years. That was so fun, and it's been a blast.”
Alongside Jennings, the NCAA career home run record holder with 122 home runs has not only reaped the benefits of Jennings’ power behind her in the lineup, but also in their relationship off the field. Alo’s historic season in which she hit a career-high 34 home runs and .519 batting average, couldn’t come without the duo’s relationship that they share.
Their decade-long bond was on full display when Jennings, who was re-tying her french-braid in the dugout, and Alo laughed after they hit back-to-back home runs in the fifth inning. Together the pair have combined for 63 of 153 of OU’s home runs this season, which has been a major catalyst for the Sooners’ 40 run-rule victories and bid at a potential sixth national championship.
From having sleepovers at Jennings' house many years ago, to being one sleep away from capturing back-to-back WCWS titles, Batbusters' coach Mike Stith can’t believe what the pair has done for each other and where they’re at in their careers.
“They are un-dying workers,” Stith said, “They are going to keep getting better at their craft. I give a ton of credit to (OU assistant coach) JT Gasso because he has educated Jocelyn and Tiare. They are professional hitters and are comparable to people that I dealt with in their prime, like when I had Lauren Chamberlain. … These kids are perfect. They know what they're doing, and that's why it's prevalent and how it's playing out. Pressure is irrelevant to them.”
As Alo reaches the potential finish line of her historic career when the Sooners face Texas during Game 2 of the national championship series at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in Oklahoma City, she’s taking in that she might just have one last moment to play with her childhood friend.
“I think just when Tiare got here, that connection just got stronger and as the years have gone on, it's just continued to grow stronger and stronger each year,” Alo said. "I think it plays a huge role in just who we are as people."
