from NCAA

POSTGAME NOTES

Championship Series Game 2: Oklahoma 5, Florida 4

• No. 10 seed Oklahoma won its third NCAA title in the last five years, defeating No. 1 seed Florida, 5-4, on Tuesday. The Sooners are the first No. 10 seed to win the Women’s College World Series.
• Oklahoma improves to 27-16 at the Women’s College World Series, while Florida falls to 25-14. OU ranks fourth in WCWS history with 27 wins at the event. The Sooners have won six straight and 12 out of their 13 games at the WCWS dating back to 2016.
• Every WCWS Championship Series since 2011 has featured either Florida (2011, ’14, 15, ’17) or Oklahoma (2012, ’13, ’16, ’17). The Gators won the NCAA title in 2014 and 2015, while OU captured the crown in the 2013, 2016 and 2017.
• Nicole Mendes’ leadoff home run in the bottom of the first put the Sooners ahead 1-0. It was the second home run for Mendes in WCWS Championship Series and her second career leadoff home run. The freshman also threw 1.0 inning of relief, giving up just one hit in her first appearance in the circle at the WCWS.
• Florida shortstop Alexis Reynoso belted her third home run of the year, a solo blast to left field, to tie the game at 1-1 in the top of the second. It was the first homer for Reynoso since March 19 at South Carolina.
• The Gators tacked on two more runs in the second as Aleshia Ocasio’s single to right plated Justine McClean. Florida added its third run of the frame as OU reliever Mariah Lopez hit the Gators’ Kayli Kvistad with the bases loaded, scoring Amanda Lorenz.
• With the bases loaded, OU’s Caleigh Clifton walked to trim Florida’s lead down to 3-2. After Clifton reached, Shay Knighten cleared the bases with a double to the right center gap to put OU up 5-3. In 11 games at the WCWS, Knighten has recorded 16 RBIs and is hitting .389 with three home runs.
• Clifton finished 2-for-2 with one run scored and a RBI to lead the Sooners. It was the junior’s 17th multi-hit game of the season.
• Florida cut the OU lead down to 5-4 as Alex Herndon recorded her fifth home run of the season with a solo homer to center field. Herndon finished with 1-for-3 with a run scored and a RBI.
• Oklahoma freshman Mariah Lopez (18-1) earned the win in relief, tossing 2.1 innings and allowing just one run on one hit.
• Paige Lowary earned her third save at the WCWS, pitching the final 2.0 innings and retiring all six batters she faced in order. Lowary’s three saves are the most in WCWS history. The junior recorded 11 saves during 2017, which is tied for the most by a pitcher in NCAA single-season history.
• Lowary made four relief appearance at the 2017 WCWS, which is tied for the most in series history with Auburn’s Rachel Walters (2015) and Alabama’s Jackie Traina (2011). The junior’s 0.88 ERA is tied for the second-lowest ERA in WCWS history (minimum 10 appearances). Lowary finished four games at the WCWS, the most by a pitcher in series history.
• Ocasio (8-2) took the loss, giving up four runs on four hits in 1.1 innings pitched. Delanie Gourley pitched the final 4.2 innings, allowing one run on four hits, while striking out five.
• The contest marked the first time since 2010 that both teams scored in four consecutive half-innings. UCLA and Arizona combined to do it in six straight at-bats.
• The six pitchers used between Oklahoma (4) and Florida (2) were the most used in a WCWS Championship Series Game and tied for the most used in a game in WCWS history (twice). It is also the most pitchers used in a single game at the WCWS since 1997 (Fresno State vs. Iowa).
• Kelsey Arnold’s stolen base in the bottom of the sixth inning was the 112th stolen base of the season, tying the single-season steals record, which was set in 2000.
• OU finished the season with 61 wins, its most in a season 2000. The Sooners rank third in NCAA history with four national titles. Only UCLA (11) and Arizona (8) have more NCAA Championships than the Sooners.
• Oklahoma is the fourth team to repeat as national champions, joining Arizona, Florida and UCLA has teams to win back-to-back NCAA titles.
• The national title marked Oklahoma’s fourth in the 2016-17 academic year, the most ever for the department. The men’s gymnastics and women’s gymnastics teams also earned their second consecutive titles this season, while the men’s golf team recorded its first championship since 1989.
• Attendance for Session 9 was 8,507.

Florida vs Washington
P Gourley vs Alvelo
Double elimination

T1.  Lorenz popped to short.  Kvistad homered, 1-0.  Dewitt walked.  Ocasio struck out.  Wheaton walked.  Roberts fouled out.
B!.  Aguilar struck out.  Bates grounded to 3rd.  Stangel grounded to 2nd.
T2.  Herndon walked Reynoso sac bunt.  McLean singled to 3rd.  Lorenz singled, rbi.  Herndon scored on error by 1st baseman, 3-0.  Kvistad singled, 2 rbi.  4-0.  DeWitt singled.  Alvelo relieved by Schreyer.  (Spy remembers Schreyer as a most promising recruit but silent in the WCWS.)  Ocasio flied out.  Wheaton grounded out, stranding two.  Gators 4-0.
B2. Flores popped to short.  Van Zee bunt single.  DePonte flied out.  Melhart popped to left
T3.   Voss grounded to 3rd.  Herndon struck out.  Reynoso flied to left.
B3.  Thomas struck out.  Burdick struck out.  Aguilar out on strikes.
T4.  McLean flied to left. Lorenz looked at a third strike.  Kvistad put out at 1st.
B4.  Bates out on bunt.  Stangel  walked.  Gibson pinch runner.   Flores struck out.  Van Zee (Gibson advanced on wild pitch) struck out.
T5.  DeWitt singled.  Ocasio sac bunt.  Wheaton singled, DeWitt scored, 5-0.  Pinch runner Chronister.  Voss struck out.  Chronister caught stealing.
B5. DePonte popped to short.  Melhart struck out.  Thomas struck out.
The Huskies have one hit.  Gourley has 8 Ks.
T6.  Herndon grounded to 2nd.  Reynoso flied to right.  McLean out.
B6.  PH We(for Burdick) struck out.  Aguilar who homered in two preceding games grounded to 1st.  Bates flied out to right.
T7.  Ward relieved Schreyer.  Lorenz popped to short.  Kvistad flied to left.  DeWitt fouled out to shortstop.
B7.  Stanglel struck out (Gourley’s 10th).  Flores flied to center.  Van Zee reached on an error at 1st.  DePonte homered, 2 rbi, on just the second hit off Gourley.    Melhart poppedto 1st.

Gators win 5-2 to advance to the best of three championship round.  So far, Florida led by two superb pitchers has dominated.

OREGON def by OKLAHOMA 4-2
Double elimination
P Kleist vs Parker
T1.  Mercado grounded to 2nd.  Mack grounded to 3rd. Svetkis caught looking.
B1.  Mendes walked.  Clifton  sac bunt.  Knighten singled left.  Aviu grounded to 1st.  Pendley at 3-2 grounded to short, stranding two.
T2.  Udria hbp.  Rhodes popped to 2nd.  Camuso flied to center.  Puentes struck out.
B2.  Romero doubled.  Hatfield struck out.  Wodach struck out.  Arnold singled, bunt.  Arnold forced at 2nd by Mendes.
T3.  Lindval doubled.  Lilley popped to 3rd.  Mercado flied to right.  Mack lined to Parker.
B3.  The Sooners have stranded runners in each of the first two innings. Clifton grounded to 2nd.  Knighten grounded to the pitcher.  Aviu out 5-3.
T4.  Svkis singled.  Udria struck out.  Rhodes popped to 3rd.  Camuso flied to left.
B4.  Pendley flied out.  Romero and Hatfield ground out.
T5. Puentes struck out looking.  Lindval popped.  Lilley singled.  Mercado jacked a 3-2 pitch for a 2-run homer.Mack singled.  Svekis flied out.
B5. Wodach reached on an error, Rogers in to run.  Arnold singled, Rogers to 3rd.  Arnold stole 2nd.  Mendes reached on a fielders choice, Rogers scored.  Clifton sac bunt.  Knighten 2-run single, scoring Mendes and Arnold.  Aviu popped to short.  Pendley doubled, Knighten scored.  Elish relieved Kleist.  Romero grounded out.
T6.  Lowary relieved Parker.  Udria, Rhodes, Camuso grounded out.
B6.  Sooners up 4-2. Hatfield grounded out.  Wodach and Arnold grounded out.
T7. Elish ground to short.  Lindval ground to short.  Lilley flied to center.

Sooners, the defending champions, win 4-2 and will meet Florida on Monday for the best of three WCWS.

Oklahoma won in 2013 and 2016.  Florida won in 2014 and 2015.  The last four WCWS titles.

Before this game, eleven teams which scored first won.  Oregon was the first team to lose after leading.
WCWS attendance record: 9,419 fans today.

clifton