OU Softball: Oklahoma Crushes Alabama to Sweep Super Regional, Advance to WCWS

Revenge is a dish best served in the postseason.

No. 2 Oklahoma beat No. 15 Alabama 13-2 in mercy-rule fashion on Saturday to sweep the Norman Super Regional and advance to the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City for the eighth year in a row.

The sweep avenges the Sooners’ regular-season series loss to the Crimson Tide, when Alabama took two games of three in Tuscaloosa in April.

After beating Alabama 3-0 on Friday, the Sooners were looking to make a statement in Game 2 — and on Saturday, they left no doubt.

OU (49-7, 17-7 SEC) got an early lead in the second inning, when Abby Dayton drove Nelly McEnroe-Marinas in on an RBI single.

The Sooners ran away with it in the third. 

They scored eight runs on eight hits and a walk, and Alabama made three pitching changes. Gabbie Garcia got the offense moving with a two-run home run, and after that, Ailana Agbayani, Isabela Emering, Dayton and Ella Parker each recorded RBI hits.

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That wasn’t Oklahoma’s only big inning.

After Alabama scored one run each in the third and fourth innings, Oklahoma added four runs in the fifth to make it an 11-run game. Those Sooner runs came on home runs from Garcia, Parker and McEnroe-Marinas.

Pitcher Kierston Deal ensured that the Crimson Tide (40-22, 12-12) never got back within striking distance.

A junior, Deal allowed just two earned runs on two Alabama solo homers. The Crimson Tide’s blasts were two of just three hits that Deal surrendered in four innings. Saturday’s start was only Deal’s second appearance in the NCAA Tournament, as she threw two innings in the Sooners’ 8-0 win against Boston University in the regionals last weekend.

Audrey Lowry finished the game in the circle for OU, holding the Crimson Tide scoreless to clinch the Sooners' run-rule win.

Oklahoma finished the game with 14 hits to Alabama’s four. Every player in the Sooners’ starting lineup recorded a hit, and Parker logged a team-high three knocks, while Garcia slammed two homers.

In OU’s two postseason wins against the Crimson Tide, the Sooners outscored Alabama 16-2. The Super Regional was a stark contrast from the regular-season series, when the Crimson Tide outscored the Sooners 9-7 and gave OU one of its only three series losses of the year.

Oklahoma is one step closer to its fifth straight national championship.

The Sooners are one of just two squads that have already punched their ticket to Oklahoma City, along with No. 12 Texas Tech, which swept No. 5 Florida State in the Tallahassee Super Regional.