The Oklahoma Sooners staved off four consecutive elimination games in order to earn a spot in the Super Regionals. Claiming the No. 10 overall seed, Patty Gasso and the rest of the gang hit the road for a trip to Auburn. Squaring off against the Tigers, the two programs have a recent history that has played out on the national stage.
During the 2016 Women’s College World Series, the two heavyweights found themselves fighting for the National Championship in a best-of-three series. In game one, Auburn rode a 30-game win streak to reach the final. However, Sydney Romero’s three-run blast in the third inning proved to be the difference in a close bout. The swing provided a 3-2 victory pulling OU to within one win of a third National Championship.
In game two, the Sooners appeared to run away with the title taking a commanding 7-0 lead. Yet, it was Auburn walking away with a win thanks to 11 unanswered runs, keeping the dream alive.
Moving to a winner takes all format, costly errors allowed the Sooners to take an early 1-0 lead. Finding a way to continue to allowing the runners to circle the bases, a tremendous base running effort from Fale Aviu scored a second run before the end of the first inning. Now up 2-0, the coaching staff looked toward Paige Parker. Accepting the challenge, Parker delivered a complete game while giving up a single run. The defensive performance produced a third National Championship under Coach Gasso.
For the fifth time over the course of a year, Auburn and Oklahoma will meet. Currently tied 2-2 in the series dating back to the 2016 title pairing, who will reign victorious? More so, which programs keeps the WCWS dream alive and who goes home early?