Kate Gordon too Giselle Juarez deep to left on the first pitch of the game but that would be the end of JMU’s offense for the day as Juarez dug in and overpowered her opponents in the batter’s box. Pitching a complete game, Juarez struck out 11 batters and allowed just four hits after that leadoff home run to earn her 21st win of the season and send the Sooners to the championship round of the Women’s College World Series.
From the plate Oklahoma showed a lot of patience against JMU ace Odicci Alexander, making her go deep into the pitch counts, and it finally paid dividends. After being held without a hit through the first three innings of the game, Nicole Mendes led off the fourth with a triple. She would come up on a wild pitch to tie the game and then two batters later Jana Johns scored Lynnsie Elam to give the Sooners a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
Things got worse for the Dukes in the fifth as plated four more runs and chased Alexander out of the game. Mackenzie Donihoo remained one of Oklahoma’s hottest batters with a 2-RBI double that scored Grace Lyons and Kinzie Hansen. Two batters later Donihoo and Elam scored on a 2-RBI double off the bat of Jayda Coleman. Alexander left the game to a standing ovation by both Oklahoma and James Madison fans.
Donihoo and Coleman were the only two Sooner batters to record multiple hits on the day. Oklahoma ended the day with six runs on ten hits and with four batters striking out.
Jocelyn Alo pushed the game to the brink of a run-rule with a solo home run that sailed way over the wall at left field. Alo’s dinger made it a 7-1 lead for the Sooners and that score would hold as the final.
The Sooners will now wait for the winner of Alabama and Florida State to see who they will face in the championship series. Once the two teams are set, the championship series will reset to a double elimination format. The championship series starts on Tuesday evening.
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