OU softball super regional sweep of UCF has Patty Gasso feeling 'best I’ve felt' entering WCWS

NORMAN — Early on, OU shortstop Grace Lyons had a calm feeling about Saturday’s super regional game 2 against Central Florida at Marita Hynes Field.

“Coming into this game, we were thinking about how we can play loose, and get off to a hot start,” Lyons said. “You could tell, top to bottom, how free we were at the plate.”

Lyons was the biggest example of that, belting a pair of home runs to help lift the top-seeded Sooners to a 7-1 win over the Knights to lift OU back to the Women’s College World Series.

The Sooners are in the WCWS for the sixth consecutive time, the longest streak in program history.

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Lyons had been a solid offensive player last season for the Sooners, hitting .370 during the abbreviated 2020 season and then .392 with 14 home runs last season to help OU to the WCWS title.

But this season, Lyons has taken it to another level.

Lyons’ home runs Saturday were her 20th and 21st of the season. After going 3 for 5 in Saturday’s win, Lyons raised her average to .418.

“When I recruited her, I think she was a better defender than she was a hitter,” Sooners coach Patty Gasso said of Lyons, as Lyons nodded her head in agreement just to Gasso’s right.

“She was so exceptional defensively, I definitely would go after her whether she was a great hitter or not. Freshman year, she learned a lot. Freshman usually take a little bit of time to get it figured out. And she just kept getting stronger and really became a good student of offense.”

With the Sooners leading 1-0, Lyons led off the third with a solo shot to left to add to the lead.

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Then Lyons belted another, this one just right of center field, with two one in the fourth to break the game open and put OU up 5-0.

It was Lyons’ third multi-homer game of the season and the 19th time a Sooners player has had multiple home runs in a game.

OU had plenty of chance to extend the lead even further, putting runners on base in every inning and leaving 12 runners on — seven in the first three innings.

“They’re dynamic,” UCF coach Cindy Ball-Malone said of the Sooners’ lineup. “They make adjustments. They make adjustments at-bat to at-bat and they make adjustments pitch to pitch.

“One through nine and 10, 11, 12 that come off the bench — they work hard. A lot of us can continue to learn from what they’re physically doing. It’s one thing to see it, it’s another to physically do it.”

Eight different players had hits for OU on Saturday, and three hit home runs.

Jana Johns added a solo shot in the fifth and Jocelyn Alo a solo home run in the sixth in what wound up being her final at-bat at Marita Hynes Field.

Alo drew a walk in the seventh in her final plate appearance.

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There was some jawing between the teams early, with OU’s Jayda Coleman and Knights pitcher Kama Woodall.

After that, though, the Sooners did most of their talking with their performances.

“There was a little bit of chippiness going on throughout the game,” Gasso said. “I love the way they answered. We answered with our play.”

The Sooners (54-2) have won 12 consecutive super regional games, sweeping each of the last six appearances.

At times this season, Gasso has expressed concern about her team, even as they continued to rack up victories.

After sweeping through regionals and super regionals, outsourcing opponents 52-3 in the process, the tone is much different.

“I feel the best I’ve felt about this time right now,” Gasso said.

OU will open the WCWS Thursday against either Northwestern or Arizona State.

Tramel: UCF pays price pitching to OU softball's Jocelyn Alo in NCAA Super Regional opener

No. 1 OU vs. No. 16 UCF

NCAA Super Regional at Marita Hynes Field:

Friday: OU 8, UCF 0

Saturday: OU 7, UCF 1

Tramel: UCF pays price pitching to OU softball's Jocelyn Alo in NCAA Super Regional opener

NCAA softball scoreboard

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU Sooners beat UCF in NCAA softball super regional, advance to WCWS