It’s all Oklahoma at the top of the NCAA softball career home runs list. That will remain the case even after Jocelyn Alo eventually breaks her tie with former Sooner Lauren Chamberlain by hitting career home run No. 96 to become college softball’s new home run queen.
“With this home run chase and how everything’s going, it’s bringing back so many memories of not only how did I feel, but just that time in my life. It was such a special time in my life. Those four years were the best. I miss it. It’s exciting. I think it’s going to be kind of like a cool transfer. Okay, this is your time, the sport’s growing, we’re moving in a new direction. You’re the queen now. I think that’s just cool. It’s home run U baby. That’s it. It’s crazy. Thinking about Tiare coming up right behind Jocelyn and just the potential of it. When you rewrite the record books and it looks like all OU at the top, that’s something to say. Shout out to coach Gasso,” Chamberlain said.
Chamberlain knows the type of pressure Alo has faced along the way, too.
“When you get to that point, you’re slumping if you don’t hit a bomb, right, like that’s your slump. When you start to get that outside pressure and you start to see the media follow it and the attention, I know back when it happened to me and, you know, ESPN crews with their cameras were on the field following me to the plate, ticket prices are going up, you’re starting to see more and more people standing,” Chamberlain said.
That pressure is palpable. Even now for Chamberlain watching Alo’s chase on television.
“Watching even on TV, how quiet everybody gets when she comes up to the plate. It’s a buzz but it’s just quiet. I think it’s because everybody knows the weight of the moment. Everybody knows that something is about to happen when she’s at the plate. It’s a crazy transition when you start to watch it as a fan, but you’re watching almost what you went through exactly but from a different perspective. It’s been a really cool couple weeks,” Chamberlain said.
Interestingly enough, Alo and Chamberlain first met at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic when Alo was a freshman. It’s fitting then that the full-circle, passing of the torch moment will likely happen this weekend at the place where the pair first met.
That first meeting was also the moment Chamberlain knew it was a possibility that Alo someday would approach her record and perhaps break it.
“I knew when she was a freshman. I heard that she was coming and I knew that she was just different. Hearing coach Gasso kind of talk about what she could be able to do once she gets on campus. I remember specifically—actually this time when she was a freshman, it was the Palm Springs tournament, Mary Nutter Classic—and watched her play and afterwards we chatted a little bit about how are you feeling, how’s your freshman year going so far, what’s different, you know, all that stuff. She had mentioned all of the comparisons that people were making. Like, ‘Man, you’re the next Lauren Chamberlain. You’re the next Lauren. We finally have that person that’s come along.’ And we had talked about how badly she wanted to be the one and only Jocelyn. Right, like not the next Lauren, the one and only Jocelyn and how important it was for her to write her own story and create her own narrative around this entire thing. So, I knew it from the jump it was going to be her. I’m glad it’s her. I’ll tell you I’m very happy that it’s going to stay in OU’s pocket. It’s been just amazing to see her flourish,” Chamberlain said.
When Chamberlain was attempting to track down UCLA alum Stacey Nuveman’s then-NCAA record of 90 home runs, the pair traded a few Twitter direct messages. It was short and sweet, but that interaction with someone that understood exactly what she was going through helped.
“I remember specifically the conversations that I had with Stacey Nuveman when I was getting close and it was just a little tweet DM. We didn’t have each other’s numbers, we didn’t call each other up, but just that little vote of support was like, ‘Ah, she’s rooting for me.’ It was just such a relief of, oh, that’s cool and the only person that understands what I’m going through is her. That’s it,” Chamberlain said.
Over the course of her career and during this home run chase, Chamberlain has been that voice for Alo whenever asked.
“To be able to kind of lend out that hand and just be like, girl, friend to friend, I got you. No one else understands. When you’re in that room and you’re in your apartment after a game and you didn’t get it done and you think you’re slumping and you don’t know if it’s going to happen, that’s who you want to talk to. You just want to know if they felt the same way. You just want to know if this is something that’s ever crossed their mind. To be able to be a voice for her and not the voice because I know she’s got a great support system, but at least someone that can share that moment with her and just reassure her a little bit. It’s a lot easier that I like her. It’s a lot easier that I actually care for the girl. She’s awesome,” Chamberlain said.
A lot of times the conversations between Alo and Chamberlain aren’t about softball at all.
“More so that off the field stuff. You know, it’s getting tough. Senior year. How do you keep that fire? There’s certain things that are just life and every athlete has those conversations with other athletes. You specifically pick someone that you trust and that you know has maybe felt that before. We’ve just had some really, really good conversations about life. What her plans are, what her goals and dreams are that far exceed this home run record. It’s been really fun to create that friendship with her,” Chamberlain said.
Chamberlain described Alo as like a sister to her. That friendship isn’t lost on Alo.
“We’re really good friends. I can call her right now and just talk to her about anything and it doesn’t even have to be about softball. We’ve gotten dinner a couple times. It’s really just a Sooner sisterhood thing. Just as far as the record and stuff, I feel like she’s kind of happy about it, because, yes, it’s being broken, but it’s staying in the Sooner program so it’s just a win for all of us Sooners in general. We’re really good friends. She’s been a very big advocate for this. She recognized my potential. My freshman year in Palm Springs was the first time that I met her, so to have her there this weekend will be kind of cool and maybe we can remake that picture,” Alo said.
Alo’s next chance to break the record will come against Cal State Fullerton on Friday at 2:30. At this point, it’s a matter of when and not if for Alo and she’s embracing this final challenge in the record chase.
“I was actually talking to JT [Gasso] about this. He was just saying to embrace it as a challenge and I do like challenges. I like when I’m being pushed and I like overcoming certain things. Just looking at this as another challenge and I know I’m going to beat it,” Alo said.
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