This weekend, the Oklahoma Sooners said goodbye to Marita Hynes Field in the only way they knew how: with a bit of “Sooner Magic.”
They got things going with a pair of home runs to open the game. The back-to-back bombs from Jayda Coleman and Tiare Jennings seemed like it would set the stage for a Sooners rout, but Clemson had other plans.
Tigers’ starter Brooke McCubbin settled and kept Oklahoma from extending their lead until the fourth inning when Alyssa Brito’s home run and Sophia Nugent’s fielder’s choice RBI extended the lead to 4-0. At that point, it felt like the Sooners were going to run away with the game and into the Women’s College World Series.
But then the Tigers responded in kind with a three-run home run from Maddie Moore in the fourth and a two-run shot from McKenzie Clark to kickstart a five-run fifth that put Clemson up 7-4.
Those seven runs were the first time Oklahoma’s pitching staff had allowed five or more runs in 2023. That’s how good Jordy Bahl, Nicole May, Alex Storako and Kierston Deal had been this season.
After a scoreless sixth inning, it was looking like Oklahoma would be playing again on Sunday. But the Sooners had other plans.
Rylie Boone singled to start the top of the seventh and with two outs in the inning Haley Lee came through in the clutch to keep the inning alive. That’s when Kinzie Hansen provided the heroics to extend the game for the Oklahoma Sooners.
Her three-run home run was the magical moment the Sooners needed to pull off the victory and close their storied history at Marita Hynes Field with a win. But it wasn’t just any other win.
It was a record-setting 48th consecutive win. It was the win that propelled them to their seventh-straight Women’s College World Series. It was a win on Patty Gasso’s birthday. It was an emotional win over an up-and-coming program that’s seen a rapid ascent.
During a weekend in which Oklahoma Softball and its illustrious alumni remembered their time at Marita Hynes Field, Hansen, Tiare Jennings, and the Oklahoma Sooners created another incredible moment. A memory that will be imprinted on the hearts and minds of those on the field in crimson and those in Sooner Nation for years to come, even after Oklahoma’s selling out their new home at Love’s Field.