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Oklahoma softball: WCWS championship series offers up multiple firsts

By Chip Rouse

Jun 7, 2021; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Florida StateÕs Kathryn Sandercock (32) delivers a pitch to Alabama during an NCAA WomenÕs College World Series semi finals game at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 7, 2021; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Florida StateÕs Kathryn Sandercock (32) delivers a pitch to Alabama during an NCAA WomenÕs College World Series semi finals game at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oklahoma softball has played in six of the Women’s College World Series held since 2014, including back-to-back national championships in 2016 and 2017.

Florida State, the Sooners opponent in the 2021 WCWS championship series, has made four World Series over that time span, including a national championship of their own in 2018.

In fact, Florida State’s WCWS championship in 2018 marked just the second time since 1990 that a team has lost its first WCWS game and come back to win a national championship.

Whichever team wins this year’s WCWS will be the third team to accomplish this incredible comeback feat.

Both OU and Florida State lost their opening games in this year’s WCWS, and here they are, the last two teams standing after managing to survive four straight elimination games in two days to punch their ticket to the best-of-three championship series that begins Tuesday night at ASA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City.

This will be the Sooners second straight appearance in the championship series and third time the last four seasons, excluding the 2020 season. UCLA defeated OU two games to none in the 2019 series, the last time the WCWS was held because of the 2020 pandemic year.

As good as Oklahoma and Florida State have been in women’s softball over the past decade, however, the two teams have never met in the postseason until this year. They have played a dozen times overall and have split the six games. The Sooner have won the last three, however.

OU is closing in on the all-time single-season HR record

Oklahoma has hit a phenomenal 155 home runs this season, including 23 in nine NCAA Tournament games. That is three away from tying the University of Hawaii for the all-time single season record.

Six Sooner position players have hit at least 10 home runs this season, led by the nation leader, Jocelyn Alo. Alo’s 32 home runs this season is the most in a single season by any Oklahoma player. She is six shy of setting a new all-time single season record in college softball.

FSU head coach Lonni Alameda has an Oklahoma Sooner connection

Lonni Alameda has been the Florida State head coach since 2009. Since that time, the Lady Seminoles have won 603 games, lost 178 and tied two. Before that, she coached for five years at UNLV. But 20 years ago, she played softball at the University of Oklahoma.

“I’m super proud of graduating from the University of Oklahoma,” Alameda told Ryan Aber of The Oklahoman. “I’m very proud of what we did,” she said, and the incredible job they’ve done since then.

“You always root for your alma mater, but when you’re playing against them, you root for the team that you’re coaching.”

Alameda was a corner infielder for the Sooners from 1990-92. She’s still tied for fourth at OU with 12 career triples, and in her senior season she finished with a .359 batting average.

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