Oklahoma softball: Joceyln Alo makes history as Sooners dominate in Hawaii

The No. 1-ranked Oklahoma softball squad travelled to Hawaii over the weekend to take part in the Rainbow Wahine Classic.

The participant field included Big 12 foe Baylor, California, and Hawaii, which hosted and played on its home field. Unfortunately for the fans, the only way to see the action was on SoonerSports.TV, or to be there live, as ESPN, and FloSports did not carry the game.

History seemed to loom large as Okahoma hitting legend Jocelyn Alo remained deadlocked with Sooner great Lauren Chamberlain at 95 career home runs; an all-time NCAA best mark.

Would 96 come in Alo’s home state?

Oklahoma squared off with Baylor on Thursday to start things off. The Bears put up very little resistance, as  the Sooners quickly rolled out to an 8-0 lead after two innings. Baylor put three across in the third, but that proved to be far too little and far too late.

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While Baylor’s run production was finished for the day, OU’s offense wasn’t quite done. The Sooners ended up winning the game in run-rule fashion, 12-3. Nicole May got the start in the circle, and went three innings. Hope Trautwein closed the final two frames out. The pair allowed only three hits and struck out six, and May recorded the victory.

Sophomore second baseman Tiare Jennings blasted a home run in the second inning, a three-run shot, and had three RBI, tied with first baseman Taylon Snow for the most in the contest. Snow hit a three-run double to put the game away in the fourth.

On Friday, the undefeated Sooners took on California of the Pac-12 on Friday in the first of two games. Oklahoma cruised to another run-rule victory, shutting out the Golden Bears 8-0. Freshman right-handed pitcher Jordy Bahl got the start, and the freshman continues to impress as she shoots up the leaderboards on the question of who the best pitcher in the nation might be.

Bahl fanned six in five innings of work. The Sooners started the game scoring on some small ball, Jana Johns knocked in Jennings in the first inning with a single. Mackenzie Donihoo drove in another OU run with a single in the second, driving in Jayda Coleman. Alyssa Brito joined in the RBI party in the third, before Grace Lyons finally sent one over the fence for a three-run blast that put the Sooners up 8-0 after three innings.

Then it came! Oklahoma took on Hawaii in the Sooners second game of the day on Friday. Half of the state of Oklahoma had to be awake on their Soonersports.tv app watching and hoping that the third OU game of the Rainbow Wahine Classic would be the charm for Jocelyn Alo.

The Sooners won the game 11-0 in six innings, their third consecutive run-rule victory of the weekend. The game was extended to six innings because Oklahoma led just 5-0 after five innings. As fate would have it the softball gods must have thought it appropriate for Alo to get one more at bat in the game with the chance to break the NCAA home run record.

The Sooners had inexplicably stranded 12 runners through five innings. Alo was due up third in the sixth inning. That moment would shine bigger than any other in the game, even Trautwein’s brilliant13-strikeout, complete-game shutout would be on the back burner.

With a 2-0 count, and Grace Lyons standing on third base. Alo swung the bat, and the crowd went wild as the ball sailed over the center field fence. Phones were out! The moment had finally come; the torch had officially been passed.

The Oklahoma All-American power hitter was crowned the Queen of Home Runs. A title that she had shared for roughly three weeks with former Sooner Lauren Chamberlain. With the crown now solely in Alo’s possession, her teammates mobbed her at home plate. It was almost midnight in Oklahoma, and hopefully all the young softball fans were permitted to stay up to watch, it was a Friday night after-all.

On Saturday, Oklahoma finished out its trip to the Hawaiian Islands, facing Hawaii for a second time.  Nicole May got the start, and Jordy Bahl finished up in relief over the final two innings. The two Sooner pitchers combined for a no-hitter in a five-inning, 9-0 run-rule win. May and Bahl combined for seven strikeouts. Four Sooners homered in the game: Grace Lyons, Taylon Snow, Lynnsie Elam, and Sophia Nugent.

The no-hitter was the OU pitching staff’s fourth of the season and the second combined no-hitter. The Sooners have recorded 64 no-hitters in program history. Bahl tried her hand in the batter’s box and reached base twice, scoring once.

Oklahoma outscored its three opponents in Hawaii 40-3 and outhit them 35-8.

The Sooners improved to 20-0 on the season and are the only remaining undefeated team in the country. Twelve of OU’s 20 wins have been shutouts and 16 have been run-rule victories. For the season, Oklahoma is outscoring its opponents by a whopping 186-20.

The next action for Patty Gasso’s top-ranked softball team is the Hall of Fame Classic, which will take place in Oklahoma City this upcoming Friday-Sunday.

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