ESPN sparks outrage after brutal Red River Rivalry ending chaos

Although heartbreaking for Oklahoma fans, it was an incredible ending to Game 3 of the Red River Rivalry series on Sunday, but even those who hung onto every pitch still might have missed the climax of the game.

Katie Stewart launched a two-run walk-off home run over the left-field wall to give Texas the 8-6 win in extra innings, but the ball had already left the park by the time some fans even realized how to watch the final moments.

In the middle of the eighth inning after the Sooners took a 6-5 lead, ESPN abruptly switched the broadcast with basically no warning. Many fans watching didn't even realize the channels were swapped until Shaq and Charles Barkley's faces popped up on their screens for ESPN NBA Tip-Off.

College softball fans miss Texas' walk-off vs. Oklahoma because of ESPN disaster

Fans then frantically tried to find which channel to watch the end of the game on, or wondered if they had just zoned out long enough to miss the ending or a weather delay. The game was ultimately on ESPNU, so those without that channel either had to pull up the ESPN app or completely miss the dramatic walk-off. Regardless, it was a lot of quickly flipping channels or texting friends to figure out where the game moved to.

Even for those who eventually found the right channel, many still missed Hannah Wells start the bottom half of the inning for Texas with a solo shot in the first at-bat. That tied the game after OU took the lead in the top half when Kai Minor singled in Sydney Barker. Gabbie Garcia had ultimately sent the game to extras with a two-run blast in the top of the seventh that tied the game 5-5.

In the end, OU fans probably wished they didn't have to witness that crushing final swing of Game 3, but the Sooners still took the series after winning the first two games on Friday and Saturday. The exclamation point that included a bat slam from Stewart heated up the rivalry even more as the two will likely meet again in the postseason, but even OU and Texas fans, and all college softball observers, still agreed that ESPN was the worst enemy of the day after ruining the ending for one of the best games of the season.