Oklahoma softball: Takeaways from Sooners' run-rule win over Florida State in Norman Super Regional

Oklahoma softball ace Kelly Maxwell didn't have her best outing, but the power-laden Sooner offense more than made up for it with four long balls and in an 11-3 run-rule victory over 15th-seeded Florida State in Game 1 of the Norman Super Regional on Thursday.

Tiare Jennings put the Sooners (53 -6) on the board early with a solo home run to left field in the first inning and OU added to it with another run in the second off of Florida State freshman starter Ashtyn Danley on a double by Alynah Torres scoring Rylie Boone all the way from first.

Florida State tied it up with a couple of runs in the top of the third, only to have Oklahoma respond with three runs of their own on three hits and an FSU fielding error. The big hit of that three-run OU uprising was a home run by Alyssa Brito, the first of two she hit in the game.

The Sooners broke the game wide open in the fourth, scoring five times fueled by home runs from both Brito and Kinzie Hansen. That made the score 10-2 and put the Seminoles within three outs of losing Game 1 of the super regional series by run rule.

FSU did manage to extend the game by scoring a run in the top of the fifth, but OU freshman Kasidi Pickering drew a bases-loaded walk in the bottom half of the inning, which scored the winning run ending the game.

It was a big win for the Sooners, who are now just one win away from advancing to their eighth consecutive Women's College World Series. The two teams will meet again on Friday night at Love's Field on the OU campus in Norman. The game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. CT and will be televised on ESPN2.

Five takeaways from OU's Game 1 super regional win over Florida State

• OU starter Kelly Maxwell won her 20th game on the season to go with two losses, but she struggles from the start. She had thrown 50+ pitches into the third inning and incurred a number of three-ball counts over the first few innings. The graduate transfer from Oklahoma State pitched a complete game but deliveredt 118 pitches in just 5.0 innings. Maxwell averages nearly seven strikeouts per game but had just three against Florida State and issued an uncharacteristic six free passes.

• With the 11-3 win over Florida State in the Norman Super Regional, Oklahoma set a new NCAA record with 17 consecutive victories in NCAA postseason games. The Sooners also held the previous record with 16 consecutive postseason wins.

• Tiare Jennings' second-inning home run was her team-high 22nd of the season and third in four 2024 NCAA Tournament games. It was her 95th career home run, which ties her with former Oklahoma All-American Lauren Chamberlain for third place on the career leaderboard.

• The Sooners' run-rule win over FSU was their nation-best 26th of the season in 59 games.