An emotional Ella Parker explained to ESPN's Holly Rowe the reason for her tears just moments after accomplishing one of the most unforgettable plays in Oklahoma softball history.
With the Sooners down to their last out and trailing Tennessee 3-1, Parker hit a walk-off three-run home run over the centerfield wall at Devon Park in OU's first game of the 2025 Women's College World Series. The swing secured the No. 2 Sooners' 4-3 miracle win and propelled them to Saturday's game against Texas instead of to the losers bracket with an improbable path back to the top.
After the celebration, Rowe interviewed Parker on the ESPN broadcast and asked about Parker's emotion as she still had tears in her eyes.
"Going into it, I knew our fourth man was in the fire," Parker said. "And this team has done so much. We've just battled and battled and battled. Just knowing that our fourth man was with us, I'm so emotional."
What Ella Parker meant by the “fourth man” after WCWS walk-off
OU has embraced the "fourth man" mantra all season, as Patty Gasso's Sooners usually have a season-long motto they live by all year. This season, the Sooners have consistently raised four fingers in the air and mentioned the "fourth man" during press conferences.
The "fourth man" motto is based on a Bible story in Daniel when King Nebuchadnezzar throws three men -- Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego -- into a furnace as punishment for their faith. But in Daniel 3:25, King Nebuchadnezzar says, "Look! I see four men, not tied, walking around in the fire unharmed; and the fourth looks like a son of the gods." The three men eventually walked out of the fire unharmed.
"No matter what, I know he's with me," Garcia told Sports Spectrum. "He is the fourth man in the fire and he's been the fourth man in our fire this entire time, and so we'll hold that up in representation of him, knowing that he's standing here with us no matter what. That's kind of what he's been for us. He's that fourth man in the fire."
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