OU softball head coach Patty Gasso exhaled and then smiled Friday night. The Sooners had just punched their ticket back to the Women’s College World Series.
So you know what? Free weekend. And a weekend to sit back and watch the rest of the Super Regional chaos. It absolutely was chaos, with five of the eight series going to that deciding Game 3.
No. 2 OU (54-6) wasn’t one of them, but its opponent was. Duke went to Missouri and earned the Game 3 win on the road for the No. 10 seed upset vs. No. 7. The Blue Devils and Tigers were scoreless through eight innings before Duke put up a four-spot in the top of the ninth.
Mizzou responded with a three-run home run, but 4-3 was indeed the final in nine innings.
OU defeated Duke 3-0 on the very first day of the season in Mexico on Feb. 8. The rematch will mark Duke’s first-ever game in the WCWS.
The Sooners, incredibly so, are gunning for that fourth straight national championship. It almost sounds ridiculous just saying it.
“No shot, no shot. I was just going to be a happy little high school coach or maybe move, junior college was a wonderful place to be,” said Gasso about if she ever dreamed this possible. “But I got a chance to go out to the College World Series when I was coaching at Long Beach City College, and just seeing where it is now, it’s unbelievable.
“Not just the fans, but the attention and the media and all you guys sitting here talking to softball players or softball coach. It’s a lifetime that I’ve got to see this, and it’s pretty awesome.”
OU took care of business against No. 15 Florida State, eliminating the Seminoles for the third time in the last four seasons. The Sooners were rolling in an 11-3 five-inning, run-rule victory Thursday.
A little tougher, as expected, but OU found a way with a 4-2 win to clinch it Friday night. Nicole May was lights out in the final two innings to close the door.
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