Oklahoma Returns To Women’s College World Series With 7-6 Win Over Louisiana-Lafayette

Following a rain delay on Friday night that lasted more than two hours, the Oklahoma Sooners picked up exactly where they left off on Thursday with their bats sizzling. OU struck for three runs in the top of second and the tone of the night was set. Sydney Romero, Kady Self, and Lea Wodach all made their way around the bases to score and Paige Parker recorded her second strike out of the game while sitting the Ragin' Cajuns down in order in the bottom half.

Louisiana-Lafayette didn't make it as far as they have this year by going away quietly though. The Cajuns pulled to within a run in the bottom of the third with Haley Hayden and Shellie Landry both coming home for ULL's first two runs of the game.

Sara Corbello tied the game with a solo homerun to centerfield, but the score didn't remain that way for long. Sydney Romero led off the fifth for Oklahoma with a home run that bounced off the left field foul pole and put the Sooners back in front for good at 4-3.

Oklahoma added two more in the top of the sixth to double up Lafayette at 6-3. With two outs Shay Knighten blistered the ball into center, scoring both Kelsey Arnold and Erin Miller. The stage was set and Oklahoma was just six outs away from the fifth Women's College World Series in six years but there was still more drama to come.

Lea Wodach gave the Sooners an insurance run in the top of the seventh with an RBI triple that was just inches away from being a home run and allowed Erin Miller to score. It turns out that OU would need that run as ULL would mount a seventh inning rally off the bat of Kelsey Vincent who sent a three-run shot to right-center field. "After that home run I knew that I wasn't going to let them score again," Oklahoma pitcher Page Parker said. True to her word, she got DJ Sanders to pop out and end the game.

"That was one of the toughest games I've ever been a part of," Oklahoma head coach Patty Gasso said. "Louisiana-Lafayette made us better."

The seven runs for the Sooners came off twelve hits with Sydney Romero leading the way by going 3-of-4 from the plate with an RBI and two runs scored.

Oklahoma returns to the World Series for the tenth time in program history. Before missing out last season, they previously made four consecutive appearances from 2011-2014 with a national championship in 2013.