Texas didn't just hold the first three teams it faced in the Women's College World Series scoreless—the Longhorns one-hit all three of them.

But Oklahoma didn't just break the Longhorn's scoreless streak; they blew it out of the water. The Sooners poured on their first five runs of the game via the long ball and went on to win by a score of 8-3.

With the win, Oklahoma (58-7) is just one victory away from becoming the first team in NCAA history to win four consecutive national championships, spanning from 2021 to 2024.

Meanwhile, Texas (55-9) would now have to beat Oklahoma on Thursday and again on Friday to win their first national championship in school history.

Here are a few things that stood out in this game and what it means for the Sooners heading into Game 2 of the WCWS Champ Series.

Kelly Maxwell has been the one pitcher that Texas has faced multiple times this season that has regularly held their potent offense in check. Maxwell threw her third consecutive complete game on Wednesday night and was spectacular against the nation's top offense. In 7.0 IP, Maxwell allowed four hits and one earned run, surrendered four walks, and struck out eight Texas batters.

Maxwell has now thrown 24.0 innings against the Longhorns this season, and here's how it's gone: 3-1 Record, 12 H, 6 ER, 11 BBs, 31 K.

To this point, Texas has struggled with the drop ball, and Maxwell's ability to disguise it and change speeds from inning to inning has made her akin to kryptonite for an otherwise unstoppable Longhorns offense.

One of the things that has made Oklahoma so difficult to beat over the past several seasons has been their ability to put runs on the board in bunches. At times in 2024, that part of their DNA has seemed to be lacking, and it's made them vulnerable to teams with excellent pitching.

The regular season series losses to Texas and Oklahoma State were a shining example of that, with OU scoring just six runs total in four losses to the Longhorns and Pokes. However, on Wednesday night, the Sooners' offense looked a lot like the units that powered the program to each of their last three national titles, and Texas didn't have an answer for it.

Tiare Jennings (2-4, 3 RBI, HR), Kinzie Hansen (2-4, 2 RBI, HR), and Kasidi Pickering (1-4, 1 RBI, HR) all went yard. The Sooners were 9-of-30 (.300) at the plate and 3-of-8 (.375) in the leadoff spot.

Oklahoma scoring early and often placed mounting pressure on Texas' defense, and—as it has in the past—it forced a few critical mistakes from the Longhorns defense, which led to two unearned runs on three Texas errors.

After the game went final and ESPN tuned into SportsCenter With Scott Van Pelt, a graphic on the broadcast caught my eye, and I honestly couldn't believe what I was seeing.

Oklahoma and Texas have faced off six times in the NCAA Softball Tournament, dating back to 2002. In those games, OU has a 6-0 record and has outscored Texas 55-14, or by an average of around 9-2.

Texas entered the Championship Series as the favorite to take home the title, but now Mike White's squad is faced with doing something that's never been done before. They'll have to beat this group of Oklahoma seniors in back-to-back postseason games and eliminate them from the WCWS for the first time in their careers.

It's not impossible with Texas's firepower both offensively and in the circle, but it's a tall task, even for the tournament's No. 1 seed.

The Sooners and Longhorns will be back in action on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. CT on ESPN.

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