Top takeaways from Sooners' historic 8-4 win over Texas in WCWS Finals

The most decorated senior class in softball history has done the impossible, as the Oklahoma Sooners became the first team in Division I history to win four consecutive WCWS national championships with an 8-4 victory over Texas on Thursday night.

It was a back-and-forth game for the first three innings. The Sooners and Longhorns were deadlocked at two apiece heading into the fourth inning, and Texas managed to take a 3-2 lead in the top half of the fourth.

However, from there on out, it was all Sooners, as Oklahoma outscored Texas 6-1 the rest of the way.

Oklahoma (59-7) now sends its unconquerable senior class out with the sport's first four-peat and a full chapter in the NCAA history book.

2024 was undoubtedly the Sooners’ most difficult road to glory in this run, but they still managed to end the year with the same dazzling result–a national title.

Here are a few takeaways from the Sooners’ history-defining victory and what it means for the program going forward.

Among the laundry list of records broken by Oklahoma on Thursday night, one stands alone in obscurity: Oklahoma head coach Patty Gasso sent five different pitchers into the game–a WCWS record—to keep the nation’s top offense off-schedule for the entire game.

Transfer senior Karlie Keeney (2.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 4 BB) got the start and was relieved by Paytn Monticelli (0.1 IP) in the third, who came in and secured a vital ground out to get out of the inning.

Kierston Deal (1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 K) entered in the fourth inning and went a full frame before giving way to senior Nicole May (1.2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 4 K), who was magnificent in her final time on the mound.

Then, to finish things off, Oklahoma turned to Kelly Maxwell (1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 K), and she slammed the door on the Longhorns season with her third save of the year.

After the game, Maxwell was named the WCWS Most Outstanding Player. In her final trip to OKC, the Oklahoma State transfer went a perfect 5-0, totaling 45 strikeouts while recording 2 saves and maintaining a 1.88 ERA.

Coming into the Champ Series, Texas ranked inside the top three in almost every offensive statistic, but against Oklahoma, they just couldn’t keep up.

On Thursday, they turned seven hits into just four runs. On Wednesday, it was three runs on four hits. 11 hits and seven runs doesn’t sound too bad, but when you compare it to the 16 runs on 21 hits from the Sooners, it’s easy to see what the difference was between the two.

All nine Sooners in the starting lineup managed to get on base in some way on Thursday night, and while some of the seniors had terrific nights in their own right, it was the young guns that ended up playing this game wide open and securing the win.

Kasidi Pickering continued her blazing hot postseason run with two hits, including a two-run homer, for two RBI and two runs scored. Fellow freshman Ella Parker had another big night, scoring two on an RBI single in the sixth to give Oklahoma their 8-4 lead.

For the second time in the last three games, Cydney Sanders came up huge for Oklahoma in the clutch. The Sooners' first baseman had struggled at the plate for the better part of the season, finishing the year with a .242 average.

However, she was instrumental in the OU offense in Oklahoma City, launching a pair of home runs against Duke and Florida before showing up for her biggest hit of the season on Thursday. With the bases loaded in the fourth inning, Sanders belted a line drive into the gap into right-center field and cleared the bases to give Oklahoma a 5-3 lead. This came on the heels of Texas gaining the lead, and the momentum, in the to half of the inning just moments before.

Another player who continually showed up in big moments for the Sooners in the Champ series was second baseman Avery Hodge, who was 1-for-2 with a run scored on Thursday but was pivotal once again as a defender. She and Sanders linked up to secure a vital out of Mia Scott in the sixth to get out of a jam with Vivianna Martinez due up.

While Jayda Coleman, Tiare Jennings, Alyssa Brito, Kinzie Hansen, and Rylie Boone will be the names that everyone points to, it was actually the players set to return for OU in 2025 who circled the wagons and led them through to win their fourth national title.

It almost seems gaudy when you spell it out like that, right? It's a great example of just how ridiculous this group of seniors has been over the last four years. There’s never been a more accomplished group in softball–or any sport, for that matter–than the one that just played their final game together at Devon Park.

Just check out some of the incredible stats we’ve seen them amass over the last four seasons.

• 235-15 Record (.940)

• 114 Shutout Wins (49%)

• 131 Run-Rule Wins (56%)

• 0 Shutout Losses

• 0 Run-Rule Losses

• 201-0 when leading by 4+ runs

• Four National Titles

• Highest Win Pct (.940) in D-I History

The list of accomplishments and accolades for this team is almost impossible to comprehend, and with the pressure they’ve faced over the last several seasons, it’s incredible that they were able to hold everything together and remain at the top of the sport for their entire careers.

Now, Oklahoma sends an unforgettable group of women into their next phase of life without ever knowing what it feels like to end their season with a loss.

In the coming days and weeks, Oklahoma will have to wave goodbye to the ten members of its 2024 senior class:

• Tiare Jennings, SS

• Jayda Coleman, CF

• Rylie Boone, OF

• Kinzie Hansen, C

• Kelly Maxwell, LHP

• Nicole May, RHP

• Alyssa Brito, 3B

• Alynah Torres, 2B

• Karlie Keeney, RHP

• Riley Ludlam, C

So, where does that leave the squad heading into next season? Assuming we don't see any portal entries from this team, Oklahoma is set to return 11 players from this year's team.

• Cydney Sanders, 1B (Jr.)

• Hannah Coor, OF (R-So.)

• Quincee Lilio, UTL (R-So.)

• Kierston Deal, LHP (So.)

• Paytn Monticelli, RHP (So.)

• Avery Hodge, 2B (So.)

• SJ Geurin, LHP (R-Fr.)

• Nelly McEnroe-Marinas, INF (Fr.)

• Ella Parker, DP (Fr.)

• Kasidi Pickering, OF (Fr.)

• Maya Bland, OF (Fr.)

The Sooners will also add eight freshmen to their ranks with the 2024 recruiting class, which is completely loaded with talent from all over the country.

• Sydney Barker, INF

• Gabbie Garcia, INF

• Chaney Helton, OF

• Corri Hicks, C/1B

• Audrey Lowry, LHP

• Kadey McKay, INF

• Tia Milloy, INF

• Riley Zache, C/INF

With 11 players returning and eight new faces coming in, Oklahoma has 19 players set for Norman in 2024. In the day and age of the transfer portal, we will almost certainly see some losses to the portal, but we will also see Oklahoma go after some major players in the portal as well.

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