Sooners Win Game One After Five-Run Sixth

Alabama

Oklahoma

Box Score | Quotes | Highlights | Photos

Inning-by-Inning
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
OU	0	0	0	0	0	5	0	5	4	1
ALA	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	2	5	0

Pitching
	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
W - P. Parker (28-5)	7.0	5	2	2	3	6
L - Osorio (19-8)	6.1	4	5	5	4	7
S - N/A	-	-	-	-	-	-

Individual Leaders
	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	HR
OU - Chamberlain	3	1	1	2	0	1
ALA - McCleney	3	1	1	1	1	1

Player of the Game
Paige Parker // Fr. // LHP In a battle of two of three finalists for Freshman of the Year, Parker got the upper hand by recording the win over the Crimson Tide. She outdueled Alabama's Alexis Osorio to improve to 28-5 on the year. Parker struck out six and gave up just two runs and five hits in a complete-game win. At the plate, Parker hit a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning to drive in what turned out to be the game-winning run.

Player of the Game

Paige Parker // Fr. // LHP
In a battle of two of three finalists for Freshman of the Year, Parker got the upper hand by recording the win over the Crimson Tide. She outdueled Alabama's Alexis Osorio to improve to 28-5 on the year. Parker struck out six and gave up just two runs and five hits in a complete-game win. At the plate, Parker hit a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning to drive in what turned out to be the game-winning run.

Game Notes
Oklahoma now trails the all-time series against Alabama, 7-4 ... the loss snapped a three-game losing streak in the series, its longest active losing streak against another team ... OU has won nine of its last 10 Super Regional games ... Oklahoma is 4-1 in Super Regional series when winning game one ... the Sooners are 11-9 all-time in Super Regional play and 89-41 in postseason play in program history ... OU walked four times to move into sixth in Division I single-season history with 292 on the year ... with 484 runs scored this year, OU has scored the 13th most run in a season in Division I history ... OU's two home runs pushed their season total to 105, tied for 12th most in a season in NCAA history ... Lauren Chamberlain extended the all-time home run record to 93 with a two-run homer in the sixth

Game Notes

Oklahoma now trails the all-time series against Alabama, 7-4 ... the loss snapped a three-game losing streak in the series, its longest active losing streak against another team ... OU has won nine of its last 10 Super Regional games ... Oklahoma is 4-1 in Super Regional series when winning game one ... the Sooners are 11-9 all-time in Super Regional play and 89-41 in postseason play in program history ... OU walked four times to move into sixth in Division I single-season history with 292 on the year ... with 484 runs scored this year, OU has scored the 13th most run in a season in Division I history ... OU's two home runs pushed their season total to 105, tied for 12th most in a season in NCAA history ... Lauren Chamberlain extended the all-time home run record to 93 with a two-run homer in the sixth

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – A five-run sixth inning, highlighted by a pair of two-run homers, lifted No. 11 Oklahoma (49-7) to a 5-2, comeback win at No. 6 Alabama (45-13) Friday night in game one of the Tuscaloosa Super Regional.

“What a great game and great atmosphere - it was exciting throughout,” Oklahoma head coach Patty Gasso said. “I am very proud of this team and how they stuck with it until the end. We were starting to run out of outs and we could feel that. We were really trying to crack the code on (Alabama pitcher Alexis) Osorio. She's really, really good and was very effective and tough to figure out.

“(Alabama is) a tough team. I felt like I was at the Women's College World Series, without question, with the atmosphere and intensity - you could feel it. That's fun though for anyone who was a part of it. It was quite a game.”

With the victory, Oklahoma is now just one win away from reaching the Women's College World Series for the fifth straight season and 10th time overall. Game two, in which OU will be the home team, is scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday on ESPN. If a game three is necessary, it will be played at 7 p.m. Saturday night on ESPN2.

Oklahoma has won nine of its last 10 Super Regional games dating back to 2011 and is 4-1 all-time in Super Regional series when winning game one.

The loss also snapped a three-game losing streak to the Crimson Tide, the longest active losing streak for OU against another team.

After being held hitless for a season-high five innings, the Sooners' offense came to life in the sixth inning as it exploded for five runs on four hits.

The inning started as senior Callie Parsons stepped to the plate as a pinch-hitter and delivered OU's first hit of the game with a single back up the middle. Fellow senior Lauren Chamberlain came to the plate as the tying run and the all-time home run champion did not disappoint.

On a 2-0 pitch, Chamberlain drove a pitch just under the scoreboard in left field to knot the game up at 2-2. It was her 21st home run of the season, and she extended the NCAA home run record to 93 with the shot. In 30 career postseason games, Chamberlain has 15 home runs.

“She may not have seen as many opportunities throughout the season, but I feel comfortable putting her in in this situation because she has been there and done that,” Gasso said of the decision to pinch-hit Parsons. “She's a senior and knew what we wanted. That really started the rally - just trying to get a leadoff runner on was what we were all about, especially towards the end of the game, knowing how important it was.

“If we could get somebody on, we were one swing away as Lauren (Chamberlain) proved. Then, it just kind of opened up for us.”

Tied at 2-2, senior Shelby Pendley kept the rally going with a walk on five pitches. Junior Erin Miller then dropped down a bunt and hustled down the first-base line to beat the throw. Senior Georgia Casey moved both runners into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt, leaving the go-ahead run just 60 feet away.

The small-ball strategy paid off as freshman pitcher Paige Parker helped her own cause by lifting a fly ball to the warning track in center field, deep enough to score Pendley from third and give the Sooners a 3-2 lead.

Looking for some more runs, junior Kady Self stood at the plate and, like Chamberlain, found herself in a 2-0 count. Self turned on the pitch and sent a high fly ball down the line that would have the distance, but whether it would stay fair or not was the question.

That was answered emphatically as the home run clanged high off the foul pole to put OU on top 5-2.

The Crimson Tide had a chance to tie or win the game in the seventh inning but Parker held steady.

Danielle Richard led off the seventh with a bunt single, but Parker struck out No. 9 hitter Chandler Dare for the first out. Leadoff batter Demi Turner grounded out to Chamberlain at first base, but Haylie McCleney walked and Jaydn Spencer was hit by a pitch to fill the bases.

That brought Spencer to the plate, who had already doubled in a run in the first. Parker got ahead in the count 1-2 before Spencer took a pair of balls to run the count full. After Spencer fouled off a pair of pitches, Parker pulled the string on a 3-2 changeup to get Spencer swinging for the final out.

It was the sixth and final strikeout of the game for Parker, who got the win to improve to 28-5 on the season. She allowed two runs on five hits and three walks. Parker was especially strong from the fourth through sixth innings, allowing just one walk to the 10 batters she faced.

Alabama took the lead in the first inning thanks to a pair of doubles.

Turner led off the game and completed a seven-pitch at-bat by dropping a single into shallow left-center that was just out of reach of Self in left field, Nicole Pendley in center field and Shelby Pendley at shortstop. After a strike out of McCleney, Parker surrendered a go-ahead double to the gap in left-center by Spencer.

The Crimson Tide added to their lead in the third when McCleney homered for the fourth straight game. The solo homer to center field, her eighth of the year, gave Alabama a 2-0 lead.