Oklahoma softball advances to WCWS semifinals

Oklahoma softball’s journey to the semifinals

By: John Rohde

OKLAHOMA CITY — No. 2 Oklahoma softball (52-8) used three home runs to advance to the semifinal round of the Women’s College World Series (WCWS) with a 4-1 victory over No. 16 Oregon (54-10) on Sunday night.

Before a crowd of 12,458 at Devon Park, senior first baseman Cydney Sanders homered twice and redshirt junior catcher Isabela Emerling added a solo shot to help the Sooners to their 52nd victory on the year.

OU now faces No. 12 Texas Tech (52-12) at 6 p.m. Monday on ESPN. The Sooners must force an “if necessary” game and defeat the Red Raiders twice Monday to advance to the best-of-three Championship Series, which begins Wednesday at 7 p.m. on ESPN.

“We’re in elimination time now, so you do everything and anything you can,” OU coach Patty Gasso said.

The Sooners have now won nine straight elimination games at the WCWS.

“That’s impressive. Nine is pretty dang impressive,” Gasso admitted. “That’s character. We’re not going to quit, so I love, love, love that.”

Lefthander Kierston Deal started in the circle for OU, working 2.2 innings of one-run ball before Sam Landry (25-5) earned the win in relief.

“I don’t want to speak for KD, but I thought she just looked really good,” Landry said. “She came out very confident. It’s fun going in behind someone else like that.”

Over her 4.1 innings of shut-out work, Landry allowed just two hits, posted six strikeouts and one walk while lowering her season ERA to 1.85. Of Landry’s 65 pitches, 45 were strikes.

“I think it all started in the circle,” Gasso said. “It was KD that came out and really handled her business pretty well. [She] Gave up a run … we answered back pretty quickly. And then we had Sam come in and just kind of let her ride it through.”

Sanders gave the Sooners a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the third inning with a two-run homer to left. She added a solo shot to left in the fifth to set the game’s final margin.

Both of Sanders’ homers came off Oregon ace Lyndsey Grein (30-3).

“It was pretty cool,” Sanders said. “I have never done that before, especially in the World Series. So that was, like, awesome. I don’t know, I have never seen that before. It was pretty exciting. It may not look like it on TV or whatever, but I was excited on the inside.”

Actually, it marked the second time this season Sanders homered twice in the same game. She homered twice in the same inning against St. Thomas on April 3.

Isabela Emerling started OU’s scoring ahead of Sanders’ go-ahead bomb, launching a towering homer to left to even the game at 1-1 in the second.

“Just trying to hit a ground ball up the middle,” Emerling said of her solo shot. “No strategy behind it.”

Sanders finished 2-for-3 with three RBIs. Kasidi Pickering and Ella Parker each went 2-for-4.

Sanders now has 58 career home runs (21 came her freshman season at Arizona State). Half of her 38 hits this season have been for extra bases with 13 homers and six doubles. She ranks fifth among all active Division I players in career home runs, with five of those coming at the Women’s College World Series. 

“Just really zoning in on the strike zone, not really making it too big,” Sanders said of her night at the plate. “I think I took a really big hack, and I told myself to relax and not try and do too much.”

Oregon’s lone run came on a solo shot from right fielder Dezianna Patmon in the top of the second off Deal.

Sunday’s outcome marked the only time this season the Ducks lost a game when hitting a home run (42-0 entering what wound up being their season finale). Conversely, OU is 11-0 in games in which Emerling hits a home run. 

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