We move to number 19!
The Sooners win a 17-inning thriller over the top-seeded Florida Gators in Game 1 of the 2017 WCWS National Championship.
If you are a longtime Sooner softball fan and think of former Oklahoma softball player Shay Knighten, you instantly think of her 17th-inning walk-off home run over the Florida Gators in Game 1 of the 2017 WCWS National Championship.
On June 5, 2017, the 10th-seeded Oklahoma Sooners matched up with the top-seeded Florida Gators for the WCWS National Championship. The two schools had claimed two each of the previous four national championships.
Channeling this pic.twitter.com/SVNsEWklmQ
— Barstool Sooners (@OUBarstool) June 4, 2024
It began with Florida’s elite pitcher Kelly Barnhill striking out two of three Oklahoma batters in the top of the first inning.
A bit of a surprising move made by Sooners head coach Patty Gasso starting off the game with pitcher Paige Lowary instead of the expected starter being pitcher Paige Parker.
Following a scoreless four in a half innings, Aleshia Ocasio gave the Gators a 1-0 lead with an RBI single, and bringing in second baseman Nicole Dewitt.
In the top of the fifth inning, the Sooners answered immediately with an RBI single of their own. It was third baseman Sydney Romero getting the hit, centerfielder Nicole Pendley capturing the run and tying it 1-1.
Freshman right fielder Nicole Mendes ripped a Barnhill rise ball for a home run in the top of the sixth to give Oklahoma a 2-1 lead.
At the bottom of the seventh inning, with a runner on first base, the count is full, and down 2-1. Infielder Sophia Reynoso popped up a fly ball, but Sooners were unable to secure the catch to the end game which allowed Ocasio to come home, knotting the game at 2-2. Extra innings they went.
Both defenses stayed solid keeping each team without any runs scored from the eighth to the 11th inning.
Outfielder Fale Aviu gave the Sooners a 4-2 lead in the 12th inning after she rocked a two-run homer. Once again though, the Gators extended the game at the bottom of the 12th inning due to a two-run RBI double by outfielder Amanda Lorenz.
As the late evening continued, another scoreless stretch by both teams occurred between innings 13th and 16th.
Starting the 17th inning, a single by Mendes and second baseman Caleigh Clifton being hit by a pitch put two runners on first and second. Sooner Magic arose with the pitching count at 1-2, Shay Knighten delivered arguably the greatest moment in Sooner softball history with a momentum-grabbing three-run bomb to give her team a 7-4 lead and potentially secure the 7-5 victory over the Gators.
By: Joey Ross