The Oklahoma Sooners (51-1) softball team now owns the all-time Division I record for consecutive victories with 48 straight and counting after edging the Clemson Lady Tigers 8-7 in nine innings in the Norman Super Regional.
The Sooners win keeps their quest alive for a third straight national championship by advancing to a seventh straight Women’s College World Series and their 11th in the last 12 seasons.
The win came after the crowd of over 2,000 sang Happy Birthday to OU head coach Patty Gasso.
On the first pitch in the top of the ninth, OU second baseman Tiare Jennings blasted a solo homer to center to set the final margin. It was Jennings’ second homer of the game and it gave the Lady Sooners the lead. A four-run spark in the bottom of the fifth began with McKenzie Clark’s 2-run homer to center to give Clemson a 5-4 advantage. A basesloaded walk made the score 6-4 and a fielder’s choice RBI upped the Sooners’ deficit to three runs.
It marked just the second time this season OU trailed by three runs. The previous occurrence was in a 4-3 loss at Baylor on Feb. 19, which remains the Sooners’ only setback this season.
