Parker’s walk-off homer gives Oklahoma 4-3 win over Tennessee in Women’s CWS thriller
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Ella Parker hit a three-run, walk-off homer to lift Oklahoma to a 4-3 win over Tennessee on Thursday in the Women’s College World Series opener for both teams.
Parker’s second homer of the game off Tennessee ace Karlyn Pickens came with two outs and strengthened the Sooners’ chances of winning a fifth straight national title.
“I wasn’t trying to make any moment too big,” Parker said. “I thought all the batters before that did a good job staying loose throughout the moment and not letting the moment get too big.”
Some fans thought the game was already over before Parker’s shot. That didn’t sit well with Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso.
“The one thing that we noticed, and I’m just going to be really honest, is I was watching people leave the game, and it was in the seventh,” Gasso said. “And I shared that with the team — not that that had anything to do with anything — but people thought we were done. One thing, if you’re watching us through the season — we’re never done.”
Pickens, a National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) first-team All-American, had dominated most of the game with pitches regularly hitting 75 mph.
She faltered late. Ailana Agbayani opened Oklahoma’s half of the seventh with a walk. Pickens retired the next two hitters before Oklahoma’s pair of first-team All-Americans came through. Kasidi Pickering singled and moved Agbayani to third before Parker’s blast to center ended the game.
Second-seeded Oklahoma (51-7) advanced to face No. 6 seed Texas, a 3-0 winner over No. 3 Florida in its opener, on Saturday for a spot in the semifinals. Oklahoma has beaten Texas in the championship series two of the past three years. Both programs jumped from the Big 12 to the Southeastern Conference this season.
Seventh-seeded Tennessee (45-16) will face Florida in an elimination game on Friday. Instead of having a day to rest Pickens, the Volunteers will have a short turnaround after Pickens threw 129 pitches.
“Obviously that was a gut-punch,” Tennessee coach Karen Weekly said. “I thought our team played really, really well. Proud of how we came out. We don’t have time to feel sorry for ourselves. We got to be ready to play tomorrow, and that’s what we just talked about in the locker room.”
Oklahoma pitcher Sam Landry, a second-team All-American, hung tough and got the win, despite trailing nearly the entire game. She scattered eight hits and allowed just one earned run.
Tennessee led 3-1 and loaded the bases with one out in the seventh, but Oklahoma turned a double play and the Volunteers did not score.
“We work on double plays all the time, so they’re fun to turn in a game,” Landry said. “They’re definitely a momentum changer. So having them there to change the momentum, keep it on our side — basically the whole game was kind of on their side. So when we could take those moments and get it back in our dugout, it was a win.”
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