OU Softball Run-Rules Florida State 11-3 To Open Super Regional

Oklahoma's quest for an unprecedented fourth consecutive NCAA softball title took another authoritative step forward with an 11-3 run-rule victory in five innings over Florida State on Thursday night before a crowd of 4,189 at Love's Field.

It marked the fifth time the Sooners have run-ruled a super regional opponent, which is an NCAA record. It also stretched their winning streak to 17 games in NCAA Tournament play, breaking their own NCAA record of 17 straight.

OU hasn't lost a home super regional game since May 24, 2014, to Tennessee. Its last super regional loss came on May, 5, 2015, at Alabama.

If the No. 2-seeded Sooners (53-6) win Game Two against the No. 5-seeded Seminoles (46-15) on Friday at 7 p.m., OU will advance to its eighth straight Women's College World Series next week at Devon Park in Oklahoma City.

The Sooners' heavy-handed hitters pummeled FSU pitchers for 11 hits and four home runs with multiple other line drives ending up as outs.

This came against a program OU has beaten in two of the last three national best-of-three NCAA championship series.

Sooners senior left-hander Kelly Maxwell (20-2) went the distance and earned the hard-fought victory with a 118-pitch performance that included surrendering a season-high six walks and two hit batters. However, she also yielded just four hits against a talented offensive lineup.

This was in stark contrast to a pitching staff that issued zero walks in 20 innings while going 3-0 in the Norman Regional. Maxwell opened Thursday's super regional by throwing six straight balls.

OU managed to escape unscathed in the first inning despite two walks and a hit-by-pitch from Maxwell, who threw an astonishing 34 pitches to complete the task.

A key sequence came when shortstop Tiare Jennings made a diving stop on a grounder to her right before throwing out the runner at third base for the second out.

Batting second in the lineup, Jennings promptly threw another dagger at the Seminoles with a line-drive solo homer to center to give OU a 1-0 lead.

Second baseman Alynah Torres put the Sooners up 2-0 in the second with a double to right-center to score Rylie Boone from first base.

FSU tied the score at 2 in the top of the third on Devyn Flaherty's two-out, two-run single to right field.

Third baseman Alyssa Brito put OU back in front with the line-drive solo shot to left field to begin the bottom of the third inning.

Boone made it 4-2 with a bunt-single to first that wound up being thrown into right field to score Kasidi Pickering, who previously reached on a sharp single to second.

Torres' hard grounder at relief pitcher Emma Wilson scored catcher Kinzie Hansen to make it 5-2 on a fielder's choice.

Brito's second homer of the game came in the fourth inning with a towering two-run shot to left-center. After Pickering singled, Hansen followed with a two-run blast to left-center to push the lead to 9-2.

Cydney Sanders lined a single down the left-field line in the fourth to score Booner from second and set up a potential run-rule triumph.

The Seminoles responded with a run in the fifth, however, to make it 10-3 before Pickering eventually sealed the win with a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the inning.

UP NEXT

OU and Florida State square off in game two of the super region on Friday at 7 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2 with radio coverage available on 1560 AM/103.3 FM The Franchise 2 and 107.7 FM The Franchise.

For updates and more information on Oklahoma Softball, follow the Sooners on Twitter/X and Instagram (@OU_Softball) and like Oklahoma Softball on Facebook.