OU falls to Florida in stunner, still alive in WCWS

Source: ESPN.com

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. -- Oklahoma's Division I-record 20-game winning streak in the NCAA tournament ended Monday when Florida, behind by three home runs, stunned the Sooners 9-3 in the Women's College World Series semifinals.

Because Oklahoma entered the game undefeated in bracket play and the Gators had a loss in the double-elimination format (10-0 to Texas on Saturday), the Sooners remain alive in their pursuit of a fourth straight national title. The two teams will meet again Tuesday in a winner-take-all rematch.

First it rained, forcing a three-hour delay, then it poured on the Sooners. Florida freshman phenom Keagan Rothrock, who leads the nation in victories (33-8), stymied the Sooners' bats, holding them without a hit until the fourth inning. Once they got the bats going, they couldn't capitalize in key situations, and they couldn't stop the Gators' offense.

"Tough game for us," Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso said. "Florida hit the ball really well today. Credit them that. We left 10 runners in scoring position, so that's tough when you look at the box scores. ... We didn't play well enough to win this game all around. It wasn't just pitching. It was all the way around."

The Sooners have been so dominant for so long that the six-run loss was Oklahoma's second-largest defeat in 74 WCWS appearances, behind only a 13-run loss to UCLA in the 2019 championship series. It was also Gasso's first loss to a former Sooners assistant (Florida coach Tim Walton worked for her from 1999 to 2002), ending a 52-0 streak.

The Gators hit OU starter Nicole May hard, getting six hits and four earned runs in two innings. May is 62-6 in her OU career, but three of those losses have come in the WCWS, where she is 1-3 with a 6.21 ERA and 7 homers allowed in 23 innings.

Three of those long balls came on Monday, including Kendra Falby's second-inning inside-the-park homer, just the third in WCWS history.

"I think that's the quickest I've ever seen her run, honestly," said teammate Skylar Wallace, who hit two home runs of her own, her first multihomer game of the season.

Rothrock was able to stay steady despite the Sooners starting to chip away at the lead. Even when they got runners on base, Rothrock was able to work her way out of trouble time and time again.

"There's an opportunity in those games that most average freshmen are going to get nervous," Walton said. "She found a way to get another gear and get better."

The good news for the Sooners is they forced Rothrock to throw 130 pitches, getting a good look at Tuesday's likely starter.

"She's a hoss," Gasso said. "She's really doing a great job for that program. As a freshman, [it's] really very impressive."

OU, meanwhile, has a rested Kelly Maxwell (21-2) for Tuesday's elimination game. She threw a 1-0 shutout gem with 11 strikeouts against UCLA on Saturday.

The Sooners are confident they'll rebound. One winning streak ended, but OU's quest for a fourth straight national championship remains intact.

"The Sooners play best after we get punched in the mouth," catcher Kinzie Hansen said. "That's what I've learned this season."