No. 2 Sooners battle to final out, conclude season in WCWS semifinals against Texas Tech
OKLAHOMA CITY— No. 2 Oklahoma (52-9) nearly pulled off another Sooner Magic trick in the seventh inning at the Women’s College World Series before coming up just short in a 3-2 loss to No. 12 Texas Tech (53-12) in the semifinals of the Women’s College World Series Monday, June 2.
Down 2-0 in the game and with Abigale Dayton down 0-2 in the count with two away in the seventh, the junior outfielder hit a 245-foot two-run homer to right center to tie the game. Texas Tech had another punch though, winning on a sac fly in the bottom of the seventh.
Texas Tech center fielder Mihyia Davis chopped a seeing-eye single up the middle. That was followed by shortstop Hailey Toney’s double off the left field wall that barely flew over the outstretched glove of Sooners left fielder Kasidi Pickering, putting runners at second and third. Tech’s Lauren Allred concluded the game with a sac fly to right field as Davis slid in safely.
The win snapped a 37-game OU winning streak versus the Red Raiders.
A crowd of 10,658 at Devon Park was treated to a showdown between All-American pitchers NiJaree Canady (33-5) of Texas Tech and OU’s Sam Landry (25-6).
A frenzied Devon Park crowd watched the OU Sooners and Texas Tech battle for seven innings Monday in the WCWS semifinals.
Canady allowed five hits, struck out eight and walked two while going the distance. Landry scattered six hits, struck out six and walked three in 6.2 innings.
The outcome ended the Sooners’ unprecedented streak of four straight national titles and also snapped their run of winning nine straight elimination games at the WCWS.
“I haven’t felt this in a while,” OU coach Patty Gasso said afterward. “So no one’s feeling sorry for me about that, I’m sure. But you always want to raise a trophy and just celebrate down at Toby Keith’s place. That’s kind of been our place for the last four years. It’s hard to talk about. I’m really excited for the future. It’s hard to lose. This was the most enjoyable season I’ve had in a long time.”
Sydney Barker went an impressive 3-for-3 against Canady. OU’s other two hits were a single from Ella Parker to lead off the sixth and Dayton’s dramatic homer.
OU’s Abigale Dayton sets to blast a two-out, two-strike, two-run homer to tie the game with Texas Tech in Monday’s WCWS semifinals at Devon Park in Oklahoma City.
“We were never going to give up without a fight,” Parker said.
Additionally, Dayton nearly tied the score with a would-be two-run homer in the fifth, sending a high fly ball to the warning track in left center.
Dayton was familiar with Canady, a Stanford transfer, having faced her while playing for Utah the previous two seasons.
“I hit off of her a couple times,” Dayton said. “But just being able to have my teammates’ back and knowing they have mine puts a lot of confidence in myself. But definitely understanding how she throws was in my mind. I was able to kind of use that.”
“I don’t know. I’m still in shock,” OU senior first baseman Cydney Sanders said. “I think it was a great way to go out, honestly. I’m very proud of this team. Especially (since) we literally had 14 new players. That is something that you never have seen before.”
Gasso said, “We’re standing at the World Series as one of the top three teams left, with a team of 14 newcomers, and I just shared with them in the locker room how much fun I had with them, coaching them, watching them grow, watching them be hungry, watching them never quit. The amount of extra-inning or last-inning heroics and come-from-behind wins has been something incredible. It was emotional, amazing, one of my favorite years of all time, I must say.”
The Sooners finished the season with a record of 52-9, continuing a streak of 50-win seasons with their ninth in a row. OU claimed the 2025 Southeastern Conference regular-season championship and was also co-champions of the SEC Tournament.
The Red Raiders meet the Texas Longhorns in the best-of-3 Championship Series beginning Wednesday. Texas Tech is attempting to win the national championship in its WCWS debut, something the Sooners did in 2000, while the Longhorns are chasing their first softball national title, having lost to OU in two of the past three finals.
