WOMEN'S COLLEGE WORLD SERIES
ELIMINATION ROUND
OKLAHOMA 2, FLORIDA 0
WHAT HAPPENED: The Gators were the No. 2 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, but they were no match for Sooners superstar pitcher
Paige Parker, who totally flummoxed the UF bats on her way to a second shutout victory on Women's College World Series elimination Saturday at Hall of Fame Stadium. OU power-hitting freshman
Jocelyn Alo clubbed her 30th homer of the season off UF starter
Kelly Barnhill, and that was all the run support Parker, the four-time All-American and four-time Big 12 Pitcher of the Year needed. The fourth-seeded Sooners added an insurance run when
Aleshia Ocasio, on in early relief for Barnhill, struck out
Shay Knighten with the bases loaded to seemingly end the fifth inning, but the ball scooted past catcher
Janell Wheaton for a wild pitch that let in a huge second run, making UF's comeback hopes all the more daunting. Parker allowed just two hits (singles to
Kayli Kvistad in the first inning and to Wheaton in the seventh), retired 13 of the final 14 Florida batters she faced, struck out eight and walked just two. It was the second straight year, Parker had a major hand in finishing UF's hopes of a national title here in Oklahoma City. The Sooners swept the Gators in their best-of-three championship series to claim a second straight NCAA crown.
PLAY OF THE GAME: Alo's homer was a no-doubter, high and long, landing in the bullpen area beyond the ESPN camera well. She is now in a three-way tie for the NCAA freshman record for home runs in a season (30). She shares record with OU's Lauren Chamberlain (2012) and Hawaii's Kelly Majam (2010).
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Parker, obviously, and not just because of what she did against the Gators. Earlier in the day, Parker worked seven innings, allowed just two hits, struck out seven and walked two in the Sooners' 2-0 ousting of eighth-seeded ASU, their first of two wins facing elimination Saturday. So against two top-eight seeds, in the span of nine hours, she spun 14 scoreless innings, allowed only four hits, struck out 13 and walked four. Have a day, young lady.
STAGGERING STATISTIC: UF hit three homers in each of their first two games here at the WCWS, including three Friday night against National Player of the Year
Rachel Garcia. But they managed just those two hits against Parker and failed to even get a runner to second base. In the bigger picture, UF scored just one run over its last 11 innings here. Hard to win with that little offense against the really big teams that make it to OKC.
UP NEXT: For Florida (56-11), the season ends at the WCWS for the ninth time in the last 11 seasons. Getting to OKC is always a significant achievement, but the Gators will likely be lamenting the events from Friday night's UCLA game for a few days, a game they led 4-0 until the Bruins erupted for five runs on just one hit in the fourth and never trailed afterward.
