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OU softball rallies past Florida into WCWS finals on Jayda Coleman’s walk-off home run

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OU softball rallies past Florida into WCWS finals on Jayda Coleman’s walk-off home run

In a hallway in the basement of Devon Park, nearly an hour after Jayda Coleman had extended OU’s season, blasting a walk-off homer to lead off the bottom of the eighth inning to give the Sooners a 6-5 win over Florida, Coleman rose from a chair and grabbed teammate Alyssa Brito in a bear hug.

The two shared some words about what they’d just been a part of, what their coach, Patty Gasso, called “one of the better games in (Women’s) College World Series history.”

That moment was special.

The one they shared just before Coleman hit the home run was even more meaningful.

Brito said she felt “called” to talk to Coleman earlier in the day, earlier in the game.

More: Mussatto: OU softball isn’t ready to give up its Women’s College World Series crown yet

But things got away from her, the game got tight and there were other concerns.

In the sixth inning, though, with the go-ahead run on second, Brito decided to share some words with Coleman.

“Obviously she wants to succeed and I know that and we all want her to succeed,” Brito told The Oklahoman after the win. “It wasn’t like a press or anything. But I was like, ‘All right, this is the time.’”

Brito told Coleman her worth wasn’t tied up in what happened in the at-bat or the rest of the game.

“Who cares,” Brito said. “God has defined you. He’s given your worth. You are glorified as a daughter.”

Coleman got jammed on the first pitch, flying out on the infield.

So when Coleman was standing in the on-deck circle in the middle of the eighth, Brito decided she needed to do more.

Instead of a conversation, Brito put her arms around Coleman and prayed.

But not for a result.

“She slowed me down and prayed over me,” Coleman said. “She was like, ‘Surrender it all. Don’t try to control everything. Go for it.’ No matter what, I’m not justified by whatever the at-bat is.”

What happened next is a moment that will live in Sooners and WCWS history.

Florida freshman Keagan Rothrock, instead of working Coleman on the inner part of the plate, painted the outside corner with the first three pitches, missing just off the plate with two and finding the zone with another.

Coleman took a deep breath. 

Rothrock again worked the outside corner, and Coleman dropped it just over the outstretched reach of Florida left fielder Korbe Otis to send the Sooners (57-7) into the best-of-three championship series where they’ll face Texas beginning at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

“Going around the bases, I lost it,” Coleman said. “I just started crying. … It was incredible. Incredible feeling.”

The game had plenty of drama, with the Sooners falling behind 2-0, 4-2 and 5-2 before mounting their comeback.

The remaining core of the Sooners’ three consecutive title teams struggled while freshman Ella Parker and Kasidi Pickering came through in big moments.

Kelly Maxwell, the veteran ace who transferred from Oklahoma State to the other side of Bedlam for her final collegiate season, scuffled early before settling in and grinding out the victory.

But though it was newcomers who in large part made the moment possible, in the end, it was one of the Sooners’ elder stateswomen, one of their “Chaos Coordinators,” who made the game-deciding play.

As she rounded the bases, Coleman thought back to the shared moment with Brito moments earlier.

“I think that put me into my foundation,” Coleman said. “It’s awesome.”

Here are three more takeaways from the win:

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Control has been an issue recently for Maxwell.

It was again Tuesday, as both of Maxwell’s two walks in the first two innings resulted in runs for the Gators.

Maxwell started the game by walking Skylar Wallace, then after a fielder’s choice, former Sooners Jocelyn Erickson belted a two-run home run.

Maxwell led off the second with a walk as well, as Maxwell missed on a 3-2 pitch. Ariel Kowalewski quickly followed with a home run to put Florida up 4-2.

Maxwell walked the leadoff in the sixth, with Ava Brown taking a 3-2 pitch just off the outside corner.

But this time, Florida couldn’t get a runner across.

More: Relive OU softball’s run to three straight WCWS titles with our ‘Crimson Empire’ book

Ella Parker took the brunt of the damage, but Parker doled some out as well.

The freshman didn’t slow down after narrowly missing a homer to right-center in the fifth inning.

When Parker got to second base, Florida shortstop Skylar Wallace was waiting.

Wallace’s elbow made contact with Parker’s face at second base and both players were sent writhing on the ground in pain.

After several minutes, Parker got up and left the field under her own power, smiling and laughing with teammates as Maya Bland replaced her as a pinch-runner.

Wallace remained in the game.

Wallace was called for obstruction on the play, though the ball bounced away after the collision anyway.

Umpires reviewed to see whether Wallace’s contact with Parker was malicious, but quickly ruled it was incidental. 

Despite having a runner at second with no outs, the Sooners couldn’t push the tying run across.

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When Alynah Torres left Saturday’s game against UCLA with an injury, it looked like the lower part of the Sooners’ order could take a significant hit.

But Hodge came up big in the critical sixth inning, with a one-out double to left field and eventually came around to score the tying run on Parker’s single to center.

Hodge had a second-inning single as well.

It was just Hodge’s sixth extra-base hit of the season.

Prior to her double in Monday’s game, Hodge hadn’t had an extra-base hit since April 9 at Wichita State. 

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