At USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma the #2 UCLA Bruins softball team got a walkoff single in the bottom of the seventh inning on Tuesday night to take down the #1 Oklahoma Sooners for a second straight night 5-4 to win their first national championship since 2010.
After the Bruins pounded the Sooners in game one of a best of three championship series 16-3 on Monday night, Tuesday nights game was much more dramatic. After hammering four home runs in the game one win, Bubba Nickles and Briana Perez put two of the first four Oklahoma pitches in the bottom of the first over the fence to make it 2-0 UCLA. The Sooners Sydney Romero and the Bruins Aaliyah exchanged solo homeruns in the third inning making the score 3-1. Oklahoma tied it in the fourth inning on an RBI single from Falepolima Aviu and a Lynnsie Elam RBI double.
In the fifth inning UCLA (56-6) took the lead again when Brianna Tautalafua drilled a solo homer for the second straight night. Tautalafua was hitless in the postseason before homering in two games of the championship series. The Bruins were one out away from the title in the top of the seventh still leading by a run. Shay Knighten though homered to left center for the Sooners to again tie the score. The Oklahoma celebration of a game tying homerun didn’t last unfortunately. The celebration for the Bruins was then on when Kinsley Washington looped a single into left field scoring pinch runner Jacqui Prober from second base with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. Prober just got in at home before a tag could be applied.
Oklahoma finished their season with a record of 57-6. The Sooners graduate two of the all time greats to play at Oklahoma in Romero and Knighten, who were seeking their third national title. UCLA wins their 13th softball national championship in school history. The Bruins ended their frustration of having their season cut short in the semifinals last season. UCLA had 113 wins combined last year and this season, the most in a two year span for the team since 2001 and 2002.
