No. 1 Oklahoma defeated No. 16 Clemson in extra innings, 8–7, to earn their 48th-straight win, officially breaking the record for the longest consecutive win streak in Division I softball history. The victory also clinched a Super Regional series win for the Sooners (56–1), who swept the Tigers, 2–0, to clinch a spot in the Women’s College World Series.
Tiare Jennings was the Sooners’ hero, crushing a solo home run in the top of the ninth inning to give Oklahoma the lead. That came after Kinzie Hansen slugged a game-tying three-run home run to tie the game when the Sooners were down to their final strike in the top of the seventh inning.
WHO ELSE BUT TIARE JENNINGS 😤@OU_Softball takes the lead‼️ pic.twitter.com/a5HuRXmxZi
— ESPN (@espn) May 27, 2023
Oklahoma raced out to a 4–0 lead in Saturday’s game, thanks to three solo home runs and an RBI groundout through the top of the fourth. The Tigers fought back, though, as Maddie Moore hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the fourth to cut the lead to one.
3️⃣-RUN HOMER 😤
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 27, 2023
Clemson is within ONE of Oklahoma 👀 pic.twitter.com/dz7x47MbAL
Then, in the fifth, Clemson took the lead on a McKenzie Clark two-run shot, and added two more runs on RBIs by Moore and Alia Logoleo. It seemed as though Clemson was going to force a decisive Game 3 before Hansen tied the game on one swing.
DON'T COUNT OUT THE SOONERS‼️
— ESPN (@espn) May 27, 2023
Kinzie Hansen ties the game in the 7th 😤 @OU_Softball pic.twitter.com/0HFzUkfDH1
Oklahoma starter Nicole May, who led the team with an 18–0 record and a 0.57 ERA on the season, surrendered the first four runs of the game, while Alex Storako, who had a 17–0 record and a 0.92 ERA this year, allowed the last three.
Yet, Kierstan Diehl and Jordy Bahl saved the day out of the bullpen, tossing 4.2 shutout innings to end the game.
Arizona held the previous record of 47 straight wins, setting the streak across the 1996 and ’97 seasons. Oklahoma’s only loss this year remains to Baylor in February.
With the victory, Oklahoma, the two-time defending national champion, will move on to the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City and face No. 9 Stanford next weekend.
