Oklahoma's Fale Aviu, left, avoids the tag of Washington catcher Morganne Flores and scores on a squeeze bunt during the second inning. (Sarah Phipps/The Oklahoman)
OKLAHOMA CITY – In a year highlighted by SEC and Pac-12 play, Oklahoma proved why it is a favorite to defend its national championship.
Despite being seeded higher than only two teams in the tournament as a 10-seed, the Sooners made their presence known with wins against Baylor and Washington to advance to the semifinals of the Women's College World Series.
"We like being under the radar," OU coach Patty Gasso said. "We don't need the limelight. We don't need the headlines. We just come in and play ball. It doesn't bother our team. If anything it kind of motivates us. But we don't need the spotlight. We like where we're at."
The Sooners defeated Washington 3-1 at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City on Friday night, avenging a one-run shutout loss to the Huskies in the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico on Feb. 11.
Sydney Romero highlighted the victory with a leadoff solo home run, her 12th, in the sixth inning to a give OU a 3-0 cushion.
Romero said she knew the ball was leaving the ballpark the moment she made contact.
"I knew I had to step up my game a lot more and I needed to help my team in any way I could, and I felt like I did that today," Romero said. "But that pitch was up and in, and I was looking for it."
Ali Aguilar responded with a solo homer of her own to move Washington to within two runs, but Paige Parker made sure it didn't get any closer than that.
The pitching sensation struck out six batters on 108 pitches through 6.1 innings, allowing only one hit and one walk. The junior threw six innings against Baylor on Thursday, producing two strikeouts on 68 pitches. She was relieved by Paige Lowary in the seventh of both contests.
Parker said her spin worked better than it did in the first game against the Bears.
"I felt really good today," Parker said. "You know, just coming into the game, I just wanted to execute the game plan, and Lea (Wodach) was very encouraging throughout the whole game just for me to really trust my spin and trust my defense behind me.
"It was a really great game plan that Coach (Melyssa) Lombardi had, so it was just about a lot of trust today."
Gasso said the decision to start Parker in two-straight games wasn't difficult to make.
"Well, up until right now, there's no better pitcher in postseason, as proven last year," Gasso said. "A game like that, you kind of have to make those extra plays, make those diving catches because you know she's doing whatever it takes and you want to do it for her, too."
Fale Aviu had an impactful game offensively for the Sooners. The sophomore provided a couple of insurance runs for Parker, including an acrobatic dive around a tag to score OU's first run of the game in the second inning.
Aviu said that stunt was something she has prepared for all season.
"I work on it in practice every day," Aviu said. "Lea, she always gets mad at me, and even today they all got mad, but I mean, it worked out today. I was just trying to score."
The California native came through again for the Sooners in the fifth, hitting a single to right field to score Kelsey Arnold, extending the Sooners' lead to 2-0.
"We were ready for a battle, and that's what we got," Gasso said. "I thought our team played extremely well. All facets were working.
"Offense was attacking, and the pitching staff was phenomenal. To me, it was a complete game. It would have been hard to beat us tonight with the way we played."
The Sooners take the diamond again against LSU or Oregon in the semifinals at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday. If OU can get past the Tigers/Ducks, it will make its third WCWS championship series in the past six seasons.
Likely meeting Gasso's squad - No. 1 Florida.
The Sooners and the Gators share the past four championships, but despite that, the pair never faced off in a championship series. This could be the year softball fans get the matchup of the decade.
The Gators (57-8) have looked nothing less than dominant in the opening rounds of the WCWS, hammering SEC foes Texas A&M and LSU by a combined score of 15-0. Leading nation's top team is pitcher Kelly Barnhill.
Barnhill has a historic 0.34 ERA, the best of anyone in a decade, and she is showing no signs of slowing down. Parker, on the other hand, sports an ERA of 1.24, which is 14th in the country.
However, OU has hitters that can challenge the sophomore prodigy.
Power hitter Nicole Pendley is ranked 17th nationally with 17 home runs this season, and Nicole Mendes is 27th in the country in batting average, leading the Sooners with a mark of .424. Florida doesn't have a player in the top 50 of either of those categories.
Defensively, the Sooners have the sixth-best fielding percentage at .977, a feat Gasso takes pride in.
“The defense has definitely been something that we've counted on all season,” Gasso said. "Our offense was a little hot and cold, but they're hot right now. Pitching staff for the most part was hot, but really got hot mid-to-late season. To see it all come together means we're in the Final Four right now.”
The Gators take on Washington/UCLA at noon on Sunday, and like OU, must lose twice to be eliminated from championship contention.
These teams have what it takes to make this year's championship an instant classic, but there remains work to be done.
Can any of the remaining teams knock the Sooners or the Gators off their pedestals? Find out Sunday.