Giselle Juarez reemerged as the star pitcher Oklahoma needed to complement its high-powered offense, and now the Sooners are national champions again.
Juarez threw her second consecutive complete game, and Oklahoma beat Florida State 5-1 on Thursday for its fifth Women’s College World Series title.
The Sooners lacked a dominant pitcher heading into the series, but Juarez answered the call, allowing one run on two hits in the decisive Game 3. Oklahoma won Game 2 6-2 behind Juarez, who went 5-0 at the World Series and was named Most Outstanding Player. The left-hander allowed four runs in 31 1/3 innings.
It wasn’t easy for the top-seeded Sooners — they came out of the losers bracket after dropping a stunner to Odicci Alexander and unseeded James Madison in the tournament’s opening game. But Oklahoma beat James Madison twice in the semifinal round, then recovered from a loss to Florida State in the championship series opener.
Oklahoma (56-4) also won titles in 2000, 2013, 2016 and 2017, all under coach Patty Gasso. The Sooners set the Division I single-season record with 161 home runs this season.