ATHENS, Ga. — Four-time reigning Women’s College World Series champion Oklahoma and Texas A&M were declared co-champions of the Southeastern Conference softball tournament after rainfall forced the cancellation of the title game Saturday.
The start time was moved ahead four hours with inclement weather in the forecast, but the rainfall arrived sooner than expected and the game never got underway.
The top-seeded Sooners (45-7) — in their first season in the SEC after moving over from the Big 12, along with rival Texas — won the regular-season title with a 17-7 record in league games.
The second-seeded Aggies (45-9), who joined the SEC in 2012, finished 16-7 and were playing for their first conference championship since leaving the Big 12.
Six of Oklahoma’s eight national championships have come since 2016, and all of them under head coach Patty Gasso, who took the reins in 1995. The Sooners were Women’s College World Series runners-up in 2012 and 2019. The Sooners have advanced to the WCWS in 17 of their 30 previous appearances in the NCAA Division I tournament. Oklahoma won nine Big 12 tournaments and 16 regular-season titles under Gasso.
Texas A&M won NCAA championships in 1983 and 1987. They were runners-up in 1984, 1986 and 2008. The Aggies have advanced to the WCWS in eight of their 34 previous NCAA tourney appearances.
The Sooners trailed Arkansas 6-1 in Friday’s SEC semifinals before rallying for an 8-6 victory by hitting a tournament-record six homers, including two by Sydney Barker. Gabbie Garcia won it with a walk-off three-run homer. It was the largest comeback win in SEC tourney history and the 17th time this season the Sooners rallied from behind to win.
The Aggies, who are in their third season with Trisha Ford as head coach, beat first-year member and former Big 12-rival Texas 14-2 in the other semifinal.