NORMAN, Okla. — Gabbie Garcia hit two of four home runs by the Oklahoma Sooners, and the four-time reigning national champions beat Alabama 13-2 in five innings Saturday to complete a sweep of the best-of-three Norman Super Regional in the NCAA Division I softball tournament, clinching a berth in the Women’s College World Series.
The eight-team event begins Thursday in Oklahoma City.
Second-seeded Oklahoma (50-9), which is 42-0 this season when scoring at least six runs, has won at least 50 games in nine consecutive seasons and has advanced to the ninth straight edition of the WCWS (which was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
In the second inning, Nelly McEnroe-Marinas scored on a single by Abigale Dayton, who finished with three RBIs. In the third, the Sooners exploded for eight runs — sparked by Garcia’s first two-run homer and capped by Ella Parker’s two-run double — to take a 9-0 lead.
Parker, Garcia and McEnroe-Marinas each hit a home run in the sixth to give the Sooners a 13-2 lead.
Parker’s three hits included two doubles, and she finished with three RBIs. Garcia, a freshman, has 20 home runs this season for Oklahoma, which won the series opener 3-0 on Friday.
Oklahoma’s Kierston Deal (10-2) gave up both runs on three hits with four strikeouts in four innings Saturday, and Audrey Lowry pitched a scoreless fifth to seal it.
Kali Heivilin and Marlie Giles each hit a solo shot for 15th-seeded Alabama (40-23). Catelyn Riley (11-4) pitched 2 1/3 innings and gave up five runs on six hits with three walks.
The Crimson Tide had reached four of the past five editions of the WCWS including the past two.