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Oklahoma softball now stands alone in history, but it still has some work to do.
The Sooners defeated Clemson in an 8-7 thriller Saturday, notching their 48th straight win to set an NCAA record for consecutive victories. The record previously belonged to Arizona, which won 47 straight between 1996 and 1997.
Oklahoma’s last loss was a 4-3 road defeat against Baylor on Feb. 19. Overall, the team now holds a 56-1 record on the season.
Saturday’s win also gave Oklahoma a 2-0 win in the Norman Super Regional, sending the program to its 16th Women’s College World Series. The Sooners are pursuing a third straight national title, a fifth in eight years and their seventh overall.
It took a comeback for Oklahoma to finish off Clemson’s season. The Sooners opened the game with four runs in four innings, but Clemson responded with a three-run rally off Oklahoma ace Nicole May in the fourth inning. When Clemson got another runner in scoring position in the fifth, Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso pulled May for Alex Storako, who allowed a homer, a HBP, a single and a walk before she was pulled without getting an out.
The inning ended with Clemson up 7-4 and 12 outs from tying the series 1-1 in shocking fashion. That lead held until the seventh inning, when Kinzie Hansen hit a three-run homer.
Oklahoma finally took back the lead in the ninth inning with a solo homer from Tiare Jennings. One scoreless bottom of the ninth later, the Sooners had made history.
Oklahoma is now set to face Stanford in the first round of the WCWS, which begins June 1.