{"id":39694,"date":"2022-06-07T00:42:05","date_gmt":"2022-06-07T00:42:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/ou-softball-jocelyn-alo-beat-ucla-to-reach-wcws-championship-series\/"},"modified":"2022-06-07T00:42:05","modified_gmt":"2022-06-07T00:42:05","slug":"ou-softball-jocelyn-alo-beat-ucla-to-reach-wcws-championship-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/ou-softball-jocelyn-alo-beat-ucla-to-reach-wcws-championship-series\/","title":{"rendered":"OU softball, Jocelyn Alo beat UCLA to reach WCWS championship series"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<aside class=\"gnt_em gnt_em__fp gnt_em_vp__tp gnt_em__el\" aria-label=\"Video - Sooners run-rule UCLA after losing first game, head to WCWS championship series\"\/>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Jocelyn Alo insisted she wasn&#8217;t calling for a five-inning, run-rule victory.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">After Tiare Jennings&#8217; three-run home run in the first inning of Monday&#8217;s elimination game against UCLA, the ESPN cameras caught Alo holding up five fingers and repeating a phrase that looked to be calling for OU&#8217;s 40th run-rule victory.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Whether Alo was being prophetic or not wound up being immaterial, because Alo and the Sooners pummeled the Bruins, and left no doubt that the game would be called early.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">OU set a Women&#8217;s College World Series record for largest margin of victory with a 15-0 win over UCLA at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium to send the Sooners to the championship series for the third consecutive WCWS.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">And Alo was at the center of it all, setting the tone both emotionally and on the field.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">The Bruins beat the Sooners 7-3 earlier in the day, putting OU on the brink of elimination.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><strong class=\"gnt_ar_b_al\">Carlson:<\/strong>OU didn&#8217;t want to play two against UCLA, but Sooners came away with a &#8216;blessing&#8217;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_img\"><\/figure>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cI went into that game with all the confidence knowing we would walk out of it with the W,\u201d Alo said of the second game.  &#8220;No one beats us &#8211; no one beats the Sooners twice.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">OU coach Patty Gasso said there was no panic in the dugout between games, and Alo was at the heart of setting that confident tone.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cShe is constant,\u201d Gasso said.  \u201cShe is near me, so I hear her.  She she&#8217;s constant.  She could be sitting on the bench.  Lei she could be sipping on a smoothie or whatever she wants to do in there, and lei she&#8217;s not.  Her face di lei is right up against the screen.  She is fired up and constantly talking. &#8220;<\/p>\n<aside aria-label=\"advertisement\" class=\"gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__al\"\/>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">The best-of-three championship series, which begins at 7:30 pm Wednesday, will be an all-Big 12 affair.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">OU (57-3) will take on either Oklahoma State or Texas.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Going into Monday, those two rivals were the only two teams to beat the Sooners this season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">OU won three of four against each team this season, falling to the Longhorns on the final game of their regular-season series in Austin and dropping the Big 12 championship game to the Cowgirls.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">The Sooners beat Texas 7-2 on Saturday to advance to Monday&#8217;s semifinal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><strong class=\"gnt_ar_b_al\">Blackberries:<\/strong>Why Jocelyn Alo&#8217;s journey from Hawaii to OU softball is &#8216;like some unbelievable fiction&#8217;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_img\"><img class=\"gnt_em_img_i\" style=\"height:477px\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2022\/06\/06\/NOKL\/bb159007-c743-4ef1-9988-766ea71b7306-_MGL2669.jpg?ssl=1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2022\/06\/06\/NOKL\/bb159007-c743-4ef1-9988-766ea71b7306-_MGL2669.jpg?width=1320&amp;height=954&amp;fit=crop&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp 2x\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"OU's Jocelyn Alo runs the bases after hitting a grand slam in the fifth inning of a 15-0 win against UCLA on Monday.\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"\/><\/figure>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">OU has bounced back from losses well in recent years, and did again Monday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">In the Sooners&#8217; three games immediately following a loss, they&#8217;ve outscored opponents 39-0 with all three games ending in run-rule fashion.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Alo has been even more dominant than she typically is in those situations, going 7-for-10 with 11 RBIs and three home runs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Monday was no different.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Alo&#8217;s first-inning double set up Jennings&#8217; three-run blast moments later.<\/p>\n<aside aria-label=\"advertisement\" class=\"gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__al\"\/>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Then in the second, Alo hit a three-run shot of her own, a towering shot that hit a food truck far beyond the left-field wall on one bounce.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Alo added a grand slam in the Sooners&#8217; eight-run fifth to finish 4-for-4 with a WCWS record-tying seven RBIs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cShe&#8217;s the most confident young lady I&#8217;ve ever met in my life, to the point where you are like, &#8216;OK, don&#8217;t say that Jocy,&#8217;\u201d Gasso said.  \u201cBut that&#8217;s her of hers.  She wears it.  Maybe she did do that for that reason, because it&#8217;s not to kind of stick it in anybody&#8217;s face, it&#8217;s more about her excitement di lei.  She&#8217;s just really raw with excitement and love for the game, and her exuberance di lei just is fun to watch. &#8220;<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><strong class=\"gnt_ar_b_al\">Blackberries:<\/strong>&#8216;All hands on deck&#8217; for OU softball pitching staff, but new WCWS schedule helping Sooners<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"gnt_em_gl_i\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2022\/06\/06\/NOKL\/e385fa91-1890-46fc-86b6-3ef55db11caa-_MGL1239.jpg?resize=660%2C372&#038;ssl=1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2022\/06\/06\/NOKL\/e385fa91-1890-46fc-86b6-3ef55db11caa-_MGL1239.jpg?crop=3846,2164,x0,y0&amp;width=1320&amp;height=744&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp 2x\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"372\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Alo is now 8-for-12 in this year&#8217;s WCWS with three home runs and 10 RBIs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">In 22 career WCWS games, she&#8217;s hitting .451 with 16 runs scored, 24 RBIs and 10 home runs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Saturday, after that 7-2 win over his team, Longhorns coach Mike White compared OU&#8217;s lineup to the vaunted 1927 New York Yankees \u201cmurderer&#8217;s row\u201d bunch.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_anc\" id=\"gnt_atomsnc\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" data-gl-method=\"loadAnc\" aria-label=\"Newsletter signup form\"\/>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">After Monday&#8217;s games, Gasso compared Alo to that lineup&#8217;s central figure.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cI think Jocelyn Alo is a big reason why this sport has gone to another level,\u201d Gasso said.  \u201cPeople come here to watch her like she&#8217;s Babe Ruth.  They pay to see Jocelyn Alo.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cJust to see that and to be around it, it just bleeds all over our team.  They all want a little piece of what Jocy has. &#8220;<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><strong class=\"gnt_ar_b_al\">Carlson:<\/strong>Jocelyn Alo decided Texas wasn&#8217;t going to shut down OU again.  She did something about it in WCWS.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"gnt_em_gl_i\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2022\/06\/06\/NOKL\/6bd314f5-026a-4c57-92d3-6061da9e730a-_MGL0714.jpg?resize=660%2C372&#038;ssl=1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2022\/06\/06\/NOKL\/6bd314f5-026a-4c57-92d3-6061da9e730a-_MGL0714.jpg?crop=4038,2272,x0,y0&amp;width=1320&amp;height=744&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp 2x\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"372\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jocelyn Alo insisted she wasn&#8217;t calling for a five-inning, run-rule victory. After Tiare Jennings&#8217; three-run home run in the first inning of Monday&#8217;s elimination game against UCLA, the ESPN cameras caught Alo holding up five fingers and repeating a phrase that looked to be calling for OU&#8217;s 40th run-rule victory. Whether Alo was being prophetic &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/ou-softball-jocelyn-alo-beat-ucla-to-reach-wcws-championship-series\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">OU softball, Jocelyn Alo beat UCLA to reach WCWS championship series<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2022\/06\/06\/NOKL\/a90beab9-2069-438c-abcf-175ee86b7a0d-_MGL1170.jpg?width=660&height=462&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39694"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39694"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39694\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}