OU sets single-season HR record, evens WCWS

OKLAHOMA CITY — Jocelyn Alo hit a go-ahead homer in the sixth inning, and Oklahoma beat Florida State 6-2 on Wednesday night to force a decisive Game 3 for the Women’s College World Series title.

The final game will be played Thursday afternoon. Oklahoma (55-4) is seeking its fifth national championship. Florida State (49-12-1) is trying for its second title in four years.

Alo, the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, sent Kathryn Sandercock’s 2-0 pitch over the right-center field fence, giving the Sooners a 3-2 lead. Her blast fired up the crowd of 12,115 mostly Sooners fans at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium, which is about 25 miles from Oklahoma’s campus.

The homer gave the Sooners the Division I single-season record for home runs with 159, breaking the mark Hawaii set in 2010.

Giselle Juarez pitched a complete game for Oklahoma. She gave up two runs in the first inning, then threw six shutout innings and allowed just two hits the rest of the way. She improved to 4-0 in the tournament and has surrendered just three earned runs in 24 1/3 innings.

Sandercock, who had been dominant during the World Series, started and gave up four earned runs and seven hits in five innings for the Seminoles, who won the opener of the best-of-three final 8-4 on Tuesday.

Florida State’s Elizabeth Mason hit a two-run homer in the first, giving the Seminoles an early lead.

Oklahoma’s Jana Johns homered to left field in the third, a shot that the 300-foot slow-pitch fence on one bounce.

Oklahoma’s Tiare Jennings reached base on a throwing error in the sixth before Alo’s homer, which highlighted a four-run outburst in the inning.

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