NORMAN, Okla. — Three-time reigning national champion Oklahoma is one win away from going back to the Women's College World Series.
Alyssa Brito went 3-for-3 with two home runs as the Sooners beat Florida State 11-3 in six innings in the opening game of the best-of-three Norman Super Regional on Thursday night.
Kasidi Pickering had two hits for the Sooners (53-6), who got 11 hits from eight players in what Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso said was the lineup's best performance this season.
"Top to bottom, it's hard to breathe when you're facing these guys, when they're really feeling it," she said. "It's probably the first time in a long while that I felt top to bottom, we were taking really great swings and now it looks really good."
Oklahoma was seeded No. 2 overall for the 64-team NCAA Division I softball tournament, which was whittled to a field of 16 via last week's regionals. Florida State (46-1), the No. 15 seed, lost to the Sooners in last year's WCWS finals but now must win Friday just to extend its season to a Saturday rubber match.
Oklahoma ace Kelly Maxwell (20-2) went the distance for the win Thursday, giving up three runs on four hits in five innings.
Florida State left eight runners on, and Gasso said she was glad to see Maxwell fight through the tough innings.
"It's a victory," Gasso said. "Nobody knows probably what I'm talking about. But for Kelly to stay through that and fight through that and throw over 100 pitches — that's a victory for her."
Florida State loaded the bases in the first with two outs but did not score against Maxwell.
Oklahoma's Tiare Jennings hit a homer in the first, the 95th of her career. That tied her for second in Sooners history with Lauren Chamberlain and moved her into a tie for third in Division I history.
Oklahoma tacked on a run in the second, but Florida State's Devyn Flaherty singled in the third to knock in two runs and pull the Seminoles even.
Brito's solo shot in the third highlighted a three-run inning that put the Sooners up 5-2.
Florida State got two on with no outs in the fourth but again failed to score.
Seminoles starter Ashtyn Danley (18-6) lasted just two innings after giving up five runs on six hits. Brito took Emma Wilson, who relieved Danley, out of the park in the fourth with a two-run blast that gave the Sooners a 7-2 edge. Kinzie Hansen followed with a two-run homer to make it 9-2.
The Seminoles won the national title in 2018 and lost to Oklahoma in the championship series in 2021 as well as last year. That's why Gasso expects Florida State to play better on Friday.
"I don't expect that we're going to have a game like we did today, because they're too competitive," Gasso said. "They're too well coached. They've been here before. They know what this feels like. They're going to fight."
UCLA 8, Georgia 0 (6 innings)
LOS ANGELES — Leadoff batter Maya Brady hit two solo home runs as she reached 17 for the season and 71 for her career, Jordan Woolery added a three-run shot, and the sixth-seeded Bruins cruised to a victory over No. 11 Georgia in the first game of the Los Angeles Super Regional.
UCLA (41-10) can eliminate Georgia (43-18) with a win on Friday; if necessary, a third game would be played Saturday.
Kaitlyn Terry, the Pac-12 Conference freshman of the year, ran her record to 21-1 as she pitched every inning for the Bruins. Terry allowed four hits and three walks while striking out five batters.
Brady homered to start the bottom of the first, and she doubled and scored on Jadelyn Alchin's two-out single in the third to make it 2-0.
Brady homered again to lead off the fifth, and Woolery hit the ball over the fence in center field to cap a four-run inning. UCLA walked off its win an inning short of regulation after a two-out, two-run single by Savannah Pola made the mercy rule kick in.
Lilli Backes (18-7) took the loss for the Bulldogs. She allowed six runs on six hits and two walks, pitching 4 1/3 innings. Shelby Waters relieved, yielding two runs on two hits and a walk, retiring four batters.