OU Softball Stunned By Late Bama Grand Slam

Alabama sophomore Marisa Runyon missed a big opportunity to deliver Friday night, striking out with the bases loaded to end the game.

Saturday night, with a trip to the Women's College World Series on the line, Runyon got a second chance and delivered, hitting a first-pitch grand slam to right field in the bottom of the sixth to give Alabama a 5-3 win over Oklahoma.

The Crimson Tide will head to Oklahoma City for the second straight season while the Sooners head home after a 49-9 season.

The loss also marks the end of the careers of a group of OU seniors that enjoyed one of the most successful runs in Oklahoma history. The group enjoyed three trips to the Women's College World Series and won the 2013 national championship.

Saturday night's game three was necessary because of the afternoon's pitcher's duel, a duel won by Alabama, 2-0. The two teams combined for just three hits as the two starting pitchers (both freshmen), Paige Parker for OU and Alexis Osorio for Alabama, kept batters in check all afternoon.

The only scoring came on a two-run homer from Jadyn Spencer in the third inning. The Sooners had a golden opportunity to make some noise in the bottom of the fifth, loading the bases for Lauren Chamberlain with two outs, but Chamberlain went down swinging to end the threat.

Chamberlain rose to the occasion in the second game, though. Alabama catcher Chaunsey Bell broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the fourth with an RBI single for a 1-0 Alabama lead. In the top of the fifth, Chamberlain came to the plate and hit a rocket over the wall in left to give OU a 2-1 lead. The Sooners had a huge opportunity to build on the lead, but Lea Wodach grounded out to end the inning with the bases loaded.

It almost didn't matter Oklahoma missed out on that golden opportunity. In the very next inning, Chamberlain came to bat again and delivered again, hitting a towering blast to left to extend the OU lead to 3-1.

Unfortunately for OU, Chamberlain's heroics were not enough for the Sooners. Parker gave up a single, walk and hit batter to load the bases with two outs for Runyon. On the first pitch of the at-bat, Runyon lifted a high fly ball to right field that cleared the fence and sent the Bama into a wild celebration.

Chamberlain finishes her career with 95 career home runs.