'Break my window!': Jocelyn Alo represents family, Hawaii hometown with Sooners in WCWS
OKLAHOMA CITY — If you heard someone scream “break my window!” over the last week at Hall of Fame Stadium, there’s no reason to be alarmed.
That’s what Nita Alo shouts when her granddaughter, Jocelyn, steps to the plate.
If there were cars parked beyond left field Thursday afternoon, you can bet Jocelyn Alo’s first-inning blast would’ve shattered glass. The National Player of the Year hit home run No. 34 in OU’s 5-1 national championship-clinching win against Florida State.
“It brings tears of joy to my eyes,” said Nita Alo, shaking with goosebumps in the sweltering heat.
The 69-year-old grandmother stood barefoot on the bleachers as she watched the Sooners top the Seminoles. She wore Jocelyn’s No. 78 jersey and an OU-adorned straw hat with “aloha” written on the side.
When OU ace Giselle Juarez secured the final out, Nita Alo waved her arms and pumped her fists.
After hugging her teammates, Jocelyn Alo walked to the family section along the third-base line and hoisted the championship trophy. OU fans, including a dozen or so Alos in the stands, erupted.
“Right now I’m so excited and proud of her,” Nita Alo said. “Hauula in the house! We’re from a small town, and she made it so big.”
Hauula, a community of 3,000 on the island of Oahu, is home to the Alos.
Jocelyn Alo was Hawaii’s two-time Gatorade State High School Player of the Year, hitting .571 with 12 home runs as a senior. As an OU senior, Alo hit .475 with 34 home runs, raising her career total to 88 — second in OU history and fourth in NCAA history behind Lauren Chamberlain’s 95.
Alo, who plans to return for a fifth season, will almost certainly be crowned softball’s home run queen in 2022.
“You know what, she could hit the ball from Day 1,” said Levi Alo, Jocelyn’s dad. “It’s funny. I tell everybody, she put in a lot of work, but her hands were blessed by God.”
Levi is responsible for Nita’s signature “break my window” chant.
“It started from my son hitting home runs,” Nita said. “He almost hit this window at this lady’s house. She came out, 'You almost broke my window!' "
Like any family story, there are variations.
“My dad would hit home runs at the park and they would just park behind the fence,” Jocelyn said. “And my dad broke their windows.”
No matter the origin, the saying stuck.
“We just kept on yelling,” Nita said, while smiling.
And Jocelyn kept on hitting home runs, with four more in the Women’s College World Series.
Alo was named to the All-Tournament team. She went 7-for-10 in the championship series.
“She put in work,” Levi Alo said. “It’s like an iceberg.
“Nobody sees all the work that goes into it underneath. All they see is the finished product here at the world series. They don’t see years and years and years of being disciplined, and not going to parties as much as you should and not hanging out and missing family events. But it’s all worth it when stuff like this happens.”
Levi’s only regret is that his wife and Jocelyn’s mom, Andrea, wasn’t there to see it. Andrea had to stay behind in Hawaii for work, but the rest of the family made the trip to Oklahoma City.
Eleven of them rented an Airbnb together.
“Like we say back home on the island, it takes a village,” said Rocky Alo, Jocelyn’s uncle. “She’s not just doing it for our hometown, she’s doing it for the whole state of Hawaii.”
Sophia Alo, Jocelyn’s 14-year-old sister, matched her grandma in a crimson No. 78 jersey.
Sophia is next in line to break a few windows, with aspirations to play college softball like her sister — one of the sport’s brightest stars.
“It makes me feel proud,” Sophia said, “because other people can look up to her other than me.”
Follow Joe Mussatto on Twitter @joe_mussatto
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma softball player Jocelyn Alo represents Hawaii home in WCWS
