OU softball slips up vs Florida with shot at WCWS finals on the line, forcing rematch

Kinzie Hansen was about to roll the ball back to the circle.

Nicole May had started moving toward the dugout with the rest of the OU infield.

Instead, home plate umpire Robbie Guest called ball four and Florida’s Katie Kistler jogged to first base with a first-inning walk.

It was that type of day for the Sooners at Devon Park.

Everything was just a step off, as the Gators beat the Sooners 9-3 Monday to force an if-necessary game in the Women’s College World Series.

Game time for Tuesday’s matchup is set for 1 p.m. on ESPN. The game was originally scheduled to be played immediately after the first contest, but a three-hour rain delay forced a change to the schedule.

More: OU softball coach Patty Gasso outfoxed herself by not starting Kelly Maxwell vs Florida

The loss snapped OU’s record 20-game NCAA Tournament winning streak and broke the Sooners’ 11-game winning streak, pushing them to the brink of elimination for the first time since 2022.

Kistler’s first-inning at-bat wasn’t the only case of a tight zone being evident, as May was clearly frustrated with some other calls.

May threw two innings, allowing six hits and four runs with one walk and two strikeouts. She left the game after Florida started the third with back-to-back hits.

“I just communicate with my pitchers to control the controllables,” Hansen said. “Keep spinning the ball, dominating through the zone. At the end of the day, you keep hitting your spot, the umpire can call it or he can’t. Just keep their composure, stay steady throughout the game.”

Hansen was clear that Guest’s strike zone was consistent.

“The umpire was tight for both sides,” Hansen said. “It wasn’t just us.”

May, Kierston Deal and Karlie Keeney combined for five walks while Florida’s Keagan Rothrock walked seven Sooners.

Regardless, the Sooners’ biggest problem Monday was keeping the ball in the park.

Florida hit four home runs — two by Skylar Wallace — though one was of the inside-the-park variety.

Here are four other takeaways from the loss:

More: Oklahoma softball assistant JT Gasso's 'Boone slap' gives Sooners another offensive weapon

Sooners say they'll be ready for rematch

While during their run to back-to-back-to-back WCWS titles, losses have been rare for the Sooners, they have had to deal with more this season.

Monday's loss dropped the Sooners to 56-7.

Sooners coach Patty Gasso said her team had learned from the losses — one each to Louisiana and BYU and two each to Texas and Oklahoma State.

"They're fighters," Gasso said. "They're fighters. It is hard to beat us twice. It has happened this season. This is really going to be a call-out. They know it. They know what's going on. They know what's at stake.

"Who are we? What are we made of? We talked about really going in as an army os 21 instead of separation here, separation there, frustration over there. We can't live like that. We talked about a family, strong-knit, 21, fighting for every pitch, fighting for every out, throwing very competitive pitches. We just need to be sharper, better."

Gasso said she felt good that her team took some momentum into Tuesday's game after holding Florida scoreless over the final inning and then loading the bases in the seventh.

That was her message to her team in the locker room.

Hansen said OU would respond.

"The Sooners play best after we get punched in the mouth," Hansen said. "That's what I've learned this season."

More: Inside WCWS reunion of OU softball star Tiare Jennings, UCLA's Maya Brady

Baserunning mistake costs OU a run

With one out in the second and a runner on third, Rylie Boone smoked a ball to center field that looked like a no-doubt RBI hit.

But Florida center fielder Kendra Falby raced back toward the wall and leaped, grabbing Boone’s liner.

Instead of tagging up, though, Kasidi Pickering was more than a third of the way down the line. Pickering had to scramble back to third, giving Falby enough time to get it in and keep the Sooners off the board.

Gasso took responsibility for the mistake.

“That was an unbelievable play,” Gasso said. “I’m looking up, I’m telling her, ‘OK, it’s through, go.’ I’m looking for the next runner. That was on me. It was nothing she did wrong. I own that.”

Cydney Sanders followed with a strikeout to end the OU threat.

More: Oklahoma softball assistant JT Gasso's 'Boone slap' gives Sooners another offensive weapon

Kendra Falby inside-the-park home run extends Gators’ lead

Falby had already had herself a day by the time she dug into the batters’ box with two outs in the second.

Earlier in the inning, Falby had tracked down Boone’s hard liner. In the first, she made a nice catch on a hard-hit Tiare Jennings ball.

Falby had been scuffling at the plate as of late, going 0 for her last 20.

“I knew a hit was coming,” Falby said. “I didn’t think it was going to be that one. I mean, it was like pure joy.”

So it was no surprise when she opted to go with a slap against May and the Sooners.

OU left fielder Rylie Boone raced in to try to catch the ball, laying out with a dive.

But Boone was late getting there, and the ball scooted past her into the left-field corner as Falby sprinted around the bases, easily coming home to score.

The inside-the-park homer was just the third in WCWS history and the first since OU’s Callie Parsons against Louisiana in 2014.

The only other WCWS inside-the-park home run was by UCLA’s Andrea Duran against Texas in 2006.

The unexpected inside-the-parker confused event staff, who typically track down home run balls and deliver them to the player’s family in the stands.

Falby’s home run ball was instead put into a bucket with others, though a ball was eventually retrieved from the bucket and presented to Falby’s family, according to the TV broadcast.

More: Relive OU softball's run to three straight WCWS titles with our 'Crimson Empire' book

OU vs. Florida

WCWS SEMIFINAL: 1 p.m. Tuesday at Devon Park (ESPN)

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU softball win streak ends vs Florida, forcing WCWS semifinal rematch