BRITTANY M. HUGHES | JUNE 9, 2023 – MRCtv.org

My cmnt: Be sure to watch the video below. They say it about as well as it can be said.

Fresh off their 3-1 victory over Florida State to clinch the Women’s College World Series and their third straight national title, several players on the Oklahoma Sooners women’s softball team stunned reporters when they explained that their “true joy” comes not from winning a game, but from their unshakeable relationship with Jesus Christ.

“How do you keep the joy for so long when anxiety seems like a thing that can very easily set in?” a reporter asked a panel of team members during a post-game presser Thursday.

“Well, the only way that you can have a joy that doesn’t fade away is from the Lord,” shortstop Grace Lyons answered without hesitation.

“Any other type of joy is actually happiness that comes from circumstances and outcomes,” she continued. “Joy from the Lord is really the only thing that can keep you motivated, just in a good mindset no matter the outcomes.

“Thankfully we’ve had a lot of success this year but if it was the other way around, joy from the Lord is the only thing that can keep you embracing those memories, moments, those friendships…that’s really the only answer to that, because there’s no other way. Softball can’t bring you that because of how much failure comes from it and how much of a rollercoaster it can be,” Lyons said.

Three-time First Team All-American Jayda Coleman agreed, saying that as a freshman in 2021, while she remembered feeling “so happy” that her team had won the college World Series, she “didn’t feel joy.”

“I didn’t know what to do the next day. I didn’t know what to do that following week. I didn’t feel filled. And I had to find Christ in that,” she said.

Coleman added that now, “it’s not the end of the world if we do lose,” because her identity is found in Christ, not as a championship-winning softball player.

Junior Alyssa Brito agreed.

“I think that’s why we’re so steady in what we do and in our love for each other and the game, because we know that this game is giving ps the opportunity to glorify God. And once we figured that out and that was our purpose…it’s really changed so much for us,” she said. “I know myself, I’ve seen so much of a growth in myself. Once I turned to Jesus realized how he had changed my outlook on life, not just softball…and that’s living just to exemplify the kingdom.”

In a world in which so many athletes have caved to pressure to use their platforms to promote woke propaganda and political garbage, it’s refreshing to see these talented young ladies use their moment in the spotlight to glorify Christ.

Oklahoma softball sweeps Florida State to win third straight Women’s College World Series

Eddie Timanus Cydney Henderson – USA TODAY – June 8, 2023 –

My cmnt: It’s USA Today so there’s no mention of Christ or the players’ faith that sustained them all season and in life. If you click the link above you can watch the video of OU coach Patty Gasso who knows she can’t say anything Christian but really wants to.

Oklahoma softball’s historic season ended predictably with a third consecutive NCAA championship, and the Sooners’ diamond dominance shows no sign of slowing down any time soon.

Oklahoma beat Florida State 3-1 Thursday night at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City to sweep the best-of-three championship series at the Women’s College World Series. The Game 2 result extended the Sooners’ NCAA-record winning streak to 53 in a row.

Oklahoma, which also beat the Seminoles in the 2021 WCWS championship series, joined the UCLA Bruins in 1988-90 as the only team to win three straight NCAA Division I softball championships.

Thursday’s championship was the seventh overall for the Sooners since softball debuted as an NCAA sport in 1982, ranking third all time behind UCLA’s 12 and eight by Arizona. Oklahoma has now won five of the past seven titles dating back to 2016 (not including the canceled 2020 season), with only Florida State in 2018 and UCLA in 2019 interrupting its run.

Oklahoma ends the 2023 season with a stunning 61-1 record – the Sooners’ only loss this season was to Baylor, 4-3 on Feb. 19 – and further cements Patty Gasso as one of the greatest coaches in softball history. Gasso’s seventh championship as head coach moved her into a tie for second all time with UCLA Hall of Fame coach Sharon Backus and one behind the all-time record held by Arizona Hall of Fame coach Mike Candrea.

“What you feel right now from us is freedom, because it was absolutely suffocating as we’re going along,” Gasso told ESPN on the field after the game. “The expectations were overwhelming, but they handled it like champions and that’s why we are here right now.”

Is a fourth title in a row in the offing in Norman?

Nothing in the world of sports is guaranteed, of course, but the Sooners will almost certainly enter the 2024 season, their last in the Big 12 before riding off to the SEC, as the odds-on favorites.

Most key contributors from this year’s squad, including Bahl and fellow hurler Nicole May, will be back. Sluggers Coleman and Tiare Jennings will also return in search of a four-peat. Of the few Sooners whose eligibility will be spent, the hardest to replace figures to be Lyons, a Gold Glove winning shortstop and vocal team leader. Pitcher Storako and utility player Lee will also move on, but Gasso will welcome another strong freshman class featuring four top-15 recruits.

Oklahoma joins NCAA dynasties

A fourth consecutive crown would be unprecedented in the sport, at least since the NCAA began administering women’s championships in 1982. It also would push the program closer to some of the biggest dynasties among major sports in Division I college athletics. A look at some of the significant titles streaks:

∎ No team has won three football national titles in a row since the AP poll was established in 1936. Minnesota does claim national titles between 1934-36. Georgia could win a third in a row this season after back-to-back College Football Playoff victories.

∎ UCLA won seven consecutive men’s basketball championships from 1967-73, while Connecticut’s women’s basketball team won four in a row from 2013-16.

∎ Southern California baseball won five consecutive College World Series between 1970-74.

∎ North Carolina holds the mark with nine consecutive women’s soccer championships from 1986-94 as part of Anson Dorrance’s 21 overall titles. Virginia’s men’s program under Bruce Arena were champions from 1991-94.

∎ Maryland captured seven titles in a row in women’s lacrosse from 1995-2001. Princeton, Syracuse and Johns Hopkins each have won three consecutive men’s lacrosse championships with all of those coming last century.

∎ Iowa’s run of nine men’s wrestling titles in a row began in 1978. Coach Dan Gable would go on to win 15 championships. Penn State has two runs of four consecutive crowns under current coach Cael Sanderson.

Contributing: Ellen J. Horrow