College Softball World Series 2016: Auburn vs. Oklahoma Game 1 Score and Recap

Oklahoma Sooners starter Paige Parker pitched a dominant complete game as the Sooners survived to take Game 1 of the Women's College World Series finals with a 3-2 victory over the Auburn Tigers on Monday night.

Oklahoma took to Twitter to celebrate its 31st straight victory:

The Sooners moved to within one win of capturing their second national title. Sydney Romero provided the Oklahoma's only scoring opportunity by hitting a three-run home run in the bottom of the third inning.

The victory didn't come easily, though.

Jade Rhodes hit a two-run home run in the top of the seventh inning after Parker gave up a leadoff walk to cut her team's deficit to a single run. ESPNU provided a clip of the clutch blast by the Auburn first baseman:

Haley Fagan followed with a single to put the potential game-tying run on base. Casey McCrackin replaced her as a pinch runner and eventually advanced to third. But she was then thrown out at home for the second out of the inning, and Parker finally closed the door.

Auburn pitcher Lexi Davis went six innings, giving up three runs and seven hits in the loss.

The battle between two of the NCAA tournament's highest-scoring offenses turned into a pitchers' duel early on. Neither Davis nor Parker struck out many batters, but they both kept the ball in the field of play.

Davis, however, was the first to get tagged when Romero drilled a three-run home run in the bottom of the third with two outs. Romero's 10th homer of the season was the first mistake Davis made after 2.2 innings of stellar play.

NCAA Softball provided a GIF of the Sooners celebrating at home plate as Romero rounded the bases:

Oklahoma's official Twitter account reacted to Romero's fourth homer in the last six games:

After the Sooners grabbed the lead, Parker continued her stellar play on the mound.

Parker hadn't struck anyone out after four innings but was at only 35 pitches and had allowed only two hits.

Davis continued to mow down the Oklahoma lineup, but the Auburn bats were quiet. Other than the top two hitters in the lineup, Tiffany Howard and Kasey Cooper, no Auburn player recorded a hit until the last inning.

Parker's performance came at the right time with an important guest in the house, per Jason Kersey of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Prior to the contest, ESPN Stats & Info highlighted Oklahoma's success against SEC competition:

Both pitchers played well, but Parker prevailed. She was efficient and kept her pitch count low for most of the game. The team's performance in Game 1 should bode well heading into Tuesday as Oklahoma looks to capture the national championship.

Postgame Reaction

Auburn second baseman Emily Carosone is not dwelling over Game 1. There's still a chance to even the series.

"We've been against the wall plenty of times," Carosone said, per Charles Goldberg of AuburnTigers.com. "We know how to handle it."

Auburn coach Clint Myers thinks fate has been established in the plans for Auburn's next two games.

"You've got to win two. You can pick the first two, you can pick the first and last," Myers said, per Goldberg. "We chose to pick the last two."

Myers was also proud of his starting pitcher for the effort she displayed.

"I'm very proud of Lexi Davis," Myers said, per Goldberg. "There was talk of why she was pitching. I think you saw why she pitched. She gave up seven hits, and five didn't leave the infield. If we make a play at first base we win that ballgame. She pitched well enough to win; we just didn't support her offensively or defensively."