Fans won’t have to wait until October to enjoy a Red River Rivalry that will decide a national championship.

No. 1 Oklahoma clobbered UCLA 15-0 Monday to earn a trip to the Women’s College World Series to face Texas, who beat Oklahoma State 5-0 and 6-5 also on Monday.

OU started Monday with a 7-3 loss to fifth-seeded UCLA. The Bruins needed to take two from OU to get to the WCWS.

The Sooners (57-3) responded with their 40th run-rule victory of the season and handing UCLA its largest margin of defeat in school history.

OU has lost only three games this season, to OSU, UCLA and Texas.

“No team beats us twice,” said OU coach Patty Gasso.

The Sooners lost to Texas in April but avenged that loss with an earlier 7-2 win over Texas in the tournament.  The best-of-3 championship series started Wednesday in Oklahoma City.

Gasso inspired her team after the UCLA loss Monday.

“Definitely just reassuring us,” said OU star Jocelyn Alo, who now has 32 homers this season and has increased her record career total to 120. “She’s not going to yell at us before a game. I don’t see the point in that. She’s just reassuring us and letting us know we’re good. It’s just about how we come out the next game, and it was all positive affirmations.”

OU is looking for their sixth national championship overall and the fourth in the last six staged championships (the Chinese coronavirus canceled the 2020 event).

In the second game against UCLA, OU had 13 hits while scoring in double digits for the 23rd time this year.

OU pitcher Hope Trautwein got the win for the Sooners. She credited her concentration for her performance.

“I stick to my routine,” she said. “That’s something I’ve been working for a long time, pretty much the whole postseason now. Also just treating it like another game. There’s no reason to psych myself out or any of the girls out by treating it like it’s a special game that we have to win.”

Trautwein threw only 67 pitches in her five innings of work, allowing just two hits, striking out six and walking no one.  A transfer from North Texas, Trautwein has adjusted to high level of play.

“I’ve definitely been getting more used to the environment,” Trautwein said. “The environment is – it’s hard to play here. There’s a lot of distractions going on, and I really have locked into my routine as I have thrown more innings. Being comfortable and knowing my team has my back, it’s getting easier as the innings go on.”

OU’s defense was nearly perfect.

“I love defense,” Gasso said. “I love home runs. I love Jocy (Alo). I love all that, but I love defense, and I do believe that defense wins championships in about every sport. I feel like we’ve got one of the best infields in the country, but without question, in my mind, Grace Lyons is the best shortstop I’ve ever seen, and I get the pleasure of working with her on a daily basis. She’s so good, she makes everyone around her that good.”

Alo tied a WCWS record with two home runs, done so 14 times in WCWS history. Alo’s 7 RBIs tied a WCWS record and tied an OU postseason record. Alo’s 10 career home runs at the WCWS is a WCWS record. Her grand slam in the top of the fifth was the sixth of her career and first in postseason play.

Second baseman Tiare Jennings went 2 for 4 with a home run and three RBI in the second game

“The game of softball doesn’t know if you are 0 for 3 or 3 for 3,” said Jennings, who was 0 for 3 in the opener. “I just flushed it. I knew when Jayda and Joce got on, I knew I had to do whatever it took. The first game we were on it. I mean, we saw both pitchers. We’re seeing the ball really well. I think in the second we just really made our adjustments to low line drives, attack early in the count, get the pitch that you want, and just controlling the strike zone a lot more.”