The Women's College World Series is not supposed to last for more than seven innings. It's definitely not supposed to last more than 16 innings. Game 1 of the Wcws lasted even longer than that. It lasted so long that coverage of other events on ESPN networks were preempted or they were moved to other channels in their entirety. It finally ended around 12:45 AM ET with the underdog pulling through in the first game of the series.
Marathon Game 1
At first, it appeared Game 1 would end rather quickly. The Florida Gators were down to their final strike in the bottom of the seventh inning when Sophia Reynoso came to the plate.
She popped her pitch up to the outfield, but the ball managed to drop between the Oklahoma Sooners' defenders. The runner came in from first base to score, forcing extra innings with the opening WCWS game tied 2-2.
In the 12th inning, Oklahoma appeared to have Game 1 in the bag once again. They led 4-2 as the game pivoted to the bottom of the frame. Once again, the Gators had one strike left until the clock struck midnight. Once again, they came through, as Amanda Lorenz scored two runs with her hit into the left center field gap, tying the game at 4-4 and allowing the WCWS contest to continue in perpetuity.
In the 17th inning, the next runs crossed the plate. Once again, they came from the bats of the Sooners.
A three-run homer from Shay Knighten put Oklahoma up by three runs, seemingly putting Game 1 out of reach for Florida. The Gators battled back once again, though, scratching across a run and threatening to add more before Paige Lowary shut the door. After almost 500 combined pitches, over 125 plate appearances, and a playing time of nearly five and a half hours, Game 1 of the 2017 WCWS was finally, mercifully, in the books.
WCWS record smashed
To the surprise of none of the sleepy yet jubilant fans in attendance, Game 1 smashed the record for longest WCWS game of all time. That record was set by the end of the 12th inning, so it's going to take some time for future competitors to match the 17-inning marathon. The craziest thing about the whole situation is that the teams will have to play again on Tuesday night and might require some significant lineup and pitching changes to cope with the exhaustion from the previous night. Regardless of who wins the series, the two teams will be able to say that they played in one of the most legendary and exhausting games in the history of college Softball.
