Before she ever dreamed of playing for Oklahoma, before she ever landed in Norman, before she ever broke the NCAA career home run record, before she became a power-hitting superstar, before she even started playing softball, she was a 10-year-old girl. She felt a wave of excitement as she drove from her small village to the big city. They were on their way to the new field. She would not be playing softball. She was the only girl on the baseball team. She had just bought a new bat, the Easton Omen, and it felt like a hammer in her hands. She got a pitch she liked, a breaking ball, but she was so anxious that she was a little further out onto her front foot than she wanted to be. It felt good. It felt like nothing she had ever experienced before. She said it was easy as she swung through the ball and watched as it sailed toward center field. The ball was in the dead center of the wall, and it kept going and going. It was the first time anyone had hit a home run over the fence at the new field. She can still remember how powerful that moment was. She rounded the bases and everyone went crazy. She admitted that it was a pretty addictive feeling. She watched her second career home run fly away later in the game. Her memory is amazing. She cleared the left-field fence, which was about 200 feet tall. The second home run came with a message that demanded the boys respect: "I come here to play." I come here to do more than just stand around. She would eventually win the home run derby because she was the Jocelyn Alo Home Run Queen. She said that all the boys would be angry. Be better. She would leave the boys behind and become one of the most sought-after recruits in college softball, signing with Oklahoma and immediately becoming one of the best power hitters in the game. A fifth-year senior now, she has climbed the home run charts and shattered the career record held by former Sooners legend Lauren Chamberlain. Ahead of her last NCAA tournament, she wants to build upon her lead. The story of her journey is told through pivotal stops along the way. Alo's first collegiate home run was launched in just five hours and two at-bats. The date was in February. Weber State was the opponent. Alo remembers that it went over the left-center field at GCU. Everyone else in the Oklahoma dugout at Grand Canyon University remembers it, too, mostly because they all knew it was coming. Her first home run was 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 She had uncommon natural power. He said he thought to himself, "Here we go." This is the beginning. Why does a true freshman have so much confidence? She was a star from the beginning. She received a scholarship from Oregon in the seventh grade. She committed a year after Cal did the same. When the power hitter from Hawaii reopened her recruitment, the softball community was excited. When he heard the news at the ballpark, he immediately began to search for clips of Alo hitting. He was shocked by what he saw. When you typed her name, the first thing that came up was her wrestling video. My. Goodness, the pure physical nature of it was something that you just don't see from players. It was impressive. The girls state wrestling champ was Alo. He called his mother and told her to watch it. You will not believe what you are seeing. I need her after I had a shoulder injury, Patty said. It took some work to get her. The staff tried to dress Norman up in a way that made him look like a Polynesian. Whatever they did worked. She had to get used to being far away from home and different types of food. Freshman 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 Alo was as close to ready-made as it gets in college softball when she put a bat in her hands. Patty said her attitude revealed in the video helped. She said that she remembered the look of not being denied from the first time she saw her. She has not been denied whatever she has wanted or dreamed of. With this SOLO SHOT, @OU_Softball's Jocelyn Alo ties the NCAA DI freshman single season home run record with her 30th! #WCWS pic.twitter.com/eoFR29yi17 Lynnsie Elam was impressed by what she saw on the travel ball circuit. She said that she could tell that Alo was already on a different level. It was the same when Elam arrived at Oklahoma as part of a freshman class. Alo fell in with the stars of the team and felt the growing pains typically associated with rookies. Elam said that this chick is insane because there was definitely a learning curve for the other three of them. There was no jealousy or animus. Elam said that the rest of the freshman formed The Jossie Fan Club. We would all look at each other and think that she was going to break the home run record. It might have been foolish to say that publicly. She went on to lead the team in batting average, on-base percentage, and walks, and she also led the team in total bases. She led the country in home runs. Washington defeated Oklahoma in the semifinals of the Women's College World Series. Without Alo, they might not have made it that far, as her 29th and 30th home runs gave the Sooners the lead in both of their wins. Alo was the picture of consistency through 2 seasons. She hit 54 home runs and had a career on-base percentage of.500, but she walked twice as often as she struck out. The 2020 softball season was called off and players were sent home because of the spread of COVID-19. For the first time in her life, Alo was unable to play the game she loved. She said that being in a hospital for so long made her mentally and physically drained, and that they were given the all-clear to return to school and practice after a while. She said that she was toward softball. I was not really fighting with it. I got exposed when I came back and was very out of shape. She said she didn't have the best fall practice because she was dealing with personal things. She felt like she was turning to negative thinking. She heard people talk about her potential as if she wasn't capable of reaching it. Potential is a no-no within the program because what is the good of potential if it is not realized? Alo remembers thinking to herself, "I don't really know how this is gonna go." I am not in the best of moods right now. She hit a home run in her first at-bat in the opener against UTEP. Alo laughs because she knows it doesn't make sense. She said that it was one of her best seasons. Patty said that everyone was in that space because there was a lot of anxiety about. Some of our athletes were depressed. She wasn't the only one who wasn't doing a lot in terms of conditioning. They were not ready to play. It was just a matter of us getting together and getting going, and once we did, I felt everyone got back and in the right space. Alo bounced back better than before. She got into the best shape of her life after losing 20 pounds. After the first game back, she felt like things clicked into place. She was reminded that playing the game is supposed to be enjoyable. She said that she had never felt more free. She hit nine home runs in seven games against Sam Houston, UT Arlington, Kansas City, Liberty and Iowa State. From time to time, she goes on stretches. She had a three- home run game, seven homers in six games, and five homers in two days. Elam was laughing when she was told the numbers. She said that it feels normal because they are with her every day and they see it at practice. It is amazing to hear. We are very excited for every home run, whether it is Jossie or anyone else, we are pumped and excited. It feels normal because she is consistent like that every day. Home run No. 3️⃣1️⃣ just hits 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭. Your OU single-season HR 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐞𝐧, @78jocelyn_alo 🤙 pic.twitter.com/9B2xtvH0J3
Home run No. 1
Home run No. 30
Home run No. 55
Home run Nos. 67-75
Home run No. 85
Alo's recall is very close. When asked if she remembers breaking the single-season home run record in Oklahoma, she immediately responded, "Oh yeah." At the World Series against Georgia.
Rogers was known for throwing off-speed. She struck out Alo earlier in the season. After getting two pitches to start the at-bat, Alo had a good feeling about what she would see next.
Here comes the changeup, I was like. She said that she sat on it and it went into the right-center field stands. As soon as I hit it, Nicole was on third and her hands went up.
I had a smirk on my face after I hit it.
Every once in a while she will see a replay of a home run and notice her reaction and think, "What made you celebrate like that?"
She has earned the moment of revelry. The work that goes into being a prolific hitter is what people take for granted. The hours were spent in the gym and batting cage. She studies opposing pitchers by looking at tendencies. She looks for weaknesses in her own swing.
She doesn't think her way is the only way. She came in as a freshman and told him "I will do whatever you want with my swing." That is not normal of a highly-decorated recruit, he explained.
She is interested in seeking out other people's opinions.
She said she was curious to know what more was out there.
She hit with the Arizona State All-American. She picked the brain of two-time World Series champ, and nicknamed him "The Flyin' Hawaiian", Victorino, who is from Maui. Alo wants to spend time with Barry Bonds.
She said she would probably ask him to take some oil. That would be sick. If I had the chance to talk to him, I would ask him how he went about it, because he hit a lot of home runs in his day. How is it that you are a consistent hitter?
I would think of him as the 1 percent. How is it that you can stay in that 1 percent and still be consistent with base hits, walks, on-base percentage, batting average, not just home runs and stuff?
A young hitter might ask Alo the same question.
Everyone goes through ups and downs, but it is her consistency that people within the program marvel at.
She knows that when hitters get caught up in outcomes, they rarely achieve them or not at the rate they want to.
JOCELYN ALO GIVES @OU_SOFTBALL THE LEAD IN THE 6TH ‼️#WCWS pic.twitter.com/37wE2h9A9n
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 10, 2021
Alo hit a career-high 34 home runs and drove in 89 runs in the 2021 season, after bouncing back from the COVID- shortened season.
The important thing was when they happened.
Oklahoma struggled in the first game against Florida State. Alo played well, but the Sooners lost.
Alo agreed to give them more for the next game. The Oklahoma City crowd went into a frenzy after Alo hit a 2-0 pitch over the right-center field fence to give the Sooners the lead. They scored three more runs and Oklahoma won.
Alo hit a solo shot over the left field fence in the bottom of the first. The Sooners scored four more runs in the second and third frames and went on to win the national championship.
Elam pointed to Alo as the person they look to defensively. Elam said that she lights a fire under the team a lot of times.
Patty explained that the box score only tells part of the story when it comes to the impact of a home run.
She said that she can change the outcome of the game in one swing. It's so hard to get momentum into your dugout. The game is changed by her presence at the plate. Everything changes in a split second when there is contact.
If we were behind, now we are ahead. We are up by three if there was no score. It happens in one swing.
The 95th career home run by Jocelyn Alo ties Lauren Chamberlain for most in NCAA softball history.
As soon as Alo decided to return for a fifth redshirt senior season -- which was never in doubt once the NCAA granted athletes an extra year of eligibility because of COVID -- it was a mortal lock that she would one day break the career home run record held by former. She needed seven homers to get there.
Alo hit a home run in the opener against UC Santa Barbara, like in her freshman and senior seasons. She hit four home runs in a single day against Houston during the first game of the second game.
She tied the record with a shot over the center-field fence against Texas State. The center fielder gave up chasing after one step. Teammates began crowding around home plate to celebrate.
Alo was happy after the game. She told reporters how difficult it was to get to this part of the home run chase. She said she was trying to enjoy the moment, which was even sweeter when she got to hug her family after.
She hopes that next weekend, my mom will be there as well and it will be even more special.
If it happens.
That was a big if because of what happened next.
The circus began to follow Oklahoma wherever it went. The stadiums were filled with fans. The reporters were asking the same questions over and over again. The weight of expectation was too much.
It sucked, said JT.
What wasucked was the outside noise. She should save the record-breaking home run for a home game, as if Alo had an on/off switch.
The reaction when she came up to bat was what sucked. Fans packing the stadium would stomp their feet. Right before the pitch, they became eerily silent. Elam was made to want to scream. Act normal!
The teams were doing everything they could to avoid being on the other side of history. Over the next eight games, she walked 16 times and was hit by a pitch once. With each walk, he wanted to scream.
She was doing all the right things, taking the free pass rather than chasing bad pitches, but the result was tied for the longest stretch without a home run in her career. The Oklahoma team felt for her. It was not fair. He would want to scream, and hear the disappointed groan from the crowd, when he watched Alo hit a single.
Elam said that she has the weight of the world on her.
Alo was pressing, something Patty had never seen before.
She said it was very frustrating for her.
"Everywhere I go I'm always playing for you guys, no matter if it's on a national level or an international level. I want you guys to dream this big too."
Jocelyn Alo was moved as she spoke with young softball players at the park where she started hitting with her dad 🥺 pic.twitter.com/2avQUx0NGh
— espnW (@espnW) March 10, 2022
Alo tried not to let her emotions show, but each day that passed without breaking the record meant more of the same tiresome questions and more of the circus.
What should have been a fun ride turned into something else.
She said that she wanted to get the record over with because of how much attention she was getting.
The only upside to her home run dry spell was that it gave her a chance to play in a tournament in March. It would be Alo's first time in her home state since high school.
Alo and her teammates drove 45 minutes north to the University of Hawai&i on the day of the four-game set.
One of the greatest softball moments I have ever had is what she witnessed as Alo returned home that day, Gasso said.
Gasso said that her father announced that they were going to sign autographs and mess with the kids at her home field. She lives a hundred yards away from where this field is. She probably took her first swing there. It was a full-circle moment for her when she talked to these kids and reminisced about what it was like when she and her dad were together.
Alo wiped away tears as she told the crowd that she carries Hawai'i and kids like them with her everywhere she goes.
She said that she wants you to dream big, too, and that she wants you to go farther than she has.
She did it two days later.
The sixth was when it happened. The pitcher hung a curve that Alo hit 40 feet above the right-center-field fence.
There was a sense of relief in the celebration.
Alo hit her 96th home run on Friday.
To be able to hit it in Hawai'i, against Hawai'i, on the field where she won the high school state championship and all of her families who can't ever get here. One of the best I have ever had as a coach, watching her go through that.
Gasso hoped that Alo understood what it meant for her and for Oklahoma, but also for softball as a whole.
Alo knew. It is part of what made the journey worth it.
She said that it was a win for women's sports in general because they might not get the coverage they deserve.
In the same breath, Alo moved her attention forward.
She said that the home run record will be hard to break after this.
She has hit 17 more home runs in the 31 games since, bringing her total to 112.
She hit a solo shot over the left field fence that tied the game in the Big 12 championship final against Oklahoma State. It was all for naught, instead of being another in a long line of heroics. Oklahoma walked in the winning run.
It was the second time that the Sooners lost a game in which Alo hit a home run.
Oklahoma entered the NCAA tournament as the favorite. It will host Prairie View A&M on Friday as it looks to win back-to-back national titles. If history is any guide, count on Alo to deliver. She has clubbed 15 home runs in three NCAA tournament appearances, seven of which have come during the World Series.
Alo's place in college softball history is already guaranteed if she finishes her career with one title or two. How long her home run record will last is the only question.
Records are meant to be broken.
Gasso was asked if she agreed.
She said that it would be hard to break the record if she was doing a good job of recruiting.
Alo is already looking for her replacement.
She started asking the little girls who was going to be the next one.
Some people have raised their hands.
Alo said, "All right, let's see it."
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