Rain had pushed the semifinals to the tournament's final day. Instead of there being an evening between the semifinal matchup and the medal stage, now the final four national softball teams at the World Games -- USA, Japan, Canada, and Chinese Taipei -- would need to win out in a doubleheader to return home with gold.
For USA, who had started with three consecutive victories over Chinese Taipei, the Netherlands, and China, that meant going up against the No. 1 ranked nation, Japan -- who had defeated the USA 2-0 for gold at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo -- in the morning.
The matchup lived up to the rivalry billing: the two teams trading runs deep into extra innings before Japan once again took a 6-5 lead going into the bottom of the tenth.
After Hannah Flippen singled in the tying run, it all came down to former Oklahoma Sooners star and all-time Women's College World Series RBI record holder Tiare Jennings. With two runners on and two outs, Jennings stepped to the plate.
"This is what I love about being the lead-off [hitter] with Tiara being right behind me," fellow former Sooner and Team USA player Jayda Coleman said before taking the field for Saturday's Home Run Derby X tournament in Oklahoma City. "I know that I didn't have to get the big hit, all I had to do was get on base. Even throughout my college career, I know that I don't have to hit the home run. I don't have to get the line drive, because she is already is going to do it."
Coleman was standing on first when she watched Jennings quickly fall behind in the count, 0-2, to star Japanese hurler Miu Goto.
"I was like, 'Tiare, get on the plate! Hit this ball right now!'" Coleman remembered. "I was cheering her on from first base."
Fortunately for the U.S., Jennings doesn't get stressed in clutch situations and doesn't mind two-strike counts.
"I feel like all my big moments have been in 0-2 counts," Jennings said. "And again, you just need one pitch. Just like Home Run Derby X, it takes one pitch to get you in the lead and to get to get you that good hit. All I needed was one."
Jennings stepped out of the box and took a breath. She realized that she was seeing the ball well, despite the count. She wasn't going to be worried.
"I'm just gonna battle with two strikes. What do I have to lose? I'm just going to go for it," Jennings thought to herself. "I saw a good pitch up in the zone, something that I could poke, and there it was."
Jennings laced a single right up the middle to bring the winning run home. The game may have felt like a final, but the U.S. had to quickly regroup and reset to play Chinese Taipei for the gold medal.
"We had to be there at like five o'clock in the morning to play Japan," Kinzie Hansen, another fellow Sooner and HRDX participant, said. "Then it rained, so our game got pushed back and then we had the gold medal game after. The weather out there is so hot, so everyone was dog tired. We were just grinding it out for one more game."
Fortunately for the U.S., this contest was a little easier: Megan Faraimo pitched a complete game, striking out 10 and giving up just three hits in America's 5-0 victory. It was over: The U.S. had secured gold.
"The gold medal game was definitely a test for us after a super long, tiring, emotional whirlwind, to now refocus and figure out a way to win the most important game of the summer," Amanda Lorenz said. "But of course our group did such a great job of refocusing and giving everything that we had in the tank."
"In my opinion, it's those moments where you separate greatness," Hansen said, noting that Chinese Taipei had participated in their own grueling doubleheader that day. "I'm just so proud of the team because all of us come from so many different backgrounds and walks of life and schools. You never know what somebody has been through to be in that position. Being able to see everybody have that medal is really cool."
"Obviously, coming home on a 25-hour travel day with gold makes it all worth it," Jennings said.
Though the players had enjoyed traveling through China and trying new and exciting foods, there was only one way they wanted to celebrate after winning it all: McDonald's.
"It's hilarious, because you'd think, like, 'Oh, we want a steak dinner,'" Coleman joked. "We're like, 'No, we're going to McDonald's.' Get a hamburger, french fries and nuggets. USA hooked us up for a true American moment right there."
Though the tournament is over, many of the players are back together in Oklahoma City this weekend for a special, softball-focused Home Run Derby X tournament on Saturday. Their coach, Patty Gasso -- who has coached the Sooners since 1995 -- will also be in attendance. Now in its fourth season, one of HRDX's most notable features is its co-ed lineups, pairing Major League sluggers with women's baseball and softball stars.
This time, however, in the city known for the sport, softball takes center stage. For the first time ever, there will be an all-female team as Jennings, Hansen, and all-time NCAA home run leader Jocelyn Alo reunite in their Oklahoma Sooners jerseys to play together once again.
They'll even be wearing the unis they won the Women's College World Series in together.
"Representing the school again and playing with my former teammates is honestly so much fun. I'm so excited," Hansen said. She then pointed to the WCWS patch on her sleeve.
"This is actually my national championship jersey we wore my last year."
"It means everything [to wear this jersey again]," Jennings added. "This is one of my favorite uniforms to put on and to be back in Oklahoma City -- it's just going to be super cool."
Coleman is joining with another former Sooner, Sydney Romero, on Adrián González's team, while Lorenz -- before she returns to the AUSL All-Star tournament -- teams up with reigning Women's College World Series champion Reese Atwood and former Royals outfielder Lorenzo Cain.
"The most exciting thing about this event is it feels like the females are the star of the show," Lorenz said. "I'm really excited to see how these Oklahoma fans really embrace all the females here, but I think that's consistent across all the Home Run Derby Xs that I've been involved with."
While these Team USA softball players may have to face off against each other tomorrow, they're all hoping to be back together when the summer Olympics return to OKC's Devon Park in 2028. (Romero is hoping to represent Mexico again in 2028 after playing for them in the 2020 Olympics.)
It's even more special for the Sooners players who got to call the state home and now get to play for Coach Gasso once again. Gold in China was special, but Olympic gold, at the field where all those Women's College World Series titles were won?
"I can't even imagine what that gold would feel like, because this was off the charts," Jennings, who was named MVP of the World Games, said. "Even if I'm not a part of the team, just to know that I was a part of the journey getting there means a lot to me. So, I'm going stay in the present moment and enjoy this gold for a while, and keep putting in the work to get there. USA in '28 has always been a dream, but now it's even a bigger dream to get here and represent the state of Oklahoma in Oklahoma with USA to get that gold."
"It would mean the world to me," Coleman said. "I feel like the [Softball] Hall of Fame is my home field. It'd be home field advantage for me, Coach gasso, Tiare and all of us. Winning on that field would feel like winning a national championship all over again, but on the highest stage."