OKLAHOMA CITY — Home-field advantage. Who needs that?

For Washington's softball team, the road led to a national championship.

After three weeks away from home, the Huskies are heading back to the Pacific Northwest with a trophy.

"We went through the toughest road anybody had to hoe to get here, and I think ultimately that's what caused this to happen," Washington coach Heather Tarr said.

Kimi Pohlman raced home on a squibber back to the circle that Florida ace Stacey Nelson couldn't handle, giving Washington the decisive run in a 3-2 victory for its first NCAA softball championship last night.

With the bases loaded in the third inning, Morgan Stuart tapped the ball a few feet in front of home plate, but Nelson (41-5) was unable to scoop it cleanly. That allowed the go-ahead run to score.

National player of the year Danielle Lawrie (42-8) shut out the top-seeded Gators (63-5) the rest of the way to clinch the title with a two-game sweep. She pitched every inning of the Huskies' six games at the World Series.

"I just can't say enough about Danielle and her ability to carry a team on her back — from September until now," Tarr said.

Washington (51-12) kept the championship in the Pac-10 by keeping Florida from bringing the Southeastern Conference its first title. The Pac-10 has won 21 of the 27 Women's College World Series titles, with Arizona State and Washington joining powerhouses UCLA (11 championships) and Arizona (eight) the past two years.

"It's a pretty good feeling. Words can't really describe it," senior second baseman Ashley Charters said. "We've had a very tough road to get here ... but we wouldn't have been here if it was easy. It's not meant to be."

The team caught a flight out of Seattle on May 13 after being sent to Massachusetts for the opening weekend of NCAA tournament play. The Huskies stayed on the East Coast for a super regional against Georgia Tech in Atlanta before coming to Oklahoma City for the World Series.

When they end their 6,899-mile trek and arrive back in Seattle, it will be with the school's sixth NCAA title overall and second this school year after taking a women's cross country crown in November.

Lawrie settled down after some shaky defense put the third-seeded Huskies in a 2-0 hole. She finished with a pair of strikeouts after Christina Enea narrowly missed a tying home run with a line drive off the left field wall in the seventh inning.

"There's a reason she's the most outstanding player in the tournament, probably the best pitcher in the country and one of the best pitchers in the world," Gators coach Tim Walton said. "You've got to take advantage of opportunities that you get.

"I don't know if it was just me or my imagination or it was getting dark out there, but it seemed like every time we had somebody on base, she revved it up another gear."

NCAA DIVISION I

SOFTBALL WORLD SERIES

AT ASA HALL OF FAME STADIUM

Oklahoma City.

CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

(BEST-OF-3)

Monday: Washington 8, Florida 0.

Yesterday: Washington 3, Florida 2.