Oklahoma Softball: Jayda Coleman Walk-Off HR Ends an Extra Inning Epic with Tennessee

Freshman Jordy Bahl finally faced some adversity — twice.

Nothing her teammates couldn’t handle — with a little overtime.

Jayda Coleman hit a walk-off, two-run home run as No. 1-ranked Oklahoma held off No. 17 Tennessee 9-8 in 10 innings on Saturday in the Sooners’ second of two games in the Mary Nutter Classic in Palm Springs, CA.

Coleman came to the plate with two out in the 10th and hammered an opposite field home run over the fence in left-center field.

Playing international softball rules in extra innings, Taylon Snow opened the 10th on second base.

It was Coleman’s second home run of the season but her third hit of the day. 

Jocelyn Alo’s chase to pass Lauren Chamberlain’s NCAA career home run record of 96 continued to stall as Alo didn’t hit one out for the fourth consecutive game.

But another Oklahoma win just what she and her teammates really wanted. The Sooners trailed three times in the seventh, ninth and 10th innings, but the Sooners rallied each time.

While Tennessee dropped to 9-5 on the season, OU improved to 14-0 thanks to mostly dominating pitching by Bahl and several timely hits in the late innings.

OU scored all 11 of its runs with two out Friday against Long Beach State. This time the Sooners scored six of their eight with two out against UT.

Bahl, a freshman from Nebraska and last year’s national high school player of the year, got her college career off to a spectacular beginning with a no-hitter in one of her starts and a perfect game in another.

She started out in commanding fashion against the Vols as OU raced to a 4-0 lead before running into trouble.

Grace Lyons and Jana Johns both homered in the first inning, building the Sooners a quick 3-0 lead, and Johns homered again in the third inning to make it 4-0.

After Tiare Jennings flew out to start the game, Lyons hammered her second home run of the weekend over the wall in right-center field.

With nobody on base, the Vols were careful with Alo and issued her sixth walk of the weekend. After Kinzie Hansen struck out swinging, Johns blasted her sixth homer of the season, a two-out shot to straightaway center, to put OU up 3-0.

In the third, Alo led off with yet another walk, but was erased when Hansen grounded into a double play.

Johns was undeterred, however, and crushed another two-out home run, a line drive over the fence in left field for a 4-0 lead.

The Vols finally got to Bahl for a run in the fourth inning.

Bahl was perfect in her run-rule victory over Cal State Fullerton on Friday and, aside from a hit batter in the first inning, she was nearly perfect early on against Tennessee. At one point against the Vols, Bahl struck out six consecutive batters.

That streak ended, though. Amanda Ayala drew a one-out walk, and after a groundout, former Sooner Zaida Puni rapped a two-out single off Bahl’s glove to put runners at second and third. Ivy Davis then singled home pinch-runner Katie Taylor to cut the OU lead to 4-1.

It was the first earned run allowed by Bahl this season.

Tennessee got even more in the fifth inning when Rylie West led off with a solo home run to left-center field off Bahl that cut it to 4-2.

After Bahl recorded two more strikeouts, the Vols kept the pressure on. Kiki Milloy doubled down the left field line, then scored on Ayala’s single to left. Ayala then advanced to second on a wild pitch from Bahl and came home on McKenna Gibson’s single to left, tying it up at 4-4.

Nicole May — who pitched a five-inning complete game with 10 strikeouts against Arizona earlier in the day Saturday — came in to relieve Bahl with two out and ended the inning with a strikeout.

Hansen put the Sooners back in front with a solo home run with two out in the bottom of the fifth.

Mackenzie Donihoo reached on a fielding error by Puni at third, and Coleman laid down a bunt to Puni, who charged but couldn’t throw her out. Jennings then flied out to left and Lyons popped up, leaving Alo in the on-deck circle.

The Vols continued to press the issue in the top of the seventh when Amanda Curran led off with a single off May. Milloy doubled to the wall in left center to put runners at second and third, and Ayala lined out to score Curran from third and tied it at 5-5. May then walked Kaitlin Parsons to put runners at first and second.

That’s when Patty Gasso and pitching coach Jen Rocha went back to Bahl to face Puni — and finish the game.

Bahl plunked Puni on the right foot to load the bases, then struck out Davis for her 10th strikeout of the day, but  Ashley Morgan drew a bases-loaded walk to put Tennessee up 6-5.

Bahl finished it off by inducing a popup, bringing up Alo to lead off the bottom of the seventh.

Ashley Rogers — usually the Vols' ace but pitching in relief Saturday — grazed Alo in the thigh to open the bottom of the seventh, and Hansen was hit by pitch in the foot. After a popup on the infield, Rogers delivered a wild pitch that moved up Hansen and pinch-runner Hannah Coor.

Coor scored on Snow’s fly ball to center field to tie it at 6-6, bringing up pinch-hitter Grace Green with Hansen at second base. Green popped out to end the rally.

In the eighth, Tennessee started with a runner at second base (per international rules) and put a runner on first when Bahl hit Milloy with a pitch. But Bahl got two strikeouts and, after hitting Milloy, got Ayala to ground out.

OU started the eighth with Alyssa Brito on second and Donihoo executed a perfect sacrifice bunt to advance Brito to third. But Coleman popped up and Jennings grounded out to send it to the ninth inning.

Ayala opened the ninth on second base, and Bahl issued a leadoff walk to Parsons. After Bahl struck out two more, bringing her total to 14, Morgan ripped an RBI single to left field to score Ayala for a 7-6 Tennessee lead. Bahl ended the rally with her 15th strikeout, setting up OU’s half of the ninth.

With Jennings opening on second base, Lyons delivered an RBI single to left to tie the game at 7-7, bringing up Alo, who was intentionally walked.

Tennessee coach Karen Weekly was ejected after Lyons’ game-tying hit, though there was no immediate explanation why.

Hansen and Johns struck out and Snow flied out to end the threat.

In the 10th, Kelcy Leach started on second base and moved to third on a one-out grounder to Bahl. After Milloy walked again, Leach scored on a fielding error by Lyons, giving the Vols an 8-7 lead. Bahl ended the inning with her 16th strikeout.

That set up the Sooners’ bottom half of the 10th.

With Snow on second, Brito flied out to center field, and Donihoo popped up to second. Coleman then ended it with her blast off Rogers, one of the SEC’s top pitchers.

OU finishes its trip to Palm Springs on Sunday with an 11 a.m. game against Utah.