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OU Softball: How Jordy Bahl's Heroics Lifted Oklahoma Out of Impossible Jams

When the Sooners needed Jordy Bahl most, the team's ace rose to the occasion once again.
Ross Lovelace|
OU Softball: How Jordy Bahl's Heroics Lifted Oklahoma Out of Impossible Jams
OU Softball: How Jordy Bahl's Heroics Lifted Oklahoma Out of Impossible Jams

OKLAHOMA CITY — Patty Gasso’s team has had no trouble finding ways to win all season long. That’s a given for a team that has lost one time in 58 tries.

Thursday afternoon was different, though, as the Sooners were on the ropes too many times to count against a gritty Stanford team. 

The story of the day was the pitching duel between Jordy Bahl and NiJaree Canady, as everyone in attendance at Hall of Fame Stadium witnessed a masterclass from both sides.

Bahl's gutsy performance won out, leading the Sooners to a 2-0 shutout win over the Cardinal in front of a sellout crowd.

Canady held the Sooners in check for almost five innings, but Oklahoma’s offensive firepower was inevitable. With two outs on the board, she had a chance to get the Cardinal out of another inning and save room for late-game heroics. The Sooners were nearly through the order, down to Rylie Boone at ninth spot in the lineup.

Boone’s single to left field fired up the crowd and the dugout, giving Oklahoma two base runners on with Jayda Coleman up to bat. The junior centerfielder delivered, like she has all season long, blasting a two-run single to left field and giving Oklahoma its first lead of the day.

Canady’s performance was nearly one for the ages, but she couldn’t overcome the fifth inning jam and allow Stanford an opportunity to knock off No. 1.

If it weren’t for Bahl’s clutch gene pulling the Sooners out of sticky situations time and time again, the script might’ve been flipped completely.

In both the fourth and fifth innings, Stanford planted two runners on the base path and locked up a full count on the board. Both instances, the Cardinal were a pitch away from loading the bases, and a hit away from likely taking the lead. Each time, though, Bahl rose to the occasion and delivered.

“Those are honestly the situations you kind of like to be in as a pitcher at times, because when teams press you like that, it makes you be your best,” Bahl said. “And you can't take a pitch off, it's a good test. So those moments are kind of fun even though they're really high stress at times.

“Yeah, you just can’t take a pitch off.”

All-in-all, Bahl went the full seven innings, racking up 11 strikeouts and allowing just five hits. She walked one batter in 107 pitches thrown.

Her stats still don’t tell the full story, though. Stanford found a way to put runners on the base path, and take Oklahoma’s home crowd out of the game. For nearly two hours, Bahl’s heroics were all the fiery fans had to cheer for.

When it looked like the momentum was slipping in back-to-back innings, Oklahoma leaned on Bahl to shoulder the load. She pulled through two straight dangerous jams to deliver the Sooners a narrow victory.

Once again, Oklahoma’s defense prevailed, and Bahl was the one leading the charge.

“Thankfully, Jordy was absolutely on her game,” Gasso said. “She was just a boss today. It was really fun to watch that, especially not getting the opportunity she wanted last year and just making the most of it from day one.”

After a fireworks show against Clemson ending in a walk-off, Oklahoma’s game against Stanford couldn’t have followed more of a polar opposite script. It ended in the same fashion though, with the Sooners finding a way to win and advancing once again.

“I think it shows that we don't always have to hit home runs,” Coleman said. “We can be the team that's just scrappy. Just put the ball in play, hit low line drives. I think sometimes people want us to jack home runs when that doesn't win it all the time.”

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Ross Lovelace
ROSS LOVELACE

Ross has covered the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Oklahoma Sooners since 2018. He's made guest appearances on various radio stations and the Sooners On SI podcast. Ross enjoys public speaking and has done so at multiple churches and high schools across the OKC metro area. In addition to writing, Ross has been the Play-by-Play announcer for Crossings’ basketball and football programs since 2020. In high school, Ross started with Thunder Digest, where he discovered his passion for writing. From there, he worked for the OU Daily as a women's basketball reporter and worked for Sooners On SI and Thunder On SI. Ross holds a bachelor's degree in Public Relations and a minor in Communication from the University of Oklahoma. Born and raised in Oklahoma City, Ross played basketball and wrote for his own Thunder blog at Crossings High School in OKC. He enjoys reading, New York Jets football and a week at the beach. Ross and his wife live in New Orleans, where he is a Marketing and Volunteer Coordinator at the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation and the New Orleans Super Bowl Host Committee. His Twitter handle is @Rosslovelace.

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