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    OU Softball: Jordy Bahl's Sensational WCWS Has Oklahoma One Win Away

    OU's ace still hasn't given up a run in Oklahoma City, powering the Sooners' third straight national title bid.

    OKLAHOMA CITY — For all intents and purposes, Jordy Bahl’s heavy lifting at the Women’s College World Series may be done.

    Oklahoma’s star right-hander has been sensational during the World Series, pitching 21 2/3 scoreless innings while throwing 30 strikeouts and only allowing 12 hits and three walks.

    She opened the week with a complete game shutout of the 9-seeded Stanford Cardinal, and after going the distance against the 3-seeded Florida State Seminoles in Game 1 of the Championship Series on Wednesday, the top-ranked Sooners are one win away from returning to softball’s mountain top.

    OU can clinch its third straight national title on Thursday night — a feat that has only been achieved once over 30 years ago — in large part due to Bahl’s excellence.

    Nicole May, Alex Storako and Kierston Deal are more than capable of carrying the Sooners across the finish line from here.

    But as the stakes have continually been raised throughout OU’s stay in Oklahoma City, Patty Gasso hasn’t hesitated to play her ace over and over.

    “She wants the ball like nobody's business,” Gasso said after Oklahoma’s 5-0 win over Florida State on Wednesday. “Not that we don't have faith in our others. It's just she is like a very, very hot pitcher right now. She's throwing the best she has all season right now.

    “You want to take advantage of that without running her too hard where she's going to run out of gas.”

    Bahl is even making contributions outside the circle.

    Gasso has maintained since she arrived on campus ahead of the 2022 season that Bahl is the fastest player on the team. The world believes her after Bahl scored from first base courtesy of a Kinzie Hansen single to score the first run of the Championship Series.

    “I think base running is really fun,” Bahl said with a smile on Wednesday. “So when I went out there, I was thinking just be fast but be smart.

    “Get a good jump. If the ball is in the dirt, you're going, but get a good jump.”

    Still, Bahl’s damage has been done in the circle.

    Thanks to the new WCWS format, which began in 2022, there are plenty of rest days built in if teams keep winning.

    Both Oklahoma and Florida State got a day of rest ahead of every game of the World Series, entering the Championship Series a perfect 3-0 in OKC.

    For Gasso’s Sooners, the rest days have meant Bahl is fresh enough to throw in every game.

    “That really helps pitchers a ton,” Gasso said. “We have just a group of people working on our players, whether it's ice baths or massages and so forth.

    “I mean, they have hands all over them trying to help them recover quickly. So that makes a big difference.”

    The decision to ride Bahl hasn’t been easy, as the OU pitching staff has become accustomed to sharing the load all season, but Wednesday’s decision was simple for Gasso — win Game 1 and worry about the rest on Thursday.

    “(Florida State) are very, very good top to bottom in everything that they do,” Gasso said. “It was a matter of like we've got to get our feet on the ground.

    “Jordy was the right matchup for this first game just to kind of allow us to get our feet on the ground.”

    Now, it’s likely time for May and Storako to take center stage.

    The 2023 Seminoles haven’t seen May pitch yet this year, and Storako was only exposed to the lineup for four innings in March.

    And the experienced duo will have plenty of confidence that they can win OU the title.

    “I think our other pitchers understand,” said Gasso, “and they all want the ball, but they understand what's at stake because we're talking about it.

    “They don't question. They're hungry. They're waiting.”

    Jordy Bahl may not pitch another inning at the Women’s College World Series, not because she can’t, but because she won’t have to.

    But she doesn’t have to be on the mound when the dog pile commences to leave her mark on the 2023 WCWS. 

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