OU Softball: Oklahoma Battles Back to Beat No. 6 Florida State
NORMAN — Oklahoma got every bit of the battle it wanted on Tuesday night.
The top-ranked Sooners fell behind at Marita Hynes Field for the first time this season, as No. 6-ranked Florida State took a lead in the fourth inning.
Patty Gasso’s team dug deep and found a response, however, plating a pair of runs to take the lead back and beat the Seminoles 5-4.
The Sooners moved to 22-1 after posting win No. 14 on their current streak, and Florida State dropped to 21-6.
Oklahoma’s win was the highest ranked victory the Sooners have had at Marita Hynes Field since splitting a pair of games with the No. 2-ranked Texas A&M Aggies on March 31-April 1, 2007.
“It was a fun atmosphere for us... It felt like a Super Regional-style game,” Gasso said after the game. “Back and forth, good play, good pitching, clutch hitting, good defense on both sides. It was a well-played game, I think, by both sides, very entertaining.
“But ultimately, the ultimate goal is for it to make us better and I feel we walked away learning a lot and becoming better for it.”
The drama started from the very beginning as Oklahoma nearly took the lead in the first inning.
Tiare Jennings appeared to hit a routine fly ball to shallow right field that should have ended the frame, but Florida State first baseman Mack Leonard dropped the ball, allowing Jennings to end up on second base safely.
True freshman Jocelyn Erickson stepped into the pressure situation and fouled four balls off Kathryn Sandercock, but Erickson eventually flew out to center to end the inning.
The Sooners wouldn’t be denied in their next trip to the plate.
With Kinzie Hansen on second, Oklahoma’s lineup again produced with two outs.
Alynah Torres smashed a grounder that dribbled under Leonard’s glove and to rolled down the right field line.
Hansen rounded third and crossed home to score the first run of the game, but Seminole head coach Lonni Alameda withdrew Sandercock in favor of freshman Makenna Reid.
Rylie Boone welcomed Reid to Norman by smoking the first pitch she saw, also up the right field line, but Patty Gasso put up the stop sign for Torres at third.
Reid responded admirably, fooling Jayda Coleman on a 3-2 delivery to strikeout OU’s star center fielder and limit the damage to just the single run.
Florida State didn’t stay down for long.
Alameda turned to Jahni Kerr, and she was rewarded with a pinch-hit home run to level the game back at 1-1.
But the Sooners struck back.
Haley Lee turned on the third pitch she saw, sending it into the left field bleachers to give OU the 2-1 lead.
Not to be outdone, Jennings lined a ball just beyond the wall in right-center field to double the advantage, delivering back-to-back home runs.
Storako ran into trouble in the fourth inning.
A pair of singles put runners aboard for Katie Dack, who made the OU right-hander pay.
Dack crushed a no-doubter well out of the complex, and she uncurled a strong “let’s go” that echoed throughout a stunned Marita Hynes Field as she crossed home plate to put Florida State up 4-3.
The Seminole lead marked the first time the Sooners trailed at home since their regular season finale against Oklahoma State in 2022, when the Cowgirls took an early 2-0 lead.
Just as OU did against OSU last May, Oklahoma found a response.
Back-to-back singles from Boone and Coleman set the table for Lee, who continued her demolition of Florida State.
Lee doubled off the wall, bringing home Boone to tie the game and moving Coleman over to third.
In the next at-bat, Jennings’ grounder up the middle deflected off Seminole pitcher Ali DuBois, allowing Coleman to come home and put OU up 5-4.
“They took the lead and all of the adrenaline and energy was in their dugout,” said Gasso, “our team come back and answered right away. It's good to exchange blows like that. We haven't had that happen for awhile so it was good to see the response.”
Back on top, Gasso turned to Jordy Bahl to close out the game.
Storako completed four innings against the Seminoles, striking out six batters while allowing four runs on five hits.
Oklahoma’s sophomore right-hander closed the door.
Prowling around the circle, Bahl struck out six Florida State batters while only allowing one Seminole to reach base in the final three innings.
“It felt good. Definitely felt the atmosphere,” Bahl said. “The fans were awesome tonight. Our whole team had a lot of energy in the dugout.
“We were all just really excited and pumped up. So just felt really energized and had a lot of fun.”
OU avoided its first home loss since a 4-3 defeat to North Texas on Feb. 29, 2020 when future Sooner Hope Trautwein closed out the upset victory.
Following the marquee victory, Oklahoma won’t have much time to rest.
Gasso’s team will host the Hall of Fame Classic in Oklahoma City this weekend, where OU will play five games over three days.
Up first, the Sooners will take on Weber State at 4 p.m. on Friday and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
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