OU Softball: Oklahoma Beats Florida State, One Game Away From Third Straight Title
OKLAHOMA CITY — Jordy Bahl really can do it all.
It’s been a constant all year long, so why would she change in the Women’s College World Series finals?
Oklahoma’s pitcher was in command in Game 1 of the WCWS Championship Series against Florida State, and her talented were on full display in the fourth inning.
In the circle, she masterfully worked around her own defensive error and a hit batter to keep the 3-seeded Seminoles off the board.
Then she pinch-ran for teammate Haley Lee, sprinting around the bases to cash in on Kinzie Hansen’s double, giving OU its first lead of the night.
From there, the Sooners didn’t turn back, adding another pair of runs in the fourth to fuel a 5-0 win over Florida State at Hall of Fame Stadium.
“When Jordy went in to pinch run,” Hansen said after the game, “in my mind I was like, if I get the ball in the gap, we're going to be 1-0. Jordy has wheels.
“She runs circles around us at practice sometimes. She strikes us out, too. It's all over the place.”
The victory was Oklahoma’s 52nd in a row, but most importantly it moved the Sooners (60-1) within one win of a third straight national title.
“It's always really good to get that first win under your belt,” OU coach Patty Gasso said. “Really important. Our team was really focused for that.”
Wednesday’s highly-touted matchup took its time to get started.
First pitch between the Sooners and the Seminoles (58-10) was delayed 70 minutes due to severe weather around Hall of Fame Stadium, and four batters into the contest it got suspended for another 43 minutes after more storms blew over.
But once the game got truly underway, a pitching duel broke out.
Bahl and surprise Florida State starter Mack Leonard strolled early.
Leonard worked around an Alyssa Brito walk in the second inning and a Rylie Boone double in the third to keep the Sooners off the board.
For Bahl, she got out of a second inning single with a double play, and was bothered by Brito’s third inning error.
She then had to get out of her own mess in the top of the fourth inning.
Jahni Kerr dragged a slow-roller down the first baseline to leadoff the inning, and Bahl made an uncharacteristic mistake.
Generally a strong fielder, Bahl was unable to corral the ball, allowing Kerr to reach on an error to start the frame off.
The OU right-hander then fanned Kalei Harding before hitting Seminole catcher Michaela Edenfield.
Devyn Flaherty grounded out in the next at-bat, but she moved each runner up a base to put two in scoring position.
Leonard stepped in, fouling off Bahl’s 0-1 delivery that would have potentially scored a both runners had it stayed fair.
Instead, Bahl hurled her third pitch by Leonard, ringing up another strikeout to get out of the jam.
Always steady, Bahl never panicked knowing she just had to get back to the dugout unscathed to give the offense another chance to dial in on Florida State’s pitching staff.
“I always know the offense is going to get going,” Bahl said. “Especially this entire tournament, we've faced some really tough pitching, but I know they're going to score runs.
“I just try to do my best to just throw a good game and let the defense work, know that the offense is going to come through.”
Before the offense got back to work, Gasso took the team into the tunnel behind the dugout to sort out the errors that had popped up for the first time at the World Series.
“I think the moment got big,” Gasso said. “For the first time in a long time, they started thinking what is happening right now. Mistakes, which we don't do, we don't do that.
“You could see by the way they were swinging or they were frozen that they weren't ready for it. They were off.”
But on the first pitch in the bottom half of the inning, Oklahoma caught a break.
Leonard fired a pitch that barely grazed Lee’s thigh — though it took a challenge from Gasso for OU to be awarded the base — and Bahl entered as a pinch-runner.
“Any time they say something happened, I believe them,” Gasso said. “I’m always going to challenge it 'cause I don't think they'll lie to me.”
Gasso’s move paid off immediately, as the Sooner pitcher was able to dash around the bases and score on Hansen’s double.
“We needed a spark,” Gasso said. “We needed some kind of spark. I think when Jordy comes in to run, our team gets kind of amped.
“From that point on, everything just started, we started finding some gaps, get a little more confidence in what we were doing.”
A passed ball moved Hansen over to third, and Brito singled to double OU’s lead.
Grace Lyons’ bunt moved Brito to third, and a throwing error on Alynah Torres’ single brought the OU third baseman home to cap off the three-run inning.
Small ball won the day for Oklahoma in the fourth inning as well.
Jayda Coleman laid down a perfect bunt, rolling the ball toward third and reaching safely, to give the Sooners a baserunner.
Lee advanced Coleman, and then Hansen again delivered — this time with an RBI-single to put OU up 4-0.
Boone then benefitted from a little Sooner Magic in the sixth.
The OU left-fielder doubled again, but as she was celebrating on second the throw back into the infield deflected off her left hand. Always alert, Boone took third.
“Yeah, that one hurt,” Boone joked. “I was just celebrating, looking at my teammates, firing them up. It hit my hand, then I went to third.”
Two batters later, Tiare Jennings singled through the right side to push the lead to 5-0.
Lee almost ended the game in run-rule fashion if not for FSU left fielder Kaley Mudge climbing the wall to rob the Sooners of another early victory.
Bahl closed out the contest in the seventh, capping off her eight strikeout game.
The complete game shutout meant the sophomore still hasn’t allowed a run at the 2023 WCWS.
“Jordy again was just absolutely exceptional,” Gasso said. “Proud of how we turned that switch really quickly.”
Oklahoma will have a chance to win it all Thursday night as the two teams will meet again at 6:30 p.m. in Oklahoma City.
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