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    Oklahoma Softball - Clemson Postgame 1

    OU Softball: Oklahoma One Win Away From Another WCWS Berth

    The Sooners are chasing history and another trip to Oklahoma City against Clemson on Saturday.

    NORMAN — Oklahoma wasn’t perfect on Friday.

    The top-ranked Sooners endured a number of uncharacteristic miscues, but still dug deep to find a response.

    Designated player Haley Lee delivered in the game’s biggest moment, blasting a fifth inning grand slam to quell a rally by the 16-seeded Clemson Tigers and fuel OU’s 9-2 victory.

    Every time the Sooners slipped, they found an even bigger response.

    Grace Lyons was unable to corral a pair of balls in the first and second inning that were very difficult plays, but not outside of what the star shortstop has delivered throughout her career.

    Neither hit was converted into a run, and Lyons instead utilized heads up base running to score the second run of the game in the second inning.

    SB - Grace Lyons, 2023 Super Regionals

    Grace Lyons scored the second run of the day for the Sooners, and was again a key cog in the Sooners' lineup. 

    Jordy Bahl hit two batters, but was able to rebound and prevent those two missed pitches from snowballing into a disastrous outing.

    Alyssa Brito fumbled a pair of ground balls in the top of the fifth inning, but immediately turned around to blast a solo home run in the bottom half of the fifth.

    In the end, the Sooners still strolled to victory, moving within one game of the Women’s College World Series and tying the sport’s longest winning streak in the process.

    OU coach Patty Gasso said she didn’t have to rip into her team at any point to get a big response, either.

    “This team does that,” Gasso said. “Pitcher’s down, not getting what they want — they’ll come up and score runs. If we aren’t scoring runs, the pitchers will shut it down for us.

    “They all have each other’s back without saying anything.”

    Despite the seven-run victory, Oklahoma still has plenty of room for improvement — a potentially scary prospect for Clemson.

    The Tigers’ National Player of the Year finalist Valerie Cagle did all she could to keep her team in the fight.

    Cagle tried to limit the momentum of the OU offense, mostly preventing offensive success turning into an Oklahoma avalanche until the fifth inning.

    Facing Bahl and Alex Storako, Cagle finished 3-for-4 at the plate.

    But ultimately it wasn’t enough, and 21 OU batters got a firsthand look at Cagle to prepare for what she brings to the table in Saturday’s Game 2.

    Oklahoma’s bats initially found success against Cagle, as Jayda Coleman, Tiare Jennings and Lee all hit balls to the warning track in the first inning, a good sign that OU’s week of preparation for the Clemson star led to a great plan of attack at the plate.

    “Jayda came out swinging,” Lee said. “She set a great pace for the game. You see she attacked early in that.

    “They’re throwing kind of in the … wheelhouse that we were looking for, so we came out with a great game plan and we just attacked early and found our pitches.”

    Jayda Coleman finished 2-for-4 at the plate for Oklahoma on Friday. 

    Jayda Coleman finished 2-for-4 at the plate for Oklahoma on Friday. 

    Gasso will hope her team can catch fire quickly again on Saturday.

    Nicole May wasn’t used in the circle, meaning the junior could be in line for the start against the Tigers in Game 2.

    Entering the weekend, May had the second best ERA in the country, posting a career-best 0.57.

    A seasoned veteran at this stage, May has plenty of Super Regionals experience. But even if she struggles against Clemson’s lineup, the Sooners only ever need to string together a few hits to get rolling.

    “I just think it is really fun when we come together as a team,” Bahl said, “and we’re like, ‘alright, let’s rally.’ It’s almost like there’s a flipped switch and it just happens that fast.

    “And you can feel when something’s going to happen.”

    Oklahoma’s switch will have to stay flipped on, or the Tigers could force a do-or-die Game 3 on Sunday.

    OU will look to punch a ticket to its seventh-straight WCWS at Martia Hynes Field against Clemson at noon and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.

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