OU Softball: Tiare Jennings' Clutch Double Lifts Oklahoma Past Stanford in WCWS Semifinals
OKLAHOMA CITY — Tiare Jennings was having a birthday to forget.
Oklahoma's All-American second baseman went hitless in her first four plate appearances Monday, striking out to Stanford pitcher NiJaree Canady twice.
Her day was so uncharacteristic that with Grace Lyons on third base and two outs in the top of the ninth, Stanford elected to intentionally walk Jayda Coleman to get to Jennings.
Initially, Cardinal coach Jessica Allister looked correct.
Jennings fell behind in the count 0-2, having to foul off Canady’s third pitch to stay in the at-bat.
But the birthday girl delivered a gift to her team.
Jennings ripped the fourth pitch to the wall in right-center field, clearing the bases and putting the Sooners up by a pair of runs.
“We talk about not being result oriented, and that's exactly what happened today,” Jennings said after the game. “I didn't get the results I wanted earlier, and so what?
“I’m going to step in there and keep on swinging. That's kind of what I did.”
Jordy Bahl wasn’t going to give the lead up, closing out OU’s 4-2 victory over Stanford in the bottom of the ninth at Hall of Fame Stadium.
As Canady was intentionally waking Coleman, Gasso didn’t overwhelm Jennings with tons of information and adjustments before the decisive at-bat.
“What I've learned about coaching is I need to speak less and let them understand,” Gasso said. “They know what to do. So when I get in, if I have nervous energy, they feel it.
“… Tiare has this ability to get locked in like nobody I've ever seen as well. Her swing just looked kind of easy. It looked pretty free and easy and ran right into it at the right time.”
The win was top-ranked Oklahoma’s 51st in a row, but more importantly it punched the Sooners’ ticket to the Women’s College World Series finals.
Stanford’s season came to a close with the loss, finishing 47-15.
The day didn’t start on the right foot for OU (59-1) as a whole, as Stanford struck first.
Nicole May, who was handed her first start of the 2023 WCWS in the circle, took an inning to heat up.
The Cardinal got three hits off the Oklahoma right-hander in the first inning, including a two-out, 0-2 home run from Kylie Chung that put Stanford up 2-0.
Despite the early struggles, OU coach Patty Gasso had full faith in her starter.
The junior entered the day with Oklahoma’s best ERA, an impressive 0.83 mark, and allowing the same number of walks and hits per innings pitched (0.83) as the Sooner ace, Bahl.
Gasso’s patience was rewarded.
Stanford’s third hit, an Emily Shultz single, came in the at-bat after Chung’s home run, but then May retired 13 consecutive Cardinal batters.
As Oklahoma’s pitching stabilized, it gave the offense plenty of time to dial in on Alana Vawter’s changeup.
The NFCA Second Team All-American retired the Sooners in order to start the game, but she quickly ran into trouble of her own.
OU loaded the bases with just one out in the second inning, and Alynah Torres hit the ball deep enough into right field to plate Alyssa Brito with a sacrifice fly.
Rylie Boone popped out into foul territory to end the inning, but the Sooners did more damage in the third inning.
It took Coleman just two pitches to level the game.
Her 17th home run of the year was a no-doubter into the bleachers in right-center field.
The game then steadied until the top of the fifth inning.
Boone led off the frame with a hard-hit single back up the middle, sending Allister to the circle.
Instead of letting the OU offense get a third look through the lineup at Vawter, Allister turned to her freshman sensation, Canady, to try and close the game.
Canady picked up right where she left off against Oklahoma on Thursday, logging three straight outs to nullify Boone’s hit.
After the contest both Lyons and Jennings praised Stanford’s pitching staff, which held OU’s lineup to six combined runs in both matchups at the 2023 WCWS.
“I think they've (got) two really good pitchers on Stanford's staff,” Jennings said. “And they helped prepare us for the next game and later in the week. So it was a challenge for us, and I'm glad to get through it so we can just move on and keep on grinding.”
Stanford center fielder Taylor Gindlesperger ended May’s dominant run through the lineup, leading off the bottom of the sixth inning with a single, prompting a move from Gasso.
OU’s coach turned to Bahl, and as Metallica's “Enter Sandman” blared over the loudspeakers at Hall of Fame Stadium, the crowd prepared to face the reality that the day’s first contest could spill into extra innings in the Oklahoma heat.
Emily Young had other ideas, immediately singling off Bahl, but the All-American pitcher recorded three straight outs to send the game to the seventh inning tied.
Torres didn’t want to play extra innings, either.
The OU left fielder smashed Canady’s 0-2 offering off the wall in left field, inches short of a home run, to start the top of the seventh with a standup double.
Gasso then opted to bring in Avery Hodge as a pinch-runner, and Boone tried to move her to third with a bunt.
Boone popped the ball up, but Cardinal third baseman Sydney Steele was playing too close to the plate, and the ball bounced safely for an infield single.
It didn’t advance the runner, however, putting a pair on first and second for Coleman.
With the pressure on, Canady again stood tall.
She got Coleman to fly out, struck out Jennings and closed the inning by getting the better of Jocelyn Erickson for another fly out.
Lyons lead the ninth off with a double, setting the table for Jennings’ clutch game-winner.
Allister said after the game she opted to walk Coleman to get to the righty-on-righty matchup between Canady and Jennings.
But Jennings was able to make her adjustments and Stanford paid dearly for opting to take on Jennings.
“Tiare had some tough times, but she's one of the best hitters I've ever seen,” Gasso said. “So coaches, all coaches pick their poison. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't.
“… I think she got a better pitch to swing at, and it was a little more of a down angle that we were just kind of clipping things… We tried to get a little more on top, and those things started turning into line drives for us.
“So it worked out well.”
Game 1 of the WCWS Championship Series will start on Wednesday at 7 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.
The Sooners will face the winner of 3-seeded Florida State and 4-seeded Tennessee.
“I think sometimes — we win a lot, and that's fabulous,” Gasso said. “But sometimes I think we're so used to taking it for granted, and this means a lot.
“This means a lot. To get to the championship game means a lot.”
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