Sooners survive scare in fifth, dominate Clemson 9-2
Oklahoma head coach Patty Gasso trotted to the circle, with her No. 1 ranked Sooners in an unusual spot.
Bases loaded, one out, and only leading No. 16 Clemson by two in the top of the fifth. The Sooners had already allowed the Tigers to cut their lead in half to start the inning. And it appeared Clemson had Oklahoma on the ropes.
“We’re fine,” Gasso told her team. “Just be who you are. Play the game. We’ll get through it. We’ll answer. A lot of game left.”
What happened next?
A Jordy Bahl strikeout — her sixth of the game — and a pop-out to second baseman Tiare Jennings to end the inning. A Haley Lee grand slam and two scoreless innings from Clemson later, and Oklahoma took Game 1 of the Super Regionals 9-2. The Sooners are now just one win away from advancing to their seventh consecutive Women’s College World Series appearance.
“I just think it is really fun when we come together as a team and we’re like, ‘alright, let’s rally,’” said Bahl, who pitched 5.1 innings Friday. “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. It’s just super cool to know that these hitters have my back and they can do it any time.”
Bahl, Sooners getting out of jams
OU was getting out of jams most of the day, with Clemson leaving nine runners on base. Bahl had to work out of jams in the first, third, fourth, and, obviously, the fifth. In each of those situations, Bahl had bounced back with a strikeout.
The Tigers were 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
“Loved our at-bats today against a very good pitching staff in Oklahoma,” Clemson coach John Rittman said. “We gave ourselves some chances. Had a couple of big hits. We put some pressure on them. We just needed a couple more hits and we didn’t get those today.”
Clemson did have eight hits on Bahl, but several came after poor defensive play from the Sooners. Sophomore third baseman Alyssa Brito and junior left fielder Riley Boone each had uncharacteristic errors in the fifth that helped Clemson load the bases. And senior shortstop Grace Lyons had a couple of balls get by her that usually don’t.
Oklahoma was able to respond, thanks to Bahl’s confidence in the circle and home runs from Lee, Brito, and sophomore first baseman Cydney Sanders at the plate.
“They all have each other’s back without saying anything,” 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.
“Just flush it out by hitting it over the fence. That’s how we do it.”
That’s a pretty good strategy for Oklahoma. But Gasso is hoping it won’t take a few defensive errors on Saturday to get her team going.
“I think we get off this field and we come in tomorrow, you’re going to see a different team,” Gasso said. “Maybe a little bit of nerves today. But I know how they’ll respond tomorrow.”
Up next
Oklahoma will face Clemson in Game 2 of the super regional on Saturday at 12 p.m. at Marita Hynes Field.
