Jordy Bahl shuts out Florida State, leads Oklahoma Sooners to 5-0 win
The Oklahoma Sooners got off to a great start in their Women’s College World Series championship showdown with Florida State with a 5-0 win to take game one.
Jordy Bahl got the start for the Sooners and she was absolutely dominant. Bahl kept the Florida State bats at bay, allowing just two hits and a walk in a complete game shutout. She struck out 10 Seminoles. It was the second time in the last week that Bahl recorded a complete game shutout after blanking the Cardinal 2-0 in an 11-strikeout performance.
It took a while for Oklahoma’s offense to get going in this one. But with Bahl dealing, they could afford to be patient at the plate.
But in the fourth inning, the Sooners broke through. Haley Lee reached on a hit-by-pitch after Patty Gasso successfully challenged the call at the plate. Then Gasso inserted Bahl to pinch run for Lee at first. And Bahl made the call look genius on Kinzie Hansen’s double, coming all the way around from first to put the first run of the game on the board.
After Hansen advanced on a passed ball, Alyssa Brito brought her in with an RBI single to make it 2-0. Brito advanced to second on a fielder’s choice before going to third on Alynah Torres single that died at the plate. Brito scored on a throwing error on the play, putting Oklahoma up 3-0.
Bahl provided the shutdown inning in the bottom of the fifth, retiring the Seminoles in order.
In the bottom of the fifth, Jayda Coleman reached on a bunt single and advanced to second on a fielder’s choice. Hansen came through again with her second RBI again, driving Coleman in from second base.
Tiare Jennings added an RBI single in the fifth to make it 5-0 and set a new record for RBIs in a career in the Women’s College World Series with 29 in her three trips to the Women’s College World Series.
Kinzie Hansen continued her hot run through the NCAA tournament, going 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs. She’s batting .500 throughout the postseason and has three home runs and 13 RBIs for the Sooners.
But the story of the game was the pitching. Jordy Bahl has been the most outstanding player of the Women’s College World Series. She’s 4-0 and hasn’t allowed a run in 21.2 innings pitched in the WCWS, and has 30 strikeouts across four appearances.
Oklahoma forced Florida State to use four pitchers to keep from utilizing their ace Kathryn Sandercock, who will most assuredly start game two against the Oklahoma Sooners. Patty Gasso will have a decision to make between Alex Storako and Nicole May in game two of the series.
The Sooners and Seminoles square off Thursday starting at 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN. Game three, if necessary, will be played on Friday on ESPN at 7 p.m. CT.
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