Skip to main content
You are the owner of this article.
Edit Article Add New Article
You have permission to edit this article.
Edit

LATEST

Loading scores…
Featured

'I was feeling chills': No. 1 OU softball defeats No. 8 Texas 8-1 in front of regular season record crowd

Tiare Jennings

Junior infielder Tiare Jennings during the game against UIC on Mar. 4.

 Ray Bahner/OU Daily

Jordy Bahl’s third pitch of the game, placed north of belt-high, was crushed for a UT leadoff home run.

The sophomore right-hander continued her rocky start by allowing two of the next four batters to reach from a walk and a hit by pitch. After more than 30 pitches, Bahl finally got out of the inning. Despite seemingly having an off night, Bahl remained calm.

“Obviously you never want to start a game that way,” Bahl said of the leadoff home run. “But at the same time, when that happened, there wasn't ever really a panic because I know who our hitters are, and it’s going to take more than one run to win a ballgame.”

The home run marked half of UT’s hits. Bahl quickly found her groove and retired eight of the 10 batters she faced in the second through fourth innings, with the only two reaching on walks. Bahl allowed one run on two hits, while striking out six in seven innings.

Bahl’s performance led Oklahoma (31-1, 4-0 Big 12) to an 8-1 victory over Texas (30-6-1, 3-1) at USA Softball Hall of Fame stadium on Friday. The 8,930 fans striping the stadium with crimson and cream marked an NCAA single game regular season attendance record.

“I remember sitting in the stadium when I was in my late 20s watching the World Series with 2,000 people (in attendance) thinking that's the greatest thing I've ever seen in my life,” Sooners coach Patty Gasso said. “And now you've got 9,000 people watching a conference game here.

“It was unreal … I was feeling chills.”

The Sooners’ win comes in light of comments from UT coach Mike White seemingly accusing OU of cheating. White cleared up his comments after Friday’s game, claiming they were taken out of context.

“That was a 15-20 minute interview, and I praised Oklahoma,” White said. “I said … They're under-appreciated in their defense. I think the defense is really awesome. I mean, they hardly make mistakes defensively ... (As) the interview was dying down, the (reporter) said something about reloading.

“I said ‘yeah, they’re definitely reloading but I'm not going to get into that’. And so now it gets blown up like I'm calling coach Gasso a cheater, which is nothing of the sort …I don't think it was very fair, but you know, I've got to live with it. And if coach Gasso thinks I called her a cheater, I apologize. I did not. I did not call her a cheater.”

While the remarks didn’t bode well with the Sooner faithful, Gasso seemed unbothered.

“I'm not surprised, but I take the high road,” Gasso said. “I don't have to answer to anybody. I’ve just got to look in the mirror and I'm very comfortable when I do that.”

Rylie Boone

Senior outfielder Rylie Boone during the game against Kentucky on Mar. 3.

Second-inning rally fuels OU

OU broke through with a second-inning rally in Friday’s contest.

It began with a slow chopper between the pitcher and first baseman, allowing Alynah Torres to reach base. After Rylie Boone reached, the tables were set for Jennings, who blasted a three-run home run to left field, giving OU a 4-1 lead.

Lee followed with a home run of her own, landing on the warning track and bouncing over the deep left field wall 325 feet away from home plate at Hall of Fame Stadium.

“Haley Lee’s (home run) was an absolute missile,” Gasso said. “... We had a little bit of an off night offensively and we’re still scoring eight runs against a top team.”

Jocelyn Erickson

Freshman utility player Jocelyn Erickson during the game against Kentucky on March 4.

Defense proves advantageous for OU, costly for UT

OU flashed the leather Friday night.

With a runner at first and one out, a fly ball sent Boone backpedaling towards the left field wall before reaching behind her and snagging a potential extra base hit.

A few pitches later, Boone repeated her impressive feat with another backpedaling grab near the left center field wall.

“I felt our defense was phenomenal today,” Gasso said. “Boone kind of started that rally … Those were two balls that looked like they were going, and she made really great plays (on them).”

OU continued its impressive defensive display in the fifth inning, when freshman first baseman Jocelyn Erickson caught a line drive and instantly stepped on the base for a double play.

While OU’s defense finished error-free, UT’s didn’t fare as well. The Longhorns conceded three bases to OU’s first batter of the game, junior center fielder Jayda Coleman, after a ball bounced out of UT center fielder Mia Scott’s glove. Coleman scored to tie the affair at 1-1. UT finished with two errors.

Next, OU will face UT in game two of the series at 11 a.m. Saturday in Norman.

“It’s a quick turnaround,” Gasso said. “But they’ll be ready.”

This story was edited by Colton Sulley.

OU Daily standards

See an error? Earning trust is our duty. We correct errors atop stories. Identify an error, request a takedown or get in touch.

Independent and free since 1916: OU is committed to our editorial independence. You can help ensure our reporting remains strong and accessible to all invested in OU and Norman.

Artificial intelligence: The Daily in its news coverage does not publish reporting, writing, graphics or designs generated by AI. Read our policy.

Want to comment? We value dialogue on issues we cover. On our social media accounts, we moderate attacks, slurs, dehumanizing language, threats or the disclosure of private info. The editor considers guest column submissions.