OKLAHOMA CITY — Before fans at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium could get settled in for Game 1 of the Women's College World Series finals, they were forced to evacuate about 45 minutes prior to the scheduled start time of 7 p.m. CT due to lightning.
Play resumed at 8:10 p.m., but only for half an inning, as another weather delay was announced. When the game finally resumed, it seemed that not only was the start delayed, but the arrival of both offenses as well.
Through the first three innings, OU and Florida State tallied one hit each and remained deadlocked at 0-0. While OU broke through its rut later on with five runs, FSU didn't.
Perhaps it was the "brain games" and dancing the Sooners delved into during the delay, or sophomore pitcher Jordy Bahl pacing back and forth while various scenarios played in her head. Whatever sparked No. 1 Oklahoma (60-1) was enough to beat No. 3 Florida State (58-10) 5-0 in Game 1 of the Women's College World Series finals on Wednesday. The Sooners are now one win away from claiming their third consecutive national championship.
"It's always really good to get that first win under your belt," coach Patty Gasso said. "It's a big moment. Everybody wants to see it. I think we started off a little bit nervous. We had a little conversation as a group. They decided we need to be more like us and stop trying. We don't try hard, we just play.
"From that moment on, we just were back to our old selves."
When OU's offense finally clicked, it did so in a big way. Left fielder Rylie Boone's double — which extended her hit streak to eight games — stood as the only OU hit until catcher Kinzie Hansen stepped to the plate with no outs and a runner on first base.
That runner was Bahl, who entered as a pinch runner for designated player Haley Lee. Bahl wasted no time showcasing her speed, racing from first to home to score OU's first run after Hansen hit a double to the center field wall.
"When Jordy went in to pinch run, in my mind I was like, 'If I get the ball in the gap, we're going to be (up) 1-0,'" Hansen said. "Jordy has wheels. She runs circles around us at practice sometimes. She strikes us out, too. (She's) all over the place."
K9 coming in 𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐡. Jo with the 𝐣𝐞𝐭𝐬. 🔥@kinziehansen @jordybahlB4 | OU 1, FSU 0 | 📺 ESPN pic.twitter.com/fbwCVPL1Pn
— Oklahoma Softball (@OU_Softball) June 8, 2023
OU didn't slow down from there. After advancing to third on a passed ball, Hansen gave the Sooners an insurance run when infielder Alyssa Brito blooped a base hit into right field. When Brito came around to tally OU's third run of the inning, the Sooners were fully in control.
The first three innings were far from sunshine and roses. But after a little self-evaluation, OU found its groove.
"We went kind of back in the ... tunnel, and we just talked about, 'What are we doing? Who are we right now? This is not how we play the game,'" Gasso said. "The moment got big. For the first time in a long time, they started thinking 'What is happening right now?' ... You could see by the way they were swinging or (how) they were frozen that they weren't ready for it. They were off.
“I was really proud of them just really turning things around very quickly and responding to the words we were talking about.”
Bahl excels, Florida State experiments with pitchers
The announcement of Bahl as OU's Game 1 starter came as no surprise after pitching 14.2 dominant scoreless innings in the Sooners’ first three WCWS games.
However, Florida State surprised many with its decision to start senior Mack Leonard, who's only pitched 37.1 innings this season. The decision worked out, as Leonard allowed one hit and one run in three innings. But then, the Seminoles threw three more pitchers into the circle, each of whom allowed one earned run and multiple hits.
FSU's ace, Kathryn Sandercock, didn't appear in Game 1 despite pitching over 100 more innings than anyone else on her team through this season. FSU coach and former OU player Lonni Alameda claimed that as long as her squad was trailing, Sandercock wouldn't be used.
"(We were) definitely sticking to the plan we had all year," Alameda said. "They're a really good team at making adjustments. (We) needed to see what we had from our other pitchers, too. Once they got the lead, there was no reason to. Now, we've got Game 2. If they go with Jordy, they go Jordy. If they go (with) someone else, we got a different look. At least we got some looks at Jordy."
While the Seminoles experimented with their bullpen, OU didn't have to. Bahl suppressed FSU with a complete game shutout, striking out 10 batters and allowing two hits. Bahl has now pitched 21.2 innings in this year’s WCWS without giving up a run, and has positioned the Sooners well in their quest for a third consecutive title, which OU has a chance to clinch in Game 2 at 6:30 p.m. Thursday on ESPN.
"She's throwing the best she has all season," Gasso said.
This story was edited by Nick Coppola.
