OKLAHOMA CITY — After Stanford starter Alana Vawter allowed a leadoff base hit to right fielder Rylie Boone in the fifth inning, a familiar face replaced her in the pitchers’ circle.
It was NiJaree Canady, the nation's leader in ERA (0.57), who held the Sooners to two runs on six hits in six innings during their first matchup on Thursday. After pitching 8.2 scoreless innings against Alabama and Washington on Friday and Sunday, respectively, she displayed much of the same dominance in her second appearance against the Sooners.
Canady's first pitch clocked in at 72 mph and blew by center fielder Jayda Coleman for strike one. After forcing Coleman to fly out, Canady got second baseman Tiare Jennings to wave at a 50 mph off-speed for strike three.
Jennings' second time facing Canady featured a shorter at-bat with the same result — a three-pitch strikeout. With two outs and a runner on third base in the ninth inning, Canady intentionally walked Coleman, bringing Jennings to the plate once more.
"I didn't know they were going to (intentionally walk) Jayda," Jennings said. "But it didn't matter to me. Either way, I was going to have to find a way to either get on or help my team as best I can."
Jennings fell into an 0-2 hole against the Cardinal's ace before connecting with a pitch on the outer half of the strike zone and sending it into the right-center field gap for a two-run double to put OU ahead 4-2. Jennings' hit broke a six-inning scoreless streak and propelled the Sooners (59-1) to a 4-2 win over Stanford (47-15), advancing them to the Women's College World Series championship series for the fourth consecutive time.
"We talk about not being result oriented, and that's exactly what happened today," Jennings said. "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. I shortened up my swing. I knew I had two strikes so I was going to battle. But I was going to keep swinging and just do whatever I can to help the team."
Jennings wasn't the first Sooner to adjust to Canady. In her first at-bat against the right-hander, shortstop Grace Lyons fell victim to a strikeout, capping OU's half of the sixth inning which saw no balls put in play.
When Lyons stepped up again to lead off the ninth, she lined a double down the left-field line.
"We wanted to make an adjustment by getting on top of the ball," Lyons said. "I think that was something everyone could see. She was spinning it really well, getting people to chase on that up-ball. We just needed to make an adjustment to get on top of it.
"It worked out this time. But even if it didn't, we were still making those adjustments and just being simple with what we were doing."
As the Sooners prepare to take on either Tennessee or Florida State in the finals, they know to expect the best, because they've already seen the best.
"Two really good pitchers on Stanford's staff, and they helped prepare us for the next game and later in the week," Jennings said. "So it was a challenge for us, and I'm glad to get through it so we can move on and keep on grinding."
May overcomes rough first inning
Junior Nicole May took the mound for her first WCWS start since allowing five runs in 2.1 innings in OU's lone loss of the 2022 tournament.
Early indicators pointed to a similar outing on the horizon, as May left her 0-2 pitch to Stanford cleanup hitter Kylie Chung chest-high, which Chung elevated well over the 200-foot left-field fence for a two-run home run to give the Cardinal a 2-0 lead in the first.
Rather than spiraling out of control, May responded by retiring the next 13 batters she faced. In all, the right-hander allowed two runs on four hits in five innings. OU would score via a sacrifice fly and solo home run from Coleman in the first three innings to even things up at 2-2.
"Nicole May had a plan," Gasso said, "and she executed it to the T."
Bahl steps up yet again
After Stanford broke May's streak of 13 consecutive batters retired with a leadoff hit in the sixth, coach Patty Gasso made a pitching change. As May handed the ball to Gasso and headed for the dugout, the speakers at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium began blasting Metallica's 'Enter Sandman', and everyone knew who to expect.
Jordy Bahl.
OU's sophomore started against Stanford and Tennessee on Thursday and Saturday, respectively, allowing no runs in 10.2 combined innings.
Bahl cruised through the sixth and seventh innings before allowing the first two batters to reach in the eighth inning. Bahl then forced a groundout before striking out the next two batters to escape the jam. After Jennings’ two-run double in the ninth, Bahl retired the Cardinal side to secure the Sooners' win.
Despite appearing in OU’s two previous games, Gasso turned to her reliable righty once more. Without hesitation, Bahl answered the call, a mindset which has spread throughout the team.
"(She) absolutely embraces the biggest moments you could ever imagine, when a lot of pitchers would go, 'No, thank you. Don't call me,'" Gasso said. "She's like, 'Give me the ball. Give me the ball right now. Give it to me at the start of the game, give it to me in the middle, give it to me at the end, it doesn't matter, I'll be ready.'
"It's really inspired a lot of our players to have that kind of mentality."
This story was edited by Nick Coppola.
