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'This team is not done until we decide': OU shows resiliency, rallies from 7-4 deficit to book 7th straight WCWS berth

Kinzie Hansen

Senior catcher Kinzie Hansen during Game 2 of the Norman Regional on May 20.

 Reghan Kyle/OU Daily

Before walking into the on-deck circle, Kinzie Hansen sat in the dugout and prayed. 

OU’s senior catcher watched as her teammates attempted to rally in the seventh inning, knowing she’d be coming to the plate for one of the most important at-bats of her life. Little did Hansen know that once she got into the batter’s box, she’d be the Sooners’ last hope.

When she came to the plate, there were two outs in the inning and two runners on base. OU was trailing Clemson 7-4 in Game 2 of the Norman Super Regional on Saturday, needing a win to advance to its seventh consecutive Women’s College World Series. She took a strike, swung at another, then remembered what infielder Alyssa Brito told her before the at-bat.

“She has to beat you three times.”

A younger Hansen might have “gone in hot-headed.” But, this time, she kept her composure and waited for the next pitch. Hansen didn’t get beat three times, as she belted the next pitch she saw over the left field fence for a game-tying three-run home run.

Despite hitting a round-tripper, Hansen wanted to reach home plate as fast as possible. A mix of adrenaline and the desire to celebrate with her teammates led her to sprint like the ball was still in play. 

“I heard my teammates yelling right when I hit it, and I just wanted to get home,” Hansen said. “It was a mosh pit where everyone was shoving each other. My tongue was bleeding. I’m pretty sure I got punched in the face. It was just chaotic.”

Clemson didn’t score in the bottom half of the seventh, and OU retook the lead in the ninth inning thanks to a deep solo home run from infielder Tiare Jennings, her second of the day. The Sooners held their nerve to clinch the win, their 48th consecutive one to set a new NCAA record.

“We were working our butts off the whole game,” Jennings said. “We were all smiling … you can just see the happiness that we had. To come home to that and say ‘We’re finishing this right now, let’s do this.’”

For a while, it appeared that OU wouldn’t need a comeback. After the top of the fourth inning, the Sooners led 4-0 in large part due to three solo home runs from Jennings, outfielder Jayda Coleman and Brito. But then, the Tigers scored seven runs across the fourth and fifth innings, hitting two home runs in the process.

OU found itself in a rare scenario where it was chasing the game. Before Saturday, the Sooners trailed past the fifth inning just three times all season and only lost one of those games, falling to Baylor on Feb. 19 and beating Texas and Oklahoma State on April 1 and May 6, respectively. 

The Sooners found themselves in unfamiliar territory. But, from the way they acted, comebacks seemed like a regular occurrence. The Sooners never felt like they were trailing, holding an unwavering belief that they’d come out on top in the end. 

For them, one thing is clear.

“This team is not done until we decide,” Hansen said. 

Coach Patty Gasso knew it, which is why she didn’t make a rousing speech to her team. In her mind, all her team needed was a reminder not to quit, and they’ll take care of the rest. 

“I don’t normally say anything pressing … I just want to give them their belief,” Gasso said. “I don’t have to say anything else and the results will still work our way. I’m just there to encourage them.”

Once the Sooners evened the score, Gasso played her final trump card. Sophomore pitcher Jordy Bahl entered with the task of holding Clemson for the rest of the game. 

Some players need a pep talk before they’re put in a crucial situation, but not Bahl. Coaches and teammates usually try to stay out of her way before she enters a game, knowing she can motivate herself just fine. Her levels of confidence bring relief to those around her, and also a belief in her abilities.

And that’s exactly what happened. After Clemson lit up starting pitcher Nicole May and senior Alex Storako, Bahl fanned three batters and gave up no runs in the final three innings. 

Gasso called her performance “one of the best she’s seen from Jordy,” while Hansen mentioned that parts of it felt like any other Bahl outing. 

“She doesn’t need my help very often,” Hansen said. “There’s certain games where I don’t have to say anything to her. I just let her do her thing.”

Hansen noticed Bahl flip a switch in the ninth inning. As the Sooners played her walkout song, Metallica’s “Enter Sandman,” she leaned forward, gently swung her arm back and forth and stared down her catcher before recording the last three outs. 

A heavy metal song may not be comforting for most, but that’s exactly how Bahl gets into a groove. 

“When that plays, and she stares at me through her mask like that, I just think ‘Yeah, that’s the look,’” Hansen said. “It’s just the vibe you get from her, and I’m sure everyone else can feel it.”

After the win, the Sooners raced to the outfield wall in right-center field, where each WCWS appearance is listed. A record crowd of 2,147 fans watched as they took it down and carried it to home plate, as OU does after every Super Regional win to signify the wall needing a change to add its latest appearance.  

While it may continue at the new Love’s Field, the Sooners did it at Marita Hynes Field for the final time. As its focus shifts towards the upcoming WCWS from June 1-9, OU walked off the field knowing it added another storied moment in its beloved home’s history.

And they did it with one of the greatest games its stadium has ever seen. 

“We saw something that is very uncommon … and we conquered that,” Gasso said. “If we lost, we could come back the next day and say we learned a lesson. But when you go through the trenches … there's another level of love and respect for each other. The fact that we can achieve anything. I think this happening is something that can really help us next week.”

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