Patty Gasso very pleased with Jordy Bahl's dominance in win over Missouri

After defeating Hofstra in the first game of the Norman Regional, Oklahoma head coach Patty Gasso elected to start ace pitcher Jordy Bahl against Missouri in the winner’s bracket. The Sooners were heavy favorites whether Bahl started or not, but the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year was on point in the victory.

Bahl went five innings one one-hit ball while striking out seven batters and allowing only one walk with zero runs scored.

The Oklahoma offense, on the other hands, did what the Oklahoma offense does with 11 hits leading to 11 runs and a mercy rule 11-0 victory as the game was called off after six innings.

“Jordy did a great job starting the game,” Gasso said after the game. “The way she did, just really pounding the zone, ahead of the counts, really shutting the Missouri offense down. I loved how we scored early and we just start scoring often. Defense was outstanding. There’s nothing I could pick apart that I wasn’t really pleased with.”

Bahl emerged on the scene last season as one of the best players in the country, earning National Freshman of the Year honors in the process.

However, she did not pitch in the Big 12 Tournament, the Norman Regional or the Norman Super Regional for the Sooners after suffering an arm injury at the end of the regular season.

Bahl was able to return for the Women’s College World Series, pitching in three games as Oklahoma won the national title.

That means this is her first opportunity to pitch in the Regional environment, which is unlike anything else in the game of softball.

“Last year, obviously, I was on the sideline watching from the dugout,” Bahl said Saturday. “Still learning a lot from everything that was going on. But it’s definitely fun this year to be able to be out there.”

Bahl is now 16-1 on the season with a 1.10 ERA and 150 strikeouts in 114.1 innings.

The No. 1-seeded Sooners are now on the brink of advancing to the Super Regionals after their victory over the Tigers. They are now in the regional final, where they will play the winner of Missouri and California.

The Missouri-California game will take place this Sunday afternoon with the regional final set for later in the day.

The last time Oklahoma did not make a super regional — not including the 2020 season — was 2009.