Oklahoma softball flexes its muscle in WCWS run-rule

OKLAHOMA CITY – Shh, you might not want to say it too loud. But Oklahoma softball had looked – for lack of a better term – beatable the last couple of games.

Not like the weight of the winning streak had become too much. Or the pressure of being the No. 1-ranked team had finally taken its toll.

But, still, beatable. Then Saturday happened. The Sooners played nearly flawlessly in dismantling No. 4 Tennessee 9-0 in five innings Saturday afternoon in a Women’s College World Series winner’s bracket matchup at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium.

“Extremely proud of this team and the way they played pretty flawless. Attacking offensively, pitching staff, all of them, on point,” head coach Patty Gasso said. “Really wanted to give everybody an opportunity to get on the mound. They ran with it.

“Defense on point. I mean, everything was exactly the way we hoped it would be. Very proud of this team. Really stepping forward, getting the day off, getting to recover is really important.”

The win makes Oklahoma 58-1 overall and now on a 50-game winning streak. The Sooners are one victory away from advancing to the championship series. OU gets to rest Sunday and will return 11 a.m. Monday in the semifinals against a team to be determined between Stanford, Washington and Florida State.

It’s a 50-game winning streak, but teams had been starting to chip away. The Sooners needed a dramatic comeback to beat Clemson last weekend in nine innings in Norman to advance to the WCWS.

If it wasn’t for Jordy Bahl’s complete game outing in a 2-0 win against Stanford to begin the WCWS on Thursday, the story could have been a lot different.

Instead, OU used those experiences. Gasso has said it a lot this season about using the wave of momentum that starts to build. A perfect example was against the Vols, who had easily been one of the hottest teams in the postseason.

Gasso said: “I will go back to our Super Regional. I’ll go to Stanford. Those were tough battles for us. This group feels if they can beat those pitchers, they can beat everybody. So before we even play, it’s that mentality of that kind of wave that’s building saying, ‘we’re prepared and ready for this.’

“I think that has really enabled us to have confidence coming in here.”

Tiare Jennings began the onslaught with a three-run home run in the bottom of the second inning. The Sooners then scored six in the bottom of the third. Kinzie Hansen had a two-run home run, and Rylie Boone had a two-run triple.

It’s an even-keel mentality when things aren’t working that has helped Oklahoma so much. But once it gets rolling, the game can get out of hand in a hurry.

“One thing that is special about our team is we are not result-oriented,” Hansen said. “Bat to bat, pitch to pitch, we’re quick to make adjustments.”

Hansen grounded out in the first inning with the bases loaded. Made the adjustment and crushed her two-run shot in the third.

OU, simply put, came to win. Gasso said it was important for her other pitchers to get some time in the circle, but there was zero hesitation in going back to Bahl once again.

The sophomore delivered. She allowed a leadoff double, and then retired the next 10 batters. Mission accomplished. Bahl threw 3.2 innings, allowing just the one hit with one walk and three strikeouts in 54 pitches.

Gasso then used Alex Storako, Kierston Deal and Nicole May to get the final four outs.

“It’s all about matchups for us,” Gasso said. “I think maybe that’s why they started their freshmen. It’s about matchups. But we also knew Nicole May and Alex were good matchups for them. It was really hoping to get a lead to allow us to do the things that we did. It worked out well.”

Tennessee opted to rest its top two pitchers, including ace Ashley Rogers. But a game of rotating pitchers doesn’t faze the Sooners anymore. Tennessee used four, no problem. They’ve seen it enough.

They adjusted. They dominated. And they showed, once again, why it’s going to take one heck of an effort to deny the Sooners from winning a third straight national championship.