Tiare Jennings helps send OU softball to championship series

OKLAHOMA CITY – You almost had to do a double-take. Because games like the one OU softball’s Tiare Jennings was having for eight innings simply don’t occur for the star junior.

But it just takes one. It just takes one swing to turn it all around. Jennings did exactly that and made her birthday into a real cause for celebration.

Jennings smashed a two-run double that ultimately provided the difference in Oklahoma’s 4-2 victory against Stanford in nine innings in the semifinals of the Women’s College World Series on Monday afternoon at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium.

The Sooners are now 59-1 overall and on a 51-game winning streak. OU advances to the WCWS championship series against either Tennessee or Florida State, beginning Wednesday night.

For the second time in two weeks, Jennings got to play hero in the ninth inning just as she did in the Super Regional against Clemson.

This was a whole heck of a lot different, though. Jennings has been OU’s best hitter all season, but she had zero answers against Stanford’s Alana Vawter and star freshman NiJaree Canady on Monday.

Jennings wasn’t just 0-for-4 with a couple of strikeouts. She just looked lost, unsure of herself. But that’s where OU leans on its process. It’s not about the results. Keep pushing, keep plugging, you’re going to figure it out.

“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.”

There was a method to it, though. Canady entered in the top of the fifth of a 2-2 game and started to assert her dominance. The freshman, once again, was not afraid of the moment.

It was OU captain Grace Lyons who got the ball rolling with a leadoff double in the top of the ninth inning. She eventually found herself at third base with two outs.

Then Stanford head coach Jessica Allister made the decision. A decision she said she won’t second-guess, but it was a peculiar one even in the moment.

Stanford intentionally walked Jayda Coleman, who had homered earlier in the game, to set the stage for Jennings. Down 0-2 in the count, Jennings altered her approach. She roped one into right-center to score Lyons and Coleman. Adjustment made.

“I didn’t know they were going to do that to Jayda,” Jennings said. “It kind of 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.

“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.”

It was a little bit of a pick your poison battle there. Canady had been on fire against all WCWS right-handed hitters. So the decision was to walk Coleman.

Jennings hadn’t been able to crack the Canady code at all to that point.

But Oklahoma head coach Patty Gasso has said all season that clutch is the first word she uses to describe Jennings. Jennings just has that something special.

“Tiare had some tough times, but she’s one of the best hitters I’ve ever seen,” Gasso said. “All coaches pick their poison. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t. Tiare has this ability to get locked in like nobody I’ve ever seen as well. Her swing just looked kind of easy. It looked pretty free and easy and ran right into it at the right time.”

OU finally had its first lead of the game. It was time to let Jordy Bahl do what she’s done all postseason. Bahl closed the show in the final four innings with six strikeouts. She struck out two in the bottom of the ninth to emphatically shut the door.

Nicole May and Bahl combined to go the nine innings, allowing eight hits and striking out nine.

The Sooners will now get that chance for a third straight national championship. It hasn’t been easy in the postseason, but it’s games like Monday that have them prepared for whatever is to come against the Seminoles or Vols later this week.

“I think sometimes – we win a lot, and that’s fabulous,” Gasso said. “But sometimes I think we’re so used to taking it for granted, and this means a lot. This means a lot. To get to the championship game means a lot.”

OU has defeated FSU once this season, in the regular season in Norman. The Sooners blanked Tennessee earlier in the WCWS.