All Sooners

COLUMN: Oklahoma Felt Offensive Frustration Before Jayda Coleman's One Decisive Moment

The Sooners' mighty offense was struggling to connect against Stanford freshman NiJaree Canady, but given the slightest opening, Coleman and her teammates took advantage.

John E. Hoover

OKLAHOMA CITY — Jayda Coleman waits for that moment. She’s gotten pretty good at it.

Oklahoma’s All-American center fielder anticipates the big moment in a big game, then pounces — for her, it’s like a tiger on the chase, like blood in the water, like a spark in a powder keg. The frenzy begins, the explosion ignites, and Coleman usually ends up standing on second base, pumping her arms and exhorting the crowd while “Boomer Sooner” begins another refrain.

Amid some largely unprecedented offensive frustration for the OU batting order, that scene eventually did unfold again on Thursday at Hall of Fame Stadium. It took five innings, but ultimately there stood Coleman at second while two teammates slid home with the winning runs.

The OU lineup ran into a Stanford buzz saw in freshman All-American NiJaree Canady, who overpowered the potent Sooners before — at last — a crack, a slim opening unfolded. Two runs was all it produced, but with All-American Jordy Bahl in the circle and Oklahoma’s defense again laser-focused, two runs was all OU needed to advance to the Saturday bracket semifinals against Tennessee.

“There were times we were overswinging a bit,” said OU coach Patty Gasso.

“I think she was throwing 75 miles an hour,” Coleman said. “She was really starting ahead. She was getting strikes.”

The result was an endless stream of pitches fouled back, popped up, and the Sooners couldn’t quite lay off.

“She has become one of the hardest-throwing, ball-moving freshmen I've ever seen,” Gasso said. “So I feel like we got a really tough, tough matchup.”

Patty Gasso celebrates Jayda Coleman's game-winning hit against Stanford.
Patty Gasso celebrates Jayda Coleman's game-winning hit against Stanford :: John E. Hoover / AllSooners

Canady finished with seven strikeouts and had good control (just one walk) before Coleman’s late heroics chased her from the game. Her speed and power were at times overwhelming. Her control was masterful. And the movement on her pitches was confounding.

“You may have seen us look like we were really struggling, and at times we were just trying to figure this out,” Gasso said. “A lot of foul balls, a lot of foul balls, but we made her throw over 60 pitches up to like the third inning, and the goal was to just keep fighting and get her to keep throwing, maybe tire her out. It's hot out there.”

That strategy worked as Canady threw 99 total pitches (78 strikes) in six innings.

As per usual, the more times Oklahoma hitters saw Canady’s offerings, the more confident they became.

Rylie Boone and Jayda Coleman
Rylie Boone and Jayda Coleman :: John E. Hoover / AllSooners

“I think we realized we needed to take those pitches up in the zone,” Coleman said. “For some reason we felt like we needed to swing at them, but we got a little bit more disciplined as the innings went on and just kind of letting those go and really focusing on the strikes that were lower in the zone.”

The breakthrough finally came in the bottom of the fifth inning.

After Cydney Sanders struck out swinging, Alynah Torres fouled off a pair of pitches and then hit a 1-2 pitch into left center field.

Avery Hodge came into pinch-run for Torres, and following Grace Lyons’ popup to short, spark plug 9-hole hitter Rylie Boone fouled off a 2-2 pitch, then singled sharply through the left side, putting runners at first and second for Coleman.

Coleman took a strike, then fouled off Canady’s second pitch. With an 0-2 count, Coleman choked up on the bat — just a little, almost imperceptibly — and smashed an opposite-field single into left.

The speedy Hodge scored easily from second, and when Coleman’s sharply hit ball two-hopped onto the left fielder with pace and bounced off her glove, Boone raced home with the second run.

And Coleman stood at second base, shaking her head, thanking her maker and firing up the crowd.

There were no home runs. No batting-practice-type slugfests. Not with Canady dealing like she was. But thanks to Torres, and Boone, and Hodge, and Coleman, there was just enough offense to push the Sooners’ winning streak to 49 in a row and set up another WCWS showdown Saturday.

Jayda Coleman
Jayda Coleman :: John E. Hoover / AllSooners

“Every time Boone gets on, I know we're going to start rolling,” Coleman said. “Every time she jumps up and she's like this, I'm like here we go. She is a party starter.

I don't think people talk about her enough. I don't think she gets enough recognition.”

And Boone’s party not have started if not for Torres, the Arizona State transfer who bet on herself and is living out her dream every day in Crimson and Cream.

Rylie Boone scores
Rylie Boone scores :: John E. Hoover / AllSooners

“It was her first World Series, and she's been waiting her lifetime for this,” Gasso said. “And she had two really good at-bats and one that helped us score, and that's Alynah Torres. I think she was listening and taking messages.

“Jayda and Boone, these guys just really starting to put a few things together was really, really important.

“But that was probably one of the most stressful, struggling first games we've had that I can remember in a long time.”

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John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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