Jordyn Bahl Strikes Out 14 as OU Beats UCLA
Jordyn Bahl is the real deal, and somehow, Oklahoma could be better than last year.
Before a packed house on Saturday at Bill Barber Park, in the main event of the Mark Campbell Collegiate Invitational in Irvine, CA, the night belonged to Bahl.
In a game that felt very much like a June showdown in Oklahoma City, the No. 1-ranked Sooners’ new pitching ace — a true freshman from Nebraska — struck out 14 UCLA hitters in Oklahoma's 4-1 victory.
"We got something special," said OU coach Patty Gasso.
No. 3 UCLA (4-1) is among the offensive leaders in the nation this season, outscoring their first four opponents 47-0 and batting .414 so far.
But the Bruins were once again no match for OU (4-0), and they were certainly no match for Bahl.
Bahl (2-0) battled early mechanical problems (the umpire said she was crow-hopping and called her for illegal pitches) but struck out every UCLA hitter at least once. She struck out multiple hitters in five different innings, and struck out the side in the fourth and the sixth. She finished with a complete game, scattered four singles, walked three and threw one wild pitch.
"I thought the adversity was a good thing for our team tonight," Bahl said. "Especially me on the mound, getting those illegal pitches called. I think that was good because that stuff’s not going away. It’s gonna keep happening throughout the season and learning how to deal with that is big."
OU — 56-4 and national champs last season — has just about everyone on the roster back, but needed someone to replace graduated co-aces Gisele Juarez and Shannon Saile.
Bahl might be the solution.
"For a freshman, just off the charts," Gasso said. "When I look at her, I think about her future. But if you saw the kid’s work that she’s puts in — she came in ready. She came in fit. She came in with all the tools. And she’s just a workaholic. She works her tail off. She doesn’t take a day off. She’s been training to compete at a whole other level."
While this game was a showdown of two of this year’s premier contenders, it was also a rematch from last year’s Women’s College World Series — a 10-3 OU elimination victory.
Taylon Snow put the Sooners on the board in the bottom of the second inning when she slapped a 2-0 pitch from Holly Azevedo into left field to score Jana Johns from third. Johns had reached on a one-out double, then took third on Mackenzie Donihoo’s fly ball to center.
Rylie Boone then chased Azevedo with a sharp grounder under the glove of Anna Vines at second base. Boone and Snow both stole second and third, and hot-hitting Tiare Jennings drew a four-pitch walk to load the bases for Jocelyn Alo. Alo, however, flew out to right field to end the threat.
UCLA scored an unearned run in the next frame — the first run allowed by OU this season.
Vines opened the inning with a walk, then took second on a bunt and moved to third on Briana Perez’ single. Vines then came home on Kinzie Hansen’s error trying to throw out Perez at second base. Grace Lyons ended the Bruins’ threat by snagging Aaliyah Jordan’s line drive for the final out.
In the third inning, OU re-took the lead. With two out, Lyons was hit by pitch, then took third on Johns’ single to left-center. Donihoo ripped an RBI single up the middle to score Lyons and move Johns to third. Lynnsie Elam added an RBI infield single to score Johns and put the Sooners up 3-1.
Bahl, the Gatorade National Player of the Year last year in high school, struck out the side in the fourth inning — bringing her strikeout total to eight — while leaving two baserunners stranded.
Bahl struck out two more in the fifth, and Jayda Coleman continued the momentum with a single to center field. Lyons followed with a sharp single to deep left, but Johns’ hot shot to third base was caught, and UCLA pitcher Megan Faraimo squelched the threat with a strikeout and a groundout.
UCLA caused a little drama in the top of the sixth with a leadoff walk and a wild pitch by Bahl, but Bahl struck out the next two hitters.
The Sooners made it 4-1 in the bottom of the sixth on three consecutive infield errors. Alo, Hansen and Coleman all reached via UCLA miscue, and Hannah Coor, pinch-running for Alo, scored from third when Coleman collided with Faraimo’s throw to first base.
Snow started the seventh when she snagged a sharp line drive in the hole on the left side, but Vines beat out a bunt to give the Bruins life. Bahl ended it with a fielder’s choice and one final strikeout.
"My mentality in the circle tonight, it was pretty much like I’m not gonna have to go out there and overdo anything, I just needed to go out there and be myself," Bahl said. "I knew that especially since that lineup has never seen me before, I had a lot of confidence in our bats and in our defense, and I was just gonna have to go out there and spin the ball, do what I do and not try to do anything more."
Even with the early struggles and the late threats, Gasso never lost confidence in Bahl.
"Never do I think, ‘OK, she’s struggling, let’s get her out,’ " Gasso said. "Even after some of those illegal pitches. It just didn’t faze her.
"I felt that this game, although it’s only our fourth game of the season, it just took her to another place of understanding about how this level and this elite game, what it feels like. So it was really important for her to feel that."
The Sooners conclude their West Coast swing on Sunday with a 1 p.m. game against UC San Diego.