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OU Softball: Nicole May Shines in Relief as Oklahoma Outlasts Washington

The Sooner junior produced eight huge strikeouts in relief of Jordy Bahl to close out No. 16-ranked Washington on Saturday night.

Ryan Chapman

OU Softball: Nicole May Shines in Relief as Oklahoma Outlasts Washington
OU Softball: Nicole May Shines in Relief as Oklahoma Outlasts Washington /

Oklahoma found itself in another close contest on Saturday night.

The top-ranked Sooners went the distance with the No. 16-ranked Washington Huskies at the Mark Campbell Invitational.

Leading 5-4 in the seventh inning, OU pitcher Nicole May had to work through a tough jam to pull out the win.

After surrendering a walk and a double with no outs, May struck out two of the next three batters to close out the win in Irvine, CA, for OU to move to 4-0 on the season.

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May dazzled in relief of sophomore Jordy Bahl, who never seemed to have full command of her stuff on Saturday night.

And Bahl’s struggled in the circle started from the very beginning of the contest.

Washington right fielder Madison Huskey took Bahl deep for a solo shot in the second at-bat of the game, putting Oklahoma behind for the first time in the young 2023 season.

Bahl then issued a two-out walk as she struggled with her command, the OU star was able to limit the first inning damage to just the single run.

Immediately, the Sooner offense had their pitcher’s back.

A Jayda Coleman leadoff walk made way for back-to-back singles by Tiare Jennings and Haley Lee to load the bases and put the pressure right back on Washington.

Cydney Sanders then pegged OU back, dribbling a bouncing grounder back up the middle to push two runs across.

In the next at-bat, Grace Lyons caught the Washington defense on its heels with a sacrifice bunt, bringing Lee home and giving Bahl an extra run to work with.

Bahl then kept Washington off the board in the second inning, but not before issuing another walk and hitting a batter as she continued to look uncomfortable.

Huskey again got the better of Bahl in the third inning, singling to left field.

OU’s Rylie Boone bobbled the ball trying to come up firing, and ultimately Baylee Klinger was able to cross home plate from second to cut the Oklahoma lead to 3-2.

Again, the Sooners found an instant response.

Alyssa Brito lined a homer over the right field fence, scoring both herself and Lyons to push the advantage back to 5-3.

Huskey tacked on another pair of runs with a two-RBI single in the fourth inning, pulling Washington back within one run and knocking Bahl out of the game as Patty Gasso turned to May to try and settle things down.

May allowed a pair of walks, but produced a massive strikeout with the bases loaded to end the threat and get out of the fourth inning.

Bahl’s final line reflected her struggles, as she allowed six walks and four runs while only sitting down four Huskies in 3 2/3 innings pitched.

From the fifth inning on, May controlled the game in the circle.

The talented junior struck out seven of the last 11 Washington batters to seal the win.

Combining her start against Liberty from Thursday night, May has already struck out 18 batters in 10 1/3 innings while only walking five batters and giving up five hits. 

No Sooner batter finished with more than one hit on Saturday night, but Oklahoma was clinical when it did put runners aboard.

OU finished the night hitting 2-of-5 with runners in scoring position, immediately responding to Washington’s offensive success in the first and third innings.

Gasso’s team will return for one more contest at the Mark Campbell Invitational, facing off against San Jose State on Sunday. The weekend finale will be broadcast on FloSoftball. 

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Ryan Chapman
RYAN CHAPMAN

Ryan is deputy editor at AllSooners and covers a number of sports in and around Norman and Oklahoma City. Working both as a journalist and a sports talk radio host, Ryan has covered the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the United States Men’s National Soccer Team, the Oklahoma City Energy and more. Since 2019, Ryan has simultaneously pursued a career as both a writer and a sports talk radio host, working for the Flagship for Oklahoma sports, 107.7 The Franchise, as well as AllSooners.com. Ryan serves as a contributor to The Franchise’s website, TheFranchiseOK.com, which was recognized as having the “Best Website” in 2022 by the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters. Ryan holds an associate’s degree in Journalism from Oklahoma City Community College in Oklahoma City, OK. 

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