OU Softball: Oklahoma Blasts Past Auburn in OKC
OKLAHOMA CITY — Home run trots aren’t anything new to Jayda Coleman.
But in her Oklahoma career, it’s certainly not normal for her to have to touch eight bags after one swing of the bat.
But that’s exactly how OU’s star center fielder started off the game on Saturday night, as she had to round the bases twice on her leadoff shot.
Initially, Coleman’s towering hit was called foul as it sailed over the foul pole in right field.
Coach Patty Gasso appealed and, after a brief conference, the umpires reversed their decision, spurring Coleman to touch ‘em all one more time.
“I thought it was fair the whole time,” Coleman said after the game. “I saw the umpire say foul when I touched first but I was like, ‘you know what, keep going because you never know.’
“Then when they said fair ball I was like, ‘just do it again. It would be fun to just go around the bases again.’ So I just did it again.”
It proved to be just the first (and second) of a few trips around the bases for the Sooners, as they belted four home runs en route to a 14-0 victory over the No. 19-ranked Auburn Tigers at Hall of Fame Stadium.
The victory extended OU’s winning streak to 18 games, pushing the Sooners to 26-1 on the year, while Auburn dropped to 22-8.
Coleman’s solo shot was the first of three bombs launched by No. 1-ranked Oklahoma in the first inning alone.
Haley Lee reached base after Coleman when Auburn’s defense failed to communicate, allowing a routine pop-up to drop in the pitcher’s circle.
Tiare Jennings made the Tigers pay for the mistake.
OU’s junior second baseman crushed a pitch well beyond the wall in left field, as it actually landed on the warning track of the second wall at Hall of Fame Stadium that sits almost 300 feet from home plate.
Two batters later, Kinzie Hansen got in on the action.
The OU catcher turned on the 2-2 delivery from Auburn pitcher Annabelle Widra, sending the ball quickly toward the scoreboard in left-center field to put the Sooners up 4-0.
“I just look throughout the lineup and was proud of the play in the conditions that we were involved in,” Gasso said.
Turning around to play a ranked Auburn team after steamrolling Weber State wasn’t easy on Saturday, but Coleman said she was proud of how the Sooners handled the workload.
“I think sometimes it does get difficult when you know you have two games and it is freezing cold,” She said. “Just mentally you have to prepare yourself… But when we come together and we get that energy going there’s really no stopping us to be honest. We just keep rolling.”
Auburn tried to cut into the deficit in the second inning.
The Tigers got a pair of baserunners after a two-out single was followed by a walk, but OU starter Jordy Bahl was able to induce a popup out of Aubrie Lisenby to get out of the jam and keep Auburn off the board.
“I really loved what Jordy looked like tonight,” Gasso said. “And I think you’re seeing her get really comfortable on the mound and our team is really excited when she comes out. She’s bringing a lot of fire. Good competitive spirit on the mound as well.”
In the third inning, the Sooners staged the kind of two-out rally OU fans have grown accustomed to this year.
Jocelyn Erickson struck out and Jennings fouled out to start the inning, but then the offense dug in.
Alyssa Brito doubled and then stole third after Lisenby, Auburn’s catcher, dropped ball four to Hansen to put runners on the corners.
Another miscue then cost the Tigers.
Quincee Lilio drew a walk, and as she slowly took first base Lisenby opted to throw behind Brito at third.
Denver Bryant couldn’t reel in the throw, and Brito jumped on the error to race home and put the Sooners up 5-0.
Lilio then avoided a tag at second base, allowing Grace Lyons to reach on a fielder’s choice to load the bases, and Cydney Sanders drove Hansen and Lilio home with a double to the left field wall.
“One point that was just huge for our team was Cyd Sanders coming off the bench with the bases loaded,” Gasso said. “She’s been trying to get her groove and she’s starting to come around. You can feel it. So that was a huge at-bat.”
Coleman continued her memorable night with a double that she bounced straight back up the middle, plating Lyons and Hansen to put the Sooners up 9-0.
Brito tacked on another run in the fourth inning when she smoked a ball that deflected off Bryant’s glove and into shallow left field, bringing Avery Hodge all the way home from second.
A bloop single from Lilio added another run, and Lyons put the exclamation point on the win with a towering three-run bomb to push the lead to 14-0.
Outside of the brief moment of trouble in the second inning, Bahl cruised.
The powerhouse right-hander struck out nine Auburn batters while only allowing four hits and one walk in the win.
“I felt (Bahl) closing at Florida State (on Tuesday) was a big wow factor for everybody,” Gasso said. “Big crowd, big moment and she was just ice. She was money. And just building off of that. I’m really proud of her. There’s a lot of expectations on Jordy.”
Oklahoma has one more matchup with Auburn to round out the Hall of Fame Classic, as the Sooners and the Tigers meet at 2 p.m. Sunday. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
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