All Sooners

OU Softball: Oklahoma Stuns Oklahoma State With Seventh Inning Rally to Win Bedlam Series

Oklahoma star Tiare Jennings delivered a clutch two-RBI double in the seventh inning to extend the Sooners' wining streak to 40 games.

Ryan Chapman

STILLWATER — Oklahoma’s 39-game win streak was in serious jeopardy on Saturday.

Oklahoma State freshman pitcher Kyra Aycock pitched a gem in her first Bedlam start, throwing six scoreless innings and giving the Cowgirls a two-run lead headed into the seventh inning.

But the two-time defending National Champions didn’t go down without a fight, rallying from a lifeless start with one clutch hit after another to win 4-2.

Jocelyn Erickson led off the seventh with a double, and Alynah Torres plated the Sooners’ first run of the game in the next at-bat with an RBI single to left center that scored pinch-runner Jordy Bahl.

Still up 2-1 with no outs, OSU coach Kenny Gajewski turned to ace Kelly Maxwell to close out the win before another record-setting crowd at Cowgirl Stadium.

Tiare Jennings and Grace Lyons celebrate their 40th straight win.
Tiare Jennings and Grace Lyons celebrate their 40th straight win :: BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN-USA TODAY NETWORK

Maxwell then hit Rylie Boone to put runners on first and second, but after a wild pitch moved both runners up, battled back with a strikeout of National Player of the Year candidate Jayda Coleman.

The Sooners turned to Tiare Jennings to play hero. With the tying run on third base and the go-ahead on second with one out, Jennings delivered.

The star second baseman rocketed Maxwell’s 3-2 delivery off the center field wall, putting the Sooners in front with a two-RBI double.

“She’s fearless,” OU coach Patty Gasso said of Jennings after the game. “And I think she is calm at the same time and she’s really understanding that she’s one of the best hitters in the country.

“So she likes to be in those big situations… She’s just wanting to help her team.”

Facing a familiar foe in the circle, Jennings relied on her preparation to deliver the death blow to the Cowgirls.

“I was just trying to find a way,” she said. “Find a way. You’re in a 3-2 count, find a way to do something you can to score these runs. So that’s just all I was thinking.”

Cydney Sanders then added another run for good measure, singling down the left field line to bring home Jennings for a 4-2 lead.

Oklahoma reliever Kierston Deal, who got the final out of the sixth, returned in the bottom of the seventh and blanked the Cowgirls to finish off the comeback.

“She was nails,” Gasso said. “She was outstanding. So that just really equipped us with (another) pitcher and another lefty arm to come in and help us when we need it.”

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The rally extended the Oklahoma’s winning streak to 40 games, and OU moved to 48-1 on the year. Gajewski’s Cowgirls dropped to 41-12 with the loss.

Concern about seeing their win streak snapped never crossed the Sooners’ minds, Gasso said.

“They will not be denied,” she said. "And they believe. They believe in each other… They are unafraid of losing and that’s a big deal.

“… They’re doing everything right. They’re saying everything right. So it’s that great ability to be unafraid of losing or results.”

But signs of Aycock’s dominance weren’t evident from the start.

For the second straight day, the Sooners loaded up the bases to start the game.

Coleman led the game off with an infield single, and then Jennings doubled to immediately apply the pressure on Aycock.

Sanders then battled through an eight-pitch at-bat to draw a walk, juicing the bases with no outs.

Oklahoma true freshman pitcher Kierston Deal delivered for the Sooners in the seventh inning
Oklahoma true freshman pitcher Kierston Deal delivered for the Sooners in the seventh inning :: BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN-USA TODAY NETWORK

Then Aycock got some momentum for the Cowgirls.

The freshman induced a grounder from Alyssa Brito, which third baseman Megan Bloodworth fired home to get the lead runner. OSU catcher Taylor Tuck wasn’t done, however, as she fired down the first base line, and the throw beat Brito to ring up the double play.

Senior captain Grace Lyons then grounded out, ending the inning without inflicting any damage.

“(Aycock threw) balls that really (broke) well, in and out,” Gasso said. “So it’s kind of deceptive for our team and we had a little bit of trouble picking that up.

“But then once you give us a few times through the lineup then we’ve kind of got an idea and that’s when things started to change.”

While Oklahoma was unable to capitalize in the first inning, Oklahoma State cashed in after generating a little bit of momentum in the second.

Cowgirl freshman Tallen Edwards roped a hit up the right field line, squeezing right inside first base to say fair, and the ball dribbled into the corner.

Torres tried to field the ball by sliding into the right field corner to turn and fire down to second, but instead she spilled it farther into foul territory.

Edwards ended up on third with a standup triple, the first three-bagger the Sooners have allowed all season.

In the next at-bat, Tuck pushed the ball through the right side of the OU infield to put the Cowgirls up 1-0.

Oklahoma’s next chance to score came in the fifth.

Erickson led the inning off with a single, but Torres and Boone both made quick outs.

With Coleman at the plate, pinch-runner Avery Hodge stole second, sliding under a tag as the throw pulled shortstop Kiley Naomi off the bag toward first.

The play was close enough for Gajewski to challenge, and after the call was upheld, an Oklahoma State support staffer was ejected from the dugout.

OSU’s record crowd of 1,753 finally got into the series, unhappy with the call.

Unbothered by the extra emotion, Coleman drew a walk, but Jennings popped out on the next pitch to end the frame.

As the offense sputtered, Oklahoma right-hander Nicole May worked to keep the Sooners within striking distance.

“Our pitching and our defense kept us in that game,” Gasso said. “And this team knows that as long as they have one out left in a game, they’re never out of it.”

Though she allowed eight hits and a walk, she battled through the afternoon, striking out four Cowgirl batters and keeping the deficit at one, but OSU added some insurance in the sixth.

Tuck struck again with two outs, delivering her second RBI of the afternoon and ending May’s day.

OU coach Patty Gasso turned to Deal, the freshman left-hander, in the circle to close out the inning and send the game to the seventh.

“(May) kept us in the game the entire time,” Jennings said. “… Without her there was no way we were going to win this game and going into the dugout we knew we had to get some runs for her because of how much she was busting her butt out there on the mound.

“So we knew we had to get her back.”

Then after Oklahoma’s offensive heroics, Gasso trusted Deal to close out the win. Gasso's faith was rewarded, as Deal navigated the final frame like a seasoned veteran.

She sat the Cowgirls down in order, including a full-count strikeout of OSU's Katelynn Carwile.

The Sooners will go for the Bedlam sweep on Sunday at 2 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.

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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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