Jordy Bahl, a sophomore ace pitcher for the Oklahoma Sooners, in the bottom of the seventh, on the verge of the team’s third straight national championship, wound up her arm. She let the ball go, struck out Florida State hitter Katie Dack and defeated the Seminoles 3-1.
As the confetti fell, teammates hugged, and one team celebrated. The sports world looked back on one of the best softball teams ever. Coming off a magical 2022 season, ending in beating arch-rival Texas to win their second-straight national championship, the expectations for the Oklahoma Sooners were high for the 2023 season.
The Sooners started hot as they began the year 8-0. With their impressive record on the line, they played a game against the Baylor Bears. The Bears knocked off the two-time champs 4-3. After the loss, people doubted Oklahoma and wondered how they would respond.
The Sooners responded by not losing again. They headed into the NCAA tournament looking to prove haters wrong and get a three-peat. Their journey to a three-peat started with a game against Hofstra University, which the Sooners dismantled in five innings, winning 11-0.
They moved on to play Missouri and once again won 11-0, this time in 6 innings. In a third consecutive game, this time against California, the Sooners surrendered their first runs of the tournament. However, Cal was no match as they got run over 16-3 in 5 innings.
After the first three games, the Sooners moved on to the super regionals, where they faced Clemson in a three-game series. The Sooners defeated the Tigers 9-2 in game one. Game two was tight. With the score tied 7-7 going into the ninth, junior infielder Tiare Jennings hit a solo home run to put the Sooners in the lead going into the bottom of the ninth.
Bahl closed it out, giving the Sooners an 8-7 win to advance to the Women’s College World Series. The Sooners matched up with Stanford for game one. The pitchers dueled until the fifth inning. After five close innings, junior outfielder Jayda Coleman hit a two RBI single, and the Sooners pitching did the rest to defeat Stanford 2-0.
In the next game, Oklahoma played Tennessee. Unlike game one, the Sooners dominated, beating the Volunteers 9-0 in 5 innings to set up another game with Stanford. The game came down to the wire again. This time, it came down to the ninth inning.
Just like the Clemson game, junior infielder Jennings came alive when the Sooners needed her. She hit a two RBI double to give them a 4-2 lead to eliminate Stanford and advance to the championship against Florida State.
In game one of the championship, the Sooners blew by Florida State, beating them 5-0. Bahl threw a complete game shutout, striking out ten people.
In the deciding game, Florida State got on the board first when senior Mack Leonard hit a home run. The Sooners wouldn’t trail for long as they hit back-to-back home runs in the top of the fifth. The first home run was hit by sophomore infielder Cydney Sanders then redshirt senior infielder Grace Lyons hit the second to put the Sooners up 2-1.
With a one-point lead, senior utility player Alynah Torres singled to give Oklahoma an insurance run in the sixth inning, which meant Florida State was down to their last three outs to save their season. However, Bahl did not let up. In the bottom of the seventh, Bahl faced four batters. She struck out one, one grounded out, then Florida State got a hit sending the tying run to the plate.
But Bahl did what she did best and struck her out to win her second, and Oklahoma’s third, national championship in a row. After the game, Bahl was almost speechless as she talked with ESPN after the game saying, “I don’t have a lot of words right now.”
The Sooners finished the season 61-1 on a 53-game win streak, the longest streak in NCAA history. The Sooners battled pressure, doubters, and haters, but in the end, the Sooners were on top.
However, not all was good news after the championship. Bahl, after winning everything she could at Oklahoma, said she wanted to be closer to home, so she transferred to the University of Nebraska.
Bahl was 22-1 as a starter this season and was the best pitcher in the country. Replacing her will be challenging for the Sooners.
The Sooners will look to win their fourth straight national championship in 2024 and extend their home win streak. Outside of who the next Oklahoma pitcher will be, the only question remaining is if this Sooners softball team is one of the best sports teams in history.
Jayden Barfuss can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @JaydenBarfuss10