To advance to a chance at winning their third consecutive Women’s College World Series championship, the top-seeded Sooners defeated No. 9 Stanford 4-2 on Monday. Tiare Jennings drove in two runs with a double in the ninth inning.
Oklahoma extended their Division I winning streak to 51 games. To play No. 3 Florida State in the national championship game, the Sooners progressed. Since UCLA in 1988–1989, Oklahoma (59-1) hopes to become the first team to win three straight championships. Beginning on Wednesday is the best-of-three championship series.
“We win a lot, and that’s fabulous,” said Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso. This is significant. It means a lot to make it to the final game.
For the third time overall and for the first time since 2004, Stanford (47-15) made it to the World Series.
In the double-elimination bracket, Oklahoma was unblemished, thus the Sooners only needed one victory on Monday to progress while Stanford needed two. Both of Stanford’s World Series defeats came at the hands of Oklahoma.
The only runs the Sooners have given up throughout the World Series were Stanford’s Kylie Chung’s two-run home run in the opening inning. In the third, a solo home run by Jayda Coleman made the score even at two.
In Oklahoma’s ninth, Grace Lyons doubled to open the scoring. With two outs and Lyons at third base, Coleman reached base and was intentionally walked. Lyons and Coleman were brought home when Jennings, who was turning 21 at the time, blasted NiJaree Canady’s pitch into the gap in right-center.
Both Coleman and Jennings are first-team players. All-Americans from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. Gasso claimed that despite being 0-for-4 before her final at-bat, Jennings capitalized on a favorable circumstance.
She is among the best hitters I’ve ever seen, according to Gasso. “Therefore, each coach chooses their poison. It does so occasionally. Occasionally, it doesn’t. No one I’ve ever seen can lock in like Tiare does. Her swing appeared to be rather simple. It appeared to be rather unhindered and carefree and rushed into it just in time.
Walking Coleman toward Jennings, according to Stanford coach Jessica Allister, was the best course of action.
She said, “I suppose we’d make the same choice again. We liked the matchup, but hindsight is 20/20, so it didn’t turn out the way we wanted it to. You can’t be cautious at this stage. You must follow your instinct and make the finest choice.
In the ninth, Jordy Bahl of Oklahoma struck out the Cardinal in order.
In four innings of relief work for starter Nicole May, Bahl, who earned the victory, gave up four hits while allowing no runs. Bahl is 3-0 in the World Series and has pitched 14 2/3 innings without allowing a run.
Canady has thrown the most World Series innings of any player going into the day. On Sunday, she defeated Washington with a one-hitter to advance the Cardinal into the semifinals. The next day, she faced Oklahoma with 85 pitches. At the World Series, the NFCA Freshman of the Year with a 1.12 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 18 2/3 innings.
I believe I can perform at this level, she remarked. “I didn’t sure what to expect going into [the World Series]. We start with Oklahoma, which I was unaware of. And I now feel confident that I can, for the most part, pitch to any team in the country.
Next year, Canady and the Cardinal want more.
We arrived, she said. “That was just a taste; we’ll be hungry when we get back.
