WCWS Game 7: Oklahoma Takes Advantage of Tennessee Pitching Plan
Top StoriesOklahoma has seen just about every pitching strategy possible thrown at them by opponents this season.
But even the top-seeded Sooners probably weren’t expecting to see four pitchers with little or no NCAA tournament experience staring back at them from the circle when they played No. 4 Tennessee in the Women’s College World Series on Saturday afternoon.
Oklahoma took full advantage.
Tiare Jennings and Kinzie Hansen each hit home runs and the Sooners limited Tennessee to just one hit in a 9-0 run-rule win at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium to extend their NCAA-record winning streak to 50 straight games.
Two-time defending national champion Oklahoma (58-1) advances to the semifinals on Monday while Tennessee (50-9) faces elimination on Sunday against No. 5 Oklahoma State.
Coming off a day of rest, both teams had all arms in the bullpen fresh and ready to pitch.
While OU started sophomore ace Jordy Bahl for the second straight game, Tennessee opted for freshman Karlyn Pickens instead of Ashley Rogers or Payton Gottshall. Pickens had started the season strong, including a shuout win over Clemson, but had struggled a bit lately.
The circumstances would be intimidating for any pitcher, yet alone a rookie making her first NCAA start. Pickens (9-7) entered the game with only one appearance in the NCAA tournament, having given up three runs in 2.0 innings of relief against Indiana in the regionals on May 21.
OU entered the game leading the nation in batting average (.370), scoring (8.28), home runs (112) and slugging percentage (.676). The Sooners were playing basically in their own backyard in a game televised nationally on ABC.
“I felt like Karlyn presented a pretty good option to start with. I didn’t plan on anyone going the full game or letting them see anybody too many times. I thought that was something else important in terms of just trying to keep them off balance,” Tennessee head coach Karen Weekly said. “We planned to throw different people at ’em. The people we put in there I thought had the pitches in their arsenal that would be most successful.”
Mixing a fastball in the 70s with a change, Pickens showed some early nerves with wild pitches and walks. She escaped the first inning after loading the bases with two outs, but wasn’t as fortunate the second time through the order.
Pickens walked Grace Lyons to lead off the second inning. Jayda Coleman got on board with two outs on an infield single, bringing Jennings to the plate. Jennings belted a three-run home run to dead center to give OU a 3-0 lead and chase Pickens from the game.
Turn us all the way up, 𝐓 🔋
END 2 | OU 3, TENN 0 | @_tiarejennings pic.twitter.com/RlxjNYPJPD
— Oklahoma Softball (@OU_Softball) June 3, 2023
Instead of going to Rogers or Gottshall with the game still in reach, the Lady Vols called on Charli Orsini, a freshman from Australia making only her eighth appearance of the season and first since April 23rd.
Hansen hit a two-run home run to left off Orsini in the third, forcing another pitching change for Tennessee. Sophomore Nicola Simpson, who had pitched only 15.2 innings and none in the NCAAs, walked Lyons and gave up a single to Alynah Torres.
Simpson wasn’t helped by her defense. Confusion between Rylie West and Kiki Milloy in left-center field allowed Rylie Boone’s hit to drop for a two-run triple to increase OU’s lead to 7-0. Boone eventually scored on a wild pitch to put the game into run-rule territory.
“I think a lot of teams have a lot of different tactics to throw at us every single game. It was something we were surprised by but excited for,” Hansen said. “It’s a new challenge every day. We weren’t technically expecting it, but when it came and we found out who was starting, who was coming in and just the different strategies people try to throw at us, we were excited for those challenges, and it makes us better going forward.”
Ryleigh White, who was appearing for the first time since April 30th and had 19.2 total innings of work, was the final pitcher for Tennessee. She threw a wild pitch to allow the final OU run to cross.
Meanwhile, Bahl was dominating against an offense that ranked right behind OU in scoring (7.16) nationally. The Lady Vols had scored 52 runs in their previous six NCAA games.
After giving up a leadoff double to Milloy to start the game, Bahl retired the next 10 batters. That was the only hit she allowed in 3.2 innings of work to pick up her second staight WCWS win. Bahl finished with three strikeouts and one walk before giving way to Alex Storako, Kierston Deal and Nicole May.
“Jordy can throw a lot of different planes and a lot of different speeds,” Oklahoma head coach Patty Gasso said. “They just are very aggressive. I think majority of them swung at the first pitch. You got to really pinpoint that pitch where you want it. I just felt Jordy had that command.”
The Sooners will get another day off to stay fresh before continuing their pursuit of a third straight national title. Although others may mention the NCAA-record winning streak, the Sooners remain focused on getting more hardware.
“We don’t talk about it. We don’t. We really don’t. Because what we want to do is bring a national championship back to the University of Oklahoma and the state of Oklahoma because that will never be taken away from us,” Gasso said. “You can never take that away. It will live forever.”
Tennessee, which was run-ruled for the first time this season, has to beat the other team from the state of Oklahoma to stay alive. If the Lady Vols see the Sooners again, it’s likely they will start Rogers and Gottshall and hope having saved their aces leads to future success.
“I told this team I don’t want that to define this World Series or in any way dictate anything for tomorrow,” Weekly said. “They’ve got a lot of grit and a lot of toughness. I expect them to come out ready to play tomorrow.”
Changing Sides
Tennessee’s Mackenzie Donihoo and Zaida Puni were facing their former teammates.
Donihoo transferred to Tennessee this season after spending her first three years at Oklahoma and helping the Sooners win the last two national titles. She played a starring role in the 2021 run, batting .476 with a WCWS-best 10 RBI.
Puni transferred to Tennessee in 2022 after spending her freshman season at OU. She was a member of OU’s 2021 national championship team, playing in 16 games and hitting .356 in 14 at-bats. Puni and OU’s Tiare Jennings are “family,” according to Puni.
The Lady Vols played against OU last season in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, giving Puni a chance to be on the other side for the first time.
“It’s just fun playing against them,” Puni said before the Lady Vols arrived in OKC. “I have close relationships with quite a few of them, so it will be fun.”
Player of the Game
Tiare Jennings, Oklahoma
Jennings launched OU’s offense with her three-run home run in the second inning. She finished 2 for 3 with three RBI and a run scored.
Web Gem
There weren’t many highlights for Tennessee, but Milloy provided at least one by robbing a home run from Sophia Nugent in the fourth inning.
Not on @KikiMilloy‘s watch! 🚫#WCWS #SCtop10 x 🎥 ABC / @Vol_Softball pic.twitter.com/hvPORSiDKN
— NCAA Softball (@NCAASoftball) June 3, 2023
Up Next
- Oklahoma advances to the WCWS semifinals on Monday at noon ET (ESPN).
- Tennessee faces elimination on Sunday against No. 5 Oklahoma State at 7 p.m. (ESPN2).