Oklahoma’s Jordy Bahl delivers once again on the biggest stage: ‘She wants the ball’

OKLAHOMA CITY — With a national championship on the line, Oklahoma softball fans couldn’t have been more comfortable with who was in the circle. It was obvious from their chants of “three-peat” and their under-the-breath words of encouragement: They had supreme confidence in Jordy Bahl.

It would be hard to top the kind of performance the Sooners ace had in Oklahoma’s national title run this season. But especially the kind of power she showed in Oklahoma City this week. Bahl did not allow a run throughout the entire WCWS, pitching a complete shutout in Game 1 of the championship series against Florida State before closing out a 3-1 victory in Game 2.

She didn’t pitch until the bottom of the fifth inning on Thursday night, sporting her usual camo headband and eye black. And her entrance all but secured the Sooners’ third-consecutive national title.

“At that point, you can feel it getting loud,” Bahl said in the outfield afterward, surrounded by family, teammates and red and white confetti. “You can feel the pressure starting to set in a little bit.”

That pressure didn’t cause any missteps, though. During Florida State’s last chance to come back in the bottom of the seventh inning, Bahl struck out two batters and got another out on a ground ball.

She ended the season with a 0.90 ERA — second best in the nation — over 147.1 innings pitched. In the WCWS, Bahl pitched 24.2 innings with two complete games.

“She is made to be able to do that,” OU coach Patty Gasso said. “She wants the ball like nobody’s business. Not that we don’t have faith in our others. It’s just she is a very, very hot pitcher right now. She’s throwing the best she has all season right now.”

The moment Oklahoma clinched its third consecutive title. Jordy Bahl was named Most Outstanding Player. #WCWS pic.twitter.com/Hm53fz8M4A

— Jayna Bardahl (@Jaynabardahl) June 9, 2023

Hall of Fame Stadium is the stage where every pitcher wants to at be at their best, and Bahl put on a show. She even scored two runs in the championship series, stepping in as a pinch runner in both games and displaying speed not usually seen from a pitcher.

“Jordy has wheels,” catcher Kinzie Hansen said. “She runs circles around us at practice sometimes. She strikes us out, too. It’s all over the place.”

Just a sophomore, Bahl has already become an icon at Oklahoma and the face of the entire sport of college softball. Last year, her status in the WCWS was questionable due to a right forearm stress fracture. This year, her performance left no question marks at all.

When teammates lifted her into the air as she was announced the tournament’s most outstanding player, it seemed to settle in. Here was OU’s next leader. Backed by Bahl’s intense focus on the mound, the Sooners could probably get used to this … if they haven’t already.

“The mindset was consistent,” Bahl said. “It’s just when you go in there, be simple, don’t give the other team anything, and just let your defense work.”

That mindset is one of simplicity and competitiveness, and it’s a big reason why Bahl was the consensus No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2021. Her long-time pitching coach Darren Dubsky instilled it in her when she was young. They’d never focus on more than one pitch at a time.

Dubsky initially worried about Bahl’s size — she’s smaller than ideal — though her drive to be great combatted it. Dubsky said she never developed a bad pitching habit.

“We did a lot of simple things and she just got better and better,” he said. “I probably would say at about age 12, I knew she was going to be really special.”

She starred at Papillion-LaVista High School, near Omaha, Neb., for coach Todd Peterson. Bahl was named a captain of that team as just a sophomore and led the school to three consecutive state titles. She originally committed to play at Nebraska before later signing Oklahoma.

“She was legit, but not really close to where she is now,” Peterson said. “Through high school, she literally got better every single year and then she was Gatorade National Player of the Year at the end of high school. You kind of go — (when) somebody’s that good — how do they get better? But then she gets better every year.

“She has high expectations for her teammates, but it’s not that she expects it out of them and not out of herself.”

Peterson described Bahl as a “student of the game” with a deep understanding of pitching.

Florida State players mentioned how difficult it was when they fell behind in the count against Bahl. Her repertoire of pitches is small, but the level at which she executes them is what makes her so dominant. In the WCWS, Bahl struck out 33 batters.

“When you’re that competitive and you have three phenomenal pitches right in your hip pocket,” Florida State pitcher Mack Leonard said, “and you’ve got a defense like that, it’s pretty tough to hit against.”

But to emerge so quickly at Oklahoma is maybe the most impressive thing about Bahl. Gasso has seen players come in and overachieve during their freshman year only to hit a wall after that. Not for Jordy.

The 2022 National Freshman of the Year doesn’t let the accolades overwhelm her. Just like she is on the mound, Bahl carries around a calm demeanor. But when asked if she expected this level of success this quickly in college, Bahl couldn’t help but crack a smile while reflecting.

“Man, I don’t know what junior-in-high-school Jordy was thinking,” Bahl said. “I knew that at Oklahoma I was going to be challenged day in and day out. There were going to be amazing players around you, pushing you every single day. Iron sharpens iron.

“I was going to have the opportunity to throw to the best lineup in the country at practice every day. As a pitcher, that made me really excited. I can’t say I knew what was in store, but I had a lot of fun watching them play before I got here. I knew it was going to be fun.”

The Sooners’ third consecutive championship was met with a sigh of relief from Gasso. As much as a 53-game win streak might make this all sound easy, the players and Gasso candidly discussed the challenges that come with that type of pressure. This title was expected of Oklahoma from the first day of the season.

So, what’s next? How does Gasso and her squad keep improving when they are the example most teams try to follow?

“My challenge for Jordy is to try to make practice as competitive as I can, constantly,” Gasso said. “I’m always giving her, ‘OK, bases are loaded, one out, you’re up by two.’ I’m always giving situations because I think she just really loves to simulate that. When she’s here, this is her playground. This is her heaven right here, at the world series where it’s real and it’s someone else that we’re competing against.”

After reveling in victory on the dirt with her teammates, Bahl will look ahead. Her job isn’t finished in an Oklahoma uniform.

She’s looking ahead to the next pitch. The next game. The next championship.

“She’s just always been a supreme competitor,” Dubsky said. “I don’t think she’s got a thought of loss in her body.”

(Photo: Grace Bradley / NCAA Photos via Getty Images)