Bedlam Win Moves OU to Sunday

¹Oklahoma

¹³Oklahoma State

Box Score

Highlights

Photos

Inning-by-Inning
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
OU	3	0	0	0	0	3	0	6	8	0
OSU	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	4	0

Pitching
	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
W - Juarez (28-1)	6.0	4	1	1	1	11
L - Show (22-9)	4.0	6	3	3	1	2

Individual Leaders
	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	HR
OU - Alo	2	1	1	3	2	1
OSU - Bayless	2	1	1	0	1	0

NORMAN – In the first-ever Bedlam showdown at the Women's College World Series, Oklahoma wasted little time making its presence felt against Oklahoma State.

Sparked by a three-run first inning, the Sooners cruised to a 6-1 victory Friday night over the Cowgirls before an overflow crowd of 9,820 at USA Hall of Fame Stadium. It was the largest-ever gathering at the WCWS.

Friday night marked the 164^th time in history that Bedlam occurred in softball, but the familiar foes had never met on the sport's biggest stage.

“We knew it was going to be a crazy atmosphere, crazy fans, both sides going at each other,” OU senior second baseman Caleigh Clifton said. “It was a fun environment.”

With the victory, the top-ranked, top-seeded Sooners (56-3) now have Saturday off and will not play again in this double-elimination tournament until 2:30 p.m. Sunday. OU would have to lose twice Sunday to not advance to the best-of-three championship series that begins Monday.

The Sooners have now won Bedlam 24 straight times and 27 of the last 28 meetings. OU is 4-0 against the Cowgirls (45-16) this season and have won by a combined score of 22-3.

“It's very difficult,” Sooners coach Patty Gasso said of beating OSU four times in a season. “That's why this team sometimes amazes me. Oklahoma State has had some really good momentum in postseason. You can feel that about them. They're gamers. They play hard. I truly believe this – and I think they may say it as well – but we make each other better. When we play them, you always feel this pressure from them. Either we're going to break, or we're going to step up, and that really is a sign of your team.”

OU junior left-hander Giselle Juarez (28-1) started for the second straight night. She outlasted No. 8-seeded Alabama in a 3-2 victory on Thursday, scattering four hits and striking out nine while throwing 97 pitches in a complete game. “I didn't think (Thursday) was my best performance,” Juarez said.

In 6.0 innings and 81 pitches against the Cowgirls, Juarez allowed one run, one walk and four hits while striking out 11, which included six straight to close out her evening of work. Junior right-hander Shannon Saile relieved Juarez and added two strikeouts of her own.

“To strike out a good, good hitting team 13 times with one walk is quite an incredible performance,” Gasso said.

Heralded senior right-hander Samantha Show (22-9), who hit a pair of solo home runs to lead the 13^th-seeded Cowgirls to a 2-1 victory over No. 5-seeded Florida on Thursday night, wound up going 0 for 3 against Juarez with two strikeouts.

“I know she's a good hitter. She proves that,” Juarez said of Show. “I think it was just keeping her off-balance especially and trusting my pitches against her and going right at her.”

The Sooners finished with eight hits, all coming from different players.

Designated as the visiting team, OU jumped in front by collecting four hits in the first inning. Fale Aviu doubled to right-center and advanced to third on a Show wild pitch. Clifton walked, stole second and both runners scored on a single to right by Jocelyn Alo.

Alo advanced to second on Show's second wild pitch of the inning, then went to third on Grace Green's single to shortstop. Shay Knighten knocked in Alo with a single to center field to put OU in front 3-0 before the Cowgirls got a chance to bat. Show, who went the distance and threw 109 pitches in OSU's 2-1 victory over Florida on Thursday night, needed 23 pitches to get out of the inning as eight Sooners went to the plate.

“We knew coming in she (Show) was going to attack our zone and we wanted to be in attack mode as well,” Clifton said. “We just wanted to score early and we wanted to score often. That first inning, something just clicked for us.”

Show wound up throwing 73 pitches before being pulled after 4.0 innings after allowing six hits and striking out two before being replaced by right-hander Logan Simunek.

The Sooners added three runs in the top of the sixth inning, all coming with two outs and the bases loaded. Aviu got an RBI on a walk, Clifton got an RBI when she was hit by a pitch and Alo was walked for her third RBI of the game to set the final margin.

The game didn't end until shortly before midnight, thanks in part to a 19-minute delay when lights above the right-field bleachers went dark in the top of fifth inning.

Players from both teams interacted with their fans during the delay, keeping the festive atmosphere alive. “It was pretty cool,” Nicole Mendes said of engaging the crowd. “I think we already were having a party, but when the lights went out, we had a chance to get the whole crowd with us.”

The scene falls in line with what Gasso has stressed with her team all season.

“We've talked about embracing and loving these memories and these moments because this team will never be a team again,” Gasso said. “Eventually, it's going to end and don't miss out on it.”