No. 1 Oklahoma bounces back to take second game of Bedlam series 6-4

No. 1 Oklahoma softball bounced back to take the second game of the Bedlam series on Saturday 6-4, setting up a finale for the Big 12 title.

No. 1 Oklahoma continued their massive three-game weekend Bedlam series against No. 7/9 Oklahoma State on Saturday in Stillwater after dropping the opener on Friday for just their second loss of the season.

The winner of this series wins the Big 12 regular season title, meaning the Sooners needed wins both in Saturday’s game and in the Sunday finale to extend their conference title streak to nine straight years. Well, the first part of that proposition was fulfilled in this game with Patty Gasso’s squad bouncing back to win 6-4.

Shannon Saile (14-0) got the start for Oklahoma and was quite good working all the way into the seventh and allowing just two earned runs. Nicole May would lock things down in the seventh for her first save of the season.

The game wouldn’t see its first runs until the top of the third when Oklahoma struck for two to snag an early lead. Center fielder Jayda Coleman and designated player Jocelyn Alo would team up for back-to-back RBI knocks to provide the early offense. The Sooners would take a 2-0 lead into the fifth inning.

There, catcher Lynnsie Elam came through with a huge two-out, two-run single to push the lead out to 4-0 and provide some much-needed breathing room in the late innings. Those two runs would come in handy right away in the following half-inning as the Pokes got them right back off of Saile to have the score stand at 4-2 Oklahoma at the end of five frames.

In the sixth, right fielder Nicole Mendes connected on a solo home run to right field to tack on an insurance run and make the score 5-2. Grace Green, pinch-hitting, would tack on another in the seventh on an RBI double to make the score 6-2 heading to the bottom of the final inning, where things would get very interesting.

Oklahoma State was not about to go down quietly, and they put together a ferocious rally to make the Sooner faithful sweat it out. Saile started the inning, but was relieved in favor of Olivia Rains after allowing a home run to open the frame.

Rains would then run into struggles of her own, allowing the Cowgirls to load the bases with nobody out. In the biggest spot of the entire season, Oklahoma elected to turn to freshman pitcher Nicole May to try to record the final three outs and escape the jam.

May would proceed to do just that and record the next three outs in order, allowing just one run to score on a sacrifice fly, and preserve the 6-4 win and keep the Sooners hopes of another Big 12 crown alive. The freshman stepped up in a major way in an ultra-high pressure moment, picking up a massive strikeout to silence the Stillwater crowd and end the game.

The win moves Oklahoma to 41-2 on the season and 15-1 in conference play and sets up what is essentially an unofficial Big 12 championship game in the finale on Sunday. The first two games of the series have already provided lots of drama and emotion, and the final matchup should be the boiling point in all facets. It will be a sight to behold on Sunday.

The third and final game of the Bedlam series is set for 11;00 a.m. CT tomorrow back in Stillwater.

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