Sooners Take Game 1 At Baylor, Avenge Only Loss

No. 1 Oklahoma avenged its only loss of 2023 with a 7-0 shutout win over No. 16/19 Baylor Friday night in Waco. 

OU sophomore right-handed pitcher Jordy Bahl was exceptional, striking out 10 and surrendering just three hits in 5.2 scoreless innings before junior Nicole May finished the shutout with one strikeout and one hit allowed in 1.1 innings. 

At the plate, sophomore Cydney Sanders continued her hot streak at the plate with a solo home run in the second to get the scoring started, finishing 2-for-2 at the plate with a pair of walks. Sanders, senior Grace Lyons and junior Alyssa Brito all registered two-hit games on the night.

Following Sanders third home run of the season and second in the last three games in the second inning, OU (40-1, 10-0 Big 12) plated runs in each the third, fourth and fifth innings. Lyons laced an RBI single up the middle in the top of the third prior to OU plating three runs on three hits and a pair of Baylor errors in the fourth. 

On a sacrifice fly to left field by Jayda Coleman that was dropped by Baylor's left fielder, Sanders raced home to plate another OU run in the fourth. The next at-bat, an error by the shortstop on a hard-hit ball from Tiare Jennings let Rylie Boone come home before an RBI double from Brito concluded the frame's scoring. 

OU plated another pair in the fifth via an RBI double from sophomore Sophia Nugent and run-scoring single from Coleman. 

Bahl dealt in the circle, allowing no extra-base hits to Baylor (34-11, 4-6 Big 12) on the night and collecting her third double-digit strikeout performance in her last three starts. 

Eight Sooners registered a hit in the contest with six bringing in at least one run, paced by Coleman's pair of RBIs.

Oklahoma improved to 40-1 on the season and an undefeated 10-0 in Big 12 play while winning their 32nd consecutive game. 

Due to anticipated weather in the Waco area on Sunday, the second and third games of the series has shifted to a Saturday doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m. CT. Game three will be played approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of game two. 

Both games can be seen via ESPN+ and heard on 1560 The Franchise 2 in Oklahoma and nationwide on The Varsity Network app.