Watch: OU’s Tiare Jennings talks to the media about the NCAA softball tournament
Watch: OU’s Tiare Jennings talks to the media about the NCAA softball tournament
OU Athletics, Oklahoman
NORMAN, Okla. — Warming up in the outfield before Friday’s Norman Super Regional opener, an Oklahoma fan had a message for Sooners’ slugger Haley Lee.
“I’ll be waiting for it,” the fan yelled in Lee’s direction.
Lee made the fan’s day, blasting a grand slam in the fifth as the Sooners beat Clemson 9-2 at Marita Hynes Field to tie the NCAA record for longest winning streak at 47 and moving the Sooners a win-away from their seventh consecutive Women’s College World Series appearance.
The victory tied the Sooners with 1996-97 Arizona for the longest winning streak in NCAA history.
Oklahoma (55-1) will get its first crack at securing a spot in Oklahoma City when it takes on the Tigers at noon Saturday in the second game of the best-of-three series.
The atmosphere in the stadium quickly turned from tension to jubilance in the fifth, as the Sooners struck back after the Tigers cut OU’s lead to 4-2 in the top half of the inning.
It started with Rylie Boone’s perfectly placed bunt single down the first-base line to lead off the inning.
“That wasn’t my decision,” Sooners coach Patty Gasso said. “But I’m all for that decision. It really sparked everything. It just kind of created that momentum. They were not expecting it and it was laid down perfectly.”
Boone’s decision to lay down the bunt quickly snowballed as Jayda Coleman drove the second pitch she saw into center for a single, followed by Tiare Jennings taking the first pitch she saw deep into the hole between third and shortstop for an infield single to load the bases.
The momentum was quickly shifting OU’s way.
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“You can hear it. You can feel it,” Lee said. “Everybody’s excited.”
Then Lee sent them into a frenzy.
Clemson star Valerie Cagle missed on three consecutive pitches, leaving Lee sitting on a fastball.
Cagle found the zone with her fourth pitch, but it wasn’t what Lee wanted.
“I know I’m looking for my pitch,” Lee said. “It has to be the golden egg.”
Then Cagle gave Lee exactly what the senior transfer from Texas A&M had been looking for.
Cagle laid in the fastball just below Lee’s waist and Lee jumped on it, driving it over the wall in center and leaving Tigers centerfielder McKenzie Clark hanging her head at the wall.
As soon as Lee made contact, Coleman shot her hands straight into the air in celebration, before giving a couple hops as it cleared the wall.
As Lee rounded second, she pointed toward the outfield bleachers, in acknowledgment of the fan who’d encouraged her before the game.
During her time in College Station, the Aggies had been bounced in the regionals in each of her seasons.
Now with the Sooners, Lee is one win away from making her first WCWS trip.
“I know the 8-year-old in me is just living her best dream,” Lee said. “And I am too. I’m very proud of how far I’ve come and how far this team’s come. It’s not easy.”
After her 1 for 2 performance with five RBIs Friday, Lee is 7 for 12 in the NCAA postseason with seven RBIs and seven runs.
Lee is now 7 for 12 in the NCAA postseason with seven RBIs and seven runs.
The Sooners led three batters into the game and kept the lead for the duration, but were far from their best.
Cagle kept them off-balance, and came up big at the plate with three hits.
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Going into the bottom of the fifth, the Tigers were outhitting OU 8-3.
The Sooners’ best-in-the-nation defense also looked shaky for much of the game.
Still, OU turned on the jets late and came within another run of a run-rule victory.
“I just think it is really fun when we come together as a team and we’re like, ‘All right, let’s rally,’” Sooners pitcher Jordy Bahl said. “It’s almost like there’s a flipped switch and it just happens that fast. And you can feel when something’s going to happen.”
Boone flipped the switch, then Lee set the room on fire.
“I think I took like 12 chest bumps right off the bat,” Lee said of the experience once she got back to the dugout. “It was exciting. Everybody was just chanting, cheering. It was a great feeling.”
Longest NCAA softball winning streaks
47: Oklahoma, 2023*
47: Arizona, 1996-97
41: Oklahoma, 2019
40: Oklahoma, 2021-22
40: Oklahoma, 2020-21
38: South Carolina, 1997
37: Florida, 2008
37: Princeton, 1996
35: Oregon, 2017
35: UCLA, 1999
35: Canisius, 1993
