Superstars Drive Oklahoma Softball's Championship Mindset

The University of Oklahoma softball team is focused on repeating the same moment it experienced in the 2021 Women's College World Series, a national championship. A win in 2022 would be the sixth national title for head coach Patty Gasso and the Sooners.

News 9's Robin Marsh has your all-access pass to the Oklahoma Sooners softball team. Tuesday night's feature is a closer look at the Sooners' superstars, part of this Oklahoma's Own Originals special, "Chasing A Championship."

There is just one thing clearly in focus for the OU softball team.

"What's the goal? Win a national championship," said star pitcher Jordy Bahl.

"Obviously, win a national championship," said team captain Lynnsie Elam.

"You go to sleep dreaming about winning a national championship," said superstar Jayda Coleman.

"Be the last one standing in June," said softball's home run queen Jocelyn Alo.

These are the faces to help the Oklahoma Sooners achieve their goal of bringing a back-to-back national championship to Norman.

"One thing I love about our team is it's very diverse," Gasso said. "I've got a lot of different young ladies from different heritages, different parts of the country so that they are quite different. But they all get along very well."

This Oklahoma team has the best offense in the country. There are six hitters with double-digit home runs: Coleman, Alo, Elam, Tiare Jennings, Grace Lyons, and Alyssa Brito.

The bats of these Sooners have annihilated the competition. The team has broken several NCAA records, including best start to a season with 38 consecutive wins. Oklahoma also has the national player of the year in Jocelyn Alo, who was recently picked No. 1 in the Athletes Unlimited college draft.

Gasso recalls a time when she had to tell a young, struggling Alo - then a sophomore - to take a two-week break.

"Check yourself, what you're doing here and why you are doing it," she said of her conversation with Alo. "She hated it. She didn't want me to do that."

But after Alo's return...

"It was like she went off. She went crazy with it," Gasso said. "It's been quite an experience to follow her through and navigate through this senior year."

Alo gives a lot of the credit back to Coach Gasso.

"She definitely means a lot to me, and just the person that she is," Alo said. "She's helped me in a lot of tremendous ways, and I can't even begin to fathom the things she has done for me. It's crazy because it's through softball."

The heat from the plate has been generated by freshman phenom Jordy Bahl, just 19 years old.

"Yeah, I have never seen anything like it from a freshman," Gasso said.

Bahl reaches speeds in the upper 60s, touching the 70s, and in seven innings, Bahl could throw more than 100 pitches. She relies on that explosive drive from her legs -- and when she's pitching, she sees the tattoo she and her dad both share.

"I knew that I wanted to be No. 98 in college, and he was No. 98 in college so we both got the tattoo," Bahl said. "When I look down, I just think of him, and I want to represent our family well."

Bahl grew up in a competitive sports family, from a competitive sports state -- and she has another reminder on her arm about that.

"This one is the state of Nebraska because I always just remember I want to remember where I come from. I love Nebraska, and I love home and the support I feel from there," she said.

News 9's Robin Marsh joked, "Could we just make that into an Oklahoma, on that tattoo real quick?"

Days after Robin's interview, Bahl got some tough news. She had injured her pitching forearm during the regular season series against Oklahoma State in Norman.

"She was picking up a ground ball and then threw it and had incredible pain," Gasso said. "So she is out for now. We are relying on doctors and x-rays and her form. We are going to do everything we can to do what is best for Jordy."

Gasso said that while Bahl is day-to-day, the team is in good hands with pitchers Hope Trautwein and Nicole May. There is a motto Gasso has engrained into her players: "Pressure is a privilege." She said no setback will deter the championship mindset this team has embraced.

"In anything you do, if there's pressure involved, it's the thing that you're going to remember the most. Do you think they go home and remember these run rules?" Gasso said. "They don't. They remember the games at Texas. They remember those games that we came back in the 7th inning to win when we were down 3-1. So those are your greatest memories. So, when it's pressure packed, just take it in because it is going to last in your memory for a long time."