Bahl Shines As No. 1 Sooners Shut Out LSU In Baton Rouge

No. 1 Oklahoma moved its record to 14-0 vs. ranked opponents in 2023 with a 3-0 win over No. 13/12 LSU Tuesday night in Baton Rouge. 

OU (37-1, 9-0 Big 12) improved its nation-best win streak to 29 with the midweek win and record vs. SEC foes in 2023 to 8-0. 

Sophomore right-handed pitcher Jordy Bahl (W, 12-1) was exceptional in a 13-strikeout, complete-game performance, sprinkling just three LSU (33-8, 6-6 SEC) hits in the contest.

Senior Kinzie Hansen and junior Alyssa Brito combined to score OU's three runs in the contest with Hansen lacing an RBI single and Brito hitting her ninth home run of the season in the second inning.

After a leadoff walk and fielder's choice to start the game, Bahl stranded the runner in the first and proceeded to retire 12 of the next 13 Tigers from the second through fifth innings.

In the bottom of the second, following an LSU error that put freshman Jocelyn Erickson aboard, Hansen ripped a single up the middle to plate Erickson and put OU on the board. Two batters later, on the seventh pitch of the at-bat, Brito hit a laser of a home run over the fence in right center to score two more and conclude the game's scoring. It was OU's 70th home run of the season and Brito's first blast since March 25 at Iowa State. 

A pitcher's duel ensued between Bahl and the LSU pitching staff, with the Tigers throwing four pitchers at the Sooner lineup on the night, a recent strategy against OU's explosive offense. 

LSU threatened in the sixth, putting two on base via single and catcher's interference. Bahl stranded the pair with a strikeout and lineout to Brito at third, quieting the fourth-largest crowd in Tiger Park history (3,073 attendance). 

OU's only two hits on the evening came in run-scoring fashion via Hansen's single and Brito's home run. It was just the second game of the season OU was outhit by an opponent as LSU registered three hits in the contest. 

Bahl finished with a line of 7.0 innings pitched, no runs on three hits and one walk to go with 13 strikeouts. Her strikeout total was good for a season best and her individual shutout was her team-leading fifth of the season and OU's nation-leading 23rd. 

The top-ranked Sooners continue their non-conference week with a three-game set at Miami University (OH) this weekend, April 15-16. OU meets Oakland, Louisville and host Miami in Oxford, Ohio, with games at 10 a.m. CT and 4 p.m. Saturday and a finale at 9 a.m. Sunday. All three matchups will be streamed via Miami's YouTube and can be heard via 107.7 The Franchise in Oklahoma or nationwide on The Varsity Network app.