NORMAN — Usually an exclamation mark comes at the end of a sentence, one that deserves the flashy punctuation mark because of what precedes it. It’s used mostly to cap off a sequence that needs the vertical line and dot to emphasize its importance.
But in the sixth inning of Saturday afternoon’s Bedlam game, where Oklahoma State trailed Oklahoma 2-1, it was Cowgirl right fielder Claire Timm who was the exclamation mark — only this time, at the beginning of a sequence — which didn’t include words but five runs in the top half of the sixth, thrusting OSU toward a 6-2 Bedlam victory and the program’s first Bedlam series victory since 1997.
“I thought Claire’s (home run) was really the exclamation point,” OSU coach Kenny Gajewski said. “It just kind of shut this crowd down. It was hit so far and high.”
Timm’s homer, which began the three-home run, momentum-flipping inning, gave a breath of life to the Cowgirls, whose offense for the majority of the five innings before failed to bring runners home and build a lead against the Sooners, who, too, were having offensive struggles.
Both teams' offensive struggles began in the circle, as Ivy Rosenberry for OSU and Nicole May for OU held their own — Rosenberry threw 4 innings and 82 pitches, only allowing three hits and one run; May threw 5 innings and 100 pitches, allowing eight hits and three runs (which primarily came from the beginning of the Cowgirls’ dominant sixth inning).
Gajewski called Rosenberry the story of the game, as though his No. 2 pitcher has been battling injuries, she held the Sooners scoreless until the fourth, where a Kasidi Pickering single put the first run on the board.
But the Cowgirl offense came alive in the top of the fifth when Caroline Wang evened it 1-1 off a solo home run. Wang was 1-6 in the series before stepping to the plate and hit her 17th home run to tie things up, but that didn’t matter. The Liberty transfer, who’s in her first season at OSU, is just thankful for the opportunity.
“I've been so overwhelmed and just how blessed I feel,” Wang said. “What an opportunity. God is too good to me. What an opportunity to be here to play on this stage, win or lose, whether or not I do hit a home run.”
After OU added to its lead with a bases loaded walk in the bottom half of the fifth, the Cowgirls were looking for a solid offensive period. Or an exclamation mark at that.
Timm’s first-pitch home run started the rally, which was quickly followed by a Micaela Wark solo shot, giving the Cowgirls a 3-2 lead. With no outs, Lexi McDonald and Megan Bloodworth were on first and second when Jilyen Poullard stepped up to the plate. On a 2-2 count, Poullard hit it deep to left, but Gajewski wasn’t sure how deep.
“I didn’t know it was going out,” Gajewski said. “I was telling our girl at third (pinch runner Tia Warsop) to tag, and the ball just kept drifting and going.”
But she didn’t need to tag, as Poullard’s hit cleared the wall, and the celebration ensued. All the momentum had shifted, and the Love’s Field crowd of 4,534 seemed silent, other than the handful of fans in orange and black.
After the offensive outburst in the sixth, neither team brought a runner home, and the Cowgirls’ offensive firepower was shown in a series-clinching, landmark victory on the road against a national powerhouse and the team that Gajewski has been “kicking shins” of for his nine-year tenure.
But the job’s not finished, as Gajewski and Co. have their minds set on bringing out the broomsticks on Sunday. That’s what he believes can turn the rivalry’s tide even further.
“I don't think we can get too caught up in a lot of that stuff. I've been thinking the gap’s been shrinking, but until you come here and beat them, you can't really do much,” Gajewski said. You just got to just lick your wounds and go on. The idea now is to come win tomorrow. That's how you really kind of turned the tide.”