Oklahoma State Advances to Super Regionals With 5-2 Win Over Nebraska
The Oklahoma State Cowgirls had to find a way to win in come-from-behind fashion on Sunday as OSU rallied with four runs in the 7th inning to take down the Nebraska Cornhuskers 5-2, advancing to the Stillwater Super Regional.
Oklahoma State is fresh off of back-to-back blowout wins in the first two matchups of the Stillwater Regional after taking down the UMBC Retrievers 9-0 in a game that lasted five innings, and the Wichita State Shockers in a 6-0 matchup on Saturday. The Cowgirls entered regionals having lost 11 of their last 13 games, and with clouds of uncertainty surrounding the program, the Cowgirls silenced doubters and advanced to the Super Regionals.
Oklahoma State flew extremely close to the sun against Nebraska as it took a late rally in the seventh inning for the Cowgirls to seal the deal. Kelly Maxwell started for Oklahoma State and pitched well despite leaving a few opportunities for the Cornhuskers to capitalize on.
After the first four innings went off relatively without a hitch for Maxwell and the Cowgirls, the Big 12’s strikeout leader gave up two early hits to start the fifth inning and was pulled, giving the game to Lexi Kilfoyl. The switch from Maxwell to Kilfoyl was a brutal one for OSU as Kilfoyl tied her season total of wild pitches with her next two attempts. Both pitches snuck past catcher Taylor Tuck and allowed for Nebraska’s baserunners to score, and take the lead.
With three outs left for OSU to find their way back in the game, the Cowgirls found a prayer in the shape of Tallen Edwards. The 17-year-old freshman handled her at bat like a professional and reached base on a walk that represented the tying run. After a combination of walks and hits resulted in a bases-loaded opportunity for OSU, Rachel Becker drove in two runs with a single and gave the Cowgirls the juice they needed to advance to the Super Regionals.
With the win, OSU improves to 44-14 and earned their third win in a row, which may not sound like much for a top-10 team in the country. However, for a team that’s lost 11 of their last 13 games in the season’s final two weeks, the bounce-back comes at the perfect time.
This is Oklahoma State’s 4th consecutive straight trip to a Super Regional dating back to 2019 (2020 was canceled due to COVID). The Cowgirls are set to play Oregon in the Super Regionals in Stillwater, which gets underway on either Thursday or Friday.
