Oklahoma State Softball Reaches Women’s College World Series With 9-0 Win Over Oregon
The Oklahoma State Cowgirls took down the Oregon Ducks in the Stillwater Super Regional with a 9-0 win on Friday night to clinch a spot in the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City.
Despite Lexi Kilfoyl’s big day in game one against the Ducks, head coach Kenny Gajewski chose to start Kelly Maxwell in the circle. Maxwell continued where Kilfoyl left off on Day One retiring 19-straight batters to start the game off, just two outs shy of a no-hitter. Maxwell went a full 7.0 IP with just two hits allowed, and eight strikeouts on the day. The duo of Lexi Kilfoyl and Kelly Maxwell retired 36 straight batters between games one and two, with Kilfoyl finishing off the last 17 batters she faced, and Kelly Maxwell not allowing a baserunner until the seventh inning.
Oklahoma State started the scoring off with a first-inning RBI single from Kylie Naomi, which brought infielder Rachel Becker across the plate for the first score of the game. Stevie Hansen went 4.1 innings for the Ducks and kept Oklahoma State from adding to their run total until an obstruction call on catcher Terra McGowan in the fifth inning gave the Cowgirls a 2-0 lead.
The fifth inning continued to be a tough one for the Ducks as Oklahoma State took control of the game and never gave it back. After the Ducks pulled sophomore Stevie Hansen for senior Morgan Scott, Tallen Edwards got on base with a single and after some key pinch-hitting from freshman outfielder Katie Lott, Rachel Becker smacked a single to right field and drove in two runs to put the Cowgirls up 4-0.
Kylie Naomi continued the bleeding in the fifth inning after sending a three-run bomb over the outfield wall to put OSU up 7-0 before the end of the fifth inning. Oklahoma State had an opportunity to close out the game in run-rule fashion in the sixth inning, but senior pitcher Morgan Scott battled out of the inning to keep the game going.
Oklahoma State added two insurance runs in the sixth inning to increase the lead to 9-0 with three-straight doubles from Kylie Naomi, Katelynn Carwile, and Morgyn Wynne.
The Cowgirls officially became the first team to clinch their spot in the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City on Friday, marking their fourth-straight trip to the WCWS. The Cowgirls now have six days off before they take the field against one of the top eight teams in the nation.
