OSU Softball: Cowgirls Overcome Rough Start to Beat Kentucky, Advance to Regional Final

PHOTOS

STILLWATER — Lexi Kilfoyl was perfect in her outing Friday night, but Saturday’s opening inning went about as poorly as possible. Still, the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year was able to settle in and push her team to Sunday’s NCAA Regional final.

Oklahoma State beat Kentucky 6-2 on Saturday afternoon in Cowgirl Stadium. Kilfoyl threw five perfect innings against Northern Colorado on Friday evening and returned to the circle Saturday just to allow the first five batters she faced to get on base.

Rylea Smith doubled off Kilfoyl’s first pitch before Erin Coffel reached on a fielding error. Speedster Vanessa Nesby then put down a beautiful bunt to load the bases. Grace Lorsung chopped a ball down the third-base line that Tallen Edwards couldn’t quite get a handle on, scoring the game’s first run before Ally Hutchins nearly busted the game open when she drove a ball to straightaway center that hit off the wall. It was nearly a grand slam, but ended up resulting in only one run as base runners were caught in limbo as to whether they would have to double back and tag up.

So it was 2-0 to the Wildcats with the bases loaded and no outs. But then Kilfoyl proved why she has earned all the accolades she has gotten this year. She struck out the next three batters she faced and finished the day having thrown a full seven innings giving up the two runs of five hits (four of which came in the first inning) while striking out 12. That’s the most strikeouts she has had in a game this season.

“We had to weather the storm there in the first inning,” OSU coach Kenny Gajewski said. “Lexi wasn’t exactly sharp to start. She missed some pitches over the middle, or just too fat. It allowed them have better contact, so it made some tough plays for us and some balls that found the base-hit range.

“Man, once we got out of that, I felt good. I was like, ‘OK, we got out of there with two runs, we’re OK.'”

As poorly as the start of the game went for the Cowgirls, they weren’t down all that long.

Jilyen Poullard started the bottom of the first with a home run that clanged off the batter’s eye in center, instantly cutting the Wildcats’ lead in half.

As far as chippin’ goes, that’s a pretty big chip.

Jil’s sixth dinger in her last 7⃣ games cuts the deficit in half 🤠

📺 ESPN

🔗 https://t.co/HaziiC4N4v#GoPokes | @jilyenpoullard https://t.co/EknDM8FFIi pic.twitter.com/pZNxnaKyxf

— OSU Cowgirl Softball (@cowgirlsb) May 18, 2024

It was her sixth home run in seven games, and she made it seven in seven in the sixth inning when she sent a ball out to left. Of her past nine hits, seven were home runs.

The griddy into home plate is just elite 🤌

📺 ESPN

🔗 https://t.co/HaziiC4N4v#GoPokes | @jilyenpoullard https://t.co/QYgKHbH9We pic.twitter.com/OKvWv7GOip

— OSU Cowgirl Softball (@cowgirlsb) May 18, 2024

Rosie Davis got to the plate later in the inning with two on and one out. Davis, a freshman from Readyville, Tennessee, started her at-bat down 0-2 before battling through nine more pitches to earn an eventual walk and load the bases. It was about as impressive of a walk as one can earn.

“Her at-bat was incredible,” Gajewksi said. “That’s the type of stuff that I think I’m most proud about. Her and Karli (Godwin), they’re the two youngest kids that are getting the most work, the most time, but that type of stuff, we see that out of them a lot, and it’s been really cool.”

A wild pitch saw Edwards slide into home safely ahead of Claire Timm ripping an RBI single to left to give OSU a 3-2 lead.

With Davis on third, Timm on first and one out, Micaela Wark popped a ball into foul territory near third base. Lorsung, Kentucky’s third baseman, and catcher Hallie Mitchell both went over to get under it with Lorsung making the catch, but because Mitchell was also over there, Davis made a heads-up play of tagging up at third and darting to the unmanned home plate. Timm also tried to advance but was tagged out at second to end the inning, but it came after Davis had scored.

So, Davis (again, only a freshman) had an uber impressive at-bat and a high-IQ play in the same inning. And that came after Davis went 3-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored in Friday’s game. Thus far in her first NCAA Regional, Davis is 4-for-5 with two RBIs and three runs scored.

Aside from the four the Cowgirls scored in the first and Poullard’s solo shot in the sixth, OSU’s other run came in the third when Timm brought home Davis, as the tandem hit back-to-back doubles to start the inning.

With the pair of wins, OSU advanced to Sunday and could play either Kentucky, Michigan or Northern Colorado. Michigan and Northern Colorado play Saturday before the winner plays Kentucky for a shot at OSU and a Super Regional berth. OSU’s next game is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday. Should the Cowgirls win, the Regional is over. Should the Cowgirls lose, they’d play that same team again with the winner advancing to Supers.

Postgame News Conference