Bedlam Softball: Cowgirls Come Up Short Against Oklahoma, Fall 4-2

STILLWATER — The Cowgirls were three outs away from handing Oklahoma its first shutout loss since 2019 and ending the Sooners’ 39-game winning streak. But OU proved its bonafides atop the college softball world with a clutch seventh inning.

Oklahoma State fell to Oklahoma 4-2 on Saturday at Cowgirl Stadium in a game the Cowgirls led 2-0 entering the seventh inning. The inning started with Jocelyn Erickson doubling down the right-field line. OSU first baseman Micaela Wark was in position to make the play before it skipped off the bag and into the right-field corner. Maybe it was squinky. Maybe it was what the OU section of fans started cheering: “Sooner Magic.”

Avery Hodge singled in the next at-bat to score Erickson, which brought an end to freshman pitcher Kyra Aycock’s phenomenal outing. In her first Bedlam, Aycock held OU scoreless through six innings even after starting the first inning by loading the bases with no outs.

That brought in OSU ace Kelly Maxwell who struggled, giving up a pair of runs (and Aycock’s last batter), leading to the 4-2 defeat.

“I made the change with Kyra after they got the two balls hit hard again,” OSU coach Kenny Gajewski said. “They had the two balls hit hard in the sixth, and I felt like the swings were changing some. Made that move. Backfired on us, obviously.

“… I look like a dumbass now. I should have just left her in to see what happened. But we’re gonna do what we think is best. We know our team well. It backfired on us here. I thought Kyra was really good. For a freshman being in this spot — national TV, huge crowd, playing the No. 1 team — I thought she handled that stuff well.”

OSU’s runs came in the second and sixth innings with both coming off Taylor Tuck’s bat.

When Tuck got up in the sixth, a pinch-running Haidyn Sokoloski was on third as Tuck looped a ball into shallow center.

A Stillwater native, Tuck finished 3-for-3 at the dish with the two RBIs.

Despite not scoring or driving in any runs, it was also a stellar day for Purdue transfer Rachel Becker. She was 3-for-4 at the plate and made a few web gems at second base.

It marks nine losses for the Cowgirls in their past 11 games. If you believe in moral victories, this was one, though. Not many teams this season have taken OU into those types of waters.

OSU and OU play Game 3 of their series starting at 2 p.m. Sunday.

“Besides the losing, we looked like the team that I know we can be,” Gajewski said. “We just gotta figure out a way to bounce back here tomorrow and go.”

Kenny Gajewski’s Postgame News Conference