Elish Throws No-Hitter, Cowgirls Go 2-0 in First Day of Mizuno Classic

STILLWATER — The 2020 National Player of the Year is getting her mojo back.

Oklahoma State went 2-0 on the first day of the Mizuno Classic at Cowgirl Stadium, beating Wichita State 8-0 in five innings before toppling UMKC 9-0 in five innings, as well.

Elish No-Nos Shockers

Miranda Elish, a transfer pitcher who spent time at Oregon and Texas, was in the circle for the Cowgirls in the first game, where she threw her second no-hitter in the past 10 days. Against Wichita State, Elish threw all five innings where she struck out three and walked two while shutting out the Shockers.

Against Minnesota on March 9, Elish had a no-hitter where she struck out eight and walked one. In her past 19 innings, she has struck out 25 batters and given up a single run.

“I think she’s really starting to feel herself and understand what she is now, and it’s elite,” OSU coach Kenny Gajewski said. “It just takes time to get that stuff back. I kept telling her this, ‘You’re not owed that. You have to take it back.’ And she’s done that. She’s an incredible worker, has a blast out here, is a great teammate, fit into our program from Day 1. So, it’s just really cool to see kids come in here and just want to be a part of this and just buy in. She’s elite, so she’s starting to repeat that a lot.”

This comes after Elish took a year away from the game in 2021. Readjusting to competitive softball, she had an up-and-down start of the the season, starting the season 3-4. With Friday’s win, she has won her past three decisions and is 6-4 on the year.

“It feels awesome, especially because I felt me not doing well, I was letting my teammates down,” Elish said. “I wanted them to know that I want to come here and I want to preform as best as I can because it helps the team too. They were doing what they could for me, and now I’m just giving back to them a little bit.”

Cowgirls Put Four over the Fence against Kangaroos

The second game of the Cowgirls’ day saw OSU go yard four times against UMKC.

Julia Cottrill hit a pair of home runs against the Kangaroos, one to right and one to left. She hit three home runs on the day, blasting another out against Wichita State in Game 1.

Chyenne Factor and Hayley Busby provided the other two round-trippers.

OSU has hit 31 home runs on the season. Cottrill leads the Cowgirls’ home race with eight, but Factor isn’t too far behind with seven.

“A couple of those were crushed into this wind,” Gajewski said. “It’s good to see Julia going. She’s starting to figure some things out. She’s still got a ways to go. Not there yet, but really starting to figure some things out. We’re starting to hit some balls hard, so it’s good to see.”

Kenny Gajewski Recaps Day 1 of the Mizuno Classic

OSU at the Mizuno Classic