OSU Softball: Cowgirls Beat Kansas Twice to Get Kenny Gajewski 100th Conference Win

Oklahoma State softball coach Kenny Gajewski got both Big 12 wins Nos. 99 and 100 on Friday night at Cowgirl Stadium.

With inclement weather in the forecast for Saturday forcing a doubleheader Friday, the Cowgirls started their series against Kansas with two comeback wins in one evening. OSU won the first game 5-2 before beating the Jayhawks 6-5 to get Gajewski to the century mark in conference victories as a head coach. The pair of dubs also extended the Cowgirls’ winning streak to seven after sweeping Texas Tech last weekend.

The first victory came the easiest as Lexi Kilfoyl gave up only one earned run while pitching a complete game and striking out seven. KU scored an unearned run in the first before Kilfoyl allowed her only earned run the next inning. The Cowgirls responded with three runs in the bottom of the second, though, to take a lead they wouldn’t lose. All of OSU’s third-inning runs came from Lexi McDonald’s double down the right-field line with bases loaded.

The Cowgirls only scored again in the fifth. Micaela Wark singled in Karli Godwin first before McDonald tallied another RBI with a single that brought in Claire Timm. McDonald finished Game 1 2-for-3 with four RBIs.

OSU had to mount a more monumental comeback in Game 2 after KU shut down the Cowgirls before scoring five in the third to take a 5-0 lead. OSU didn’t plate a run until the fourth, where the Cowgirls scored three to spark the turnaround. Rosie Davis put OSU on the board with a single that scored Jilyen Poullard. Timm’s double down the left-field line then brought in Davis and Caroline Wang.

An inning later, the Cowgirls completed the comeback and took the lead after another three-run inning in the fifth. It took just one swing of the bat, though, as Godwin doubled with bases loaded to plate a trio of Cowgirls.

Kyra Aycock got the win in the circle after entering in that third inning where the Jayhawks scored five runs. Ivy Rosenberry gave up three runs but only one earned before Aycock came in with runners on first and second. Aycock then allowed a pair of runs in the inning before shutting down KU the rest of the way while striking out four.

Riding that seven-game winning streak, the Cowgirls could notch back-to-back Big 12 sweeps with a victory at 1 p.m. Sunday in Cowgirl Stadium.