OSU Softball: Cowgirls Split First Day at Clearwater Invitational

The Cowgirls are in another stacked preseason event this weekend, and, like last weekend, they split their first two games.

Oklahoma State beat No. 16 Michigan 4-0 on Friday before falling to No. 21 LSU 10-2. The No. 7 Cowgirls enter a pair of games Saturday at 5-2 on the year, having already played four ranked opponents. Here are recaps of Friday’s games.

Oklahoma State 4, Michigan 0

Kelly Maxwell has been nearly untouchable in the start of her redshirt junior season.

Maxwell took a no-hitter into the seventh inning against the Wolverines. She might’ve given up a hit, but she was able to preserve her complete game shutout. In seven innings of work, she allowed the one hit while walking two and striking out 10.

In three outings this season, Maxwell has yet to allow a run, throwing 18 innings where she has given up only four hits and struck out 31. It’s ridiculous.

Meanwhile, the Cowgirls jumped on Michigan early. Chyenne Factor had a one-out single in the bottom of the first inning that scored Brianna Evans from third. Julia Cottrill, a transfer from Florida, hit her first home run as a Cowgirl later in the inning to center field. The two-run shot put the Cowgirls up 3-0.

Evans, a freshman from Red Oak Texas, scored again in the third when she singled, stole second, advanced to third on a Factor groundout and crossed the plate on a Hayley Busby single. Evans finished the game 2-for-2 with the two runs scored, two stolen bases and a walk drawn.

LSU 10, Oklahoma State 2

This was a tight game until it wasn’t.

LSU led 2-1 through three innings before the Tigers added a pair of runs in the fourth, four runs in the fifth and three in the sixth to end it.

Still trying to regain her national player of the year form from 2020, Miranda Elish started in the circle for OSU. She threw three 1/3 innings where she allowed three runs off three hits while walking four and striking out two.

Illinois State transfer Morgan Day came on with an out in the fourth inning. She got out of a one-out, bases-loaded jam in the fourth before running into some struggles in the fifth. In one and 2/3 innings, she allowed four runs off one hit. She walked two and didn’t have a strikeout. Freshman Tatum Clopton entered the circle in the sixth, where she gave up three runs off three hits.

The Cowgirls left nine runners on base to the four LSU did. They left them full in the third inning, left two on in the fourth inning and two on in the fifth inning. OSU actually had eight hits in LSU’s seven.

OSU at the St. Pete Clearwater Elite Invitational