OSU Softball: Cowgirls Struggle Offensively, Fall to Florida in WCWS Opener

PHOTOS

OKLAHOMA CITY — The Cowgirls held the Gators to just a pair of hits, but that wasn’t enough to get a win.

Oklahoma State fell to Florida 1-0 in the opening round of the Women’s College World Series on Thursday night at Devon Park. The Cowgirls mustered the two hits off Florida freshman Keagan Rothrock, who recorded just three strikeouts, but her rise ball accounted for 13 OSU flyouts.

Florida got its lead in the fifth when Katie Kistler launched a solo home run to right field. It was just her fifth home run of the season, but you wouldn’t be able to tell with how quick the ball got out of the park.

That ball is GONE 🚀#WCWS x 🎥 ESPN2 / @GatorsSB pic.twitter.com/HzkgckK0kK

— NCAA Softball (@NCAASoftball) May 31, 2024

“I really think it was a good softball game,” OSU coach Kenny Gajewski said. “We just came up on the wrong end. They had the one big blow. It felt like a dogfight right from the start. Both pitchers were extremely sharp, and we just couldn’t adjust to the balls in very well.”

OSU’s hits came in the second and sixth innings. Sophomore Lexi McDonald got the game’s first hit, sending the ball back of the middle with two outs, but Rothrock promptly put an end to any momentum by striking out Megan Bloodworth.

McDonald nearly had an another big hit in the fifth inning when she drove a ball to center, but Gator centerfielder Kendra Falby made a fantastic jumping catch while colliding with the wall. The ball wasn’t going out, but had it just hit the wall, it likely would’ve been a double. Had Falby not been able to make the grab and still collided into the wall, it might’ve been a triple.

TAKEN AWAY 😱#WCWS x 🎥 ESPN2 / @GatorsSB pic.twitter.com/Xjk3nf3Hws

— NCAA Softball (@NCAASoftball) May 31, 2024

OSU catcher Caroline Wang boosted her hit streak to nine games when she got a ball through the left side in the sixth inning. Wang’s hit came with two outs, though, and Karli Godwin grounded out in the next at-bat to end the frame.

It was a poor offensive showing from the Cowgirls on Thursday night, but give plenty of credit to Rothrock. When these teams played in February, Rothrock threw six innings and gave up just two hits to the Cowgirls. One of those just happened to be a three-run home run from Godwin. Sometimes good pitchers just lose games.

Speaking of, Lexi Kilfoyl fell to 26-4 on the season with Thursday’s loss. She did just about all she could, though. Kilfoyl also gave up just two hits while striking out five and walking three.

She made up for most of the mistakes she made. When she issued a second-inning walk, she started a 1-6-3 double play to get out of the frame.

There was nothing artificial about @lexikilfoyl‘s intelligence on that one 😮‍💨

Through two full here at Devon Park, we’re knotted at zeroes.

📺 ESPN2#GoPokes | #REP pic.twitter.com/7V1Ixw7PsG

— OSU Cowgirl Softball (@cowgirlsb) May 31, 2024

Kilfoyl issued a two-out walk in the fourth before Tallen Edwards couldn’t handle a skipping ball at third, putting a second runner on. But Kilfoyl then stamped out the Gator momentum with a strikeout to get out of that inning.

“I just feel really poorly for Lexi,” Gajewski said. “She was dominant, and that’s a really good offense. I mean, that’s one of the best offenses in the country. We faced that last week with Arizona, as well. We were able to score runs.”

The Cowgirls could go from one pitchers’ duel to another. OSU will play Stanford with both teams’ seasons on the line at 8:30 p.m. Friday at Devon Park. Stanford ace NiJaree Canady won the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award that Kilfoyl was also a finalist for. In 210 2/3 innings this season, Canady has a 0.76 ERA and 315 strikeouts — ridiculous.

Like Kilfoyl, Canady threw six innings Thursday, as Stanford fell to Texas 4-0, but despite both pitching Thursday, Gajewski said he expects both to go again Friday because it’s do or die.

“I heard her tell [OSU pitching coach] Carrie (Eberle) the other day she only needed to pitch 35 innings to get us the trophy, and Carrie asked her, ‘Can you do it?’ She goes, ‘I got it,'” said Gajewski of Kilfoyl. “I don’t think she’s gonna shy away from the workload. We’ve taken care of her. I think she wants to put the team on her back and go. …

“When you’re in this moment and this setting, you just gotta go. If she doesn’t look good [in preparation for Friday’s game], we’ve got some good options, so I’m not worried about that. We gotta ride our horse.”