Regional Breakdown: Oklahoma State Takes Experience, Pitching Advantage to Fayetteville

This weekend, the Cowgirls will face off against some of the most consistent and powerful lineups in the nation.

Oklahoma State’s first opponent, Indiana, ranks first nationally with a batting average of .368. The Hoosiers (33-18, 10-12 Big Ten) also rank first with an on-base percentage of .457 and sixth with a slugging percentage of .613.

Taylor Minnick is the biggest threat in the Hoosiers’ lineup. Her batting average (.470) ranks fifth nationally, and her slugging percentage (.973) sits sixth. So, it’s not a surprise she gets on base (.579) at the seventh-highest rate nationally.

Yet, Minnick isn’t even the best batter competing in the Fayetteville Regional this weekend. Keep reading for other names to know and places Oklahoma State has the edge this weekend as the Cowgirls pursue the program’s sixth consecutive Women’s College World Series appearance.

Under Pressure

The season hasn’t gone the way fans expected, but Oklahoma State is the only team competing in Fayetteville this weekend that knows what it feels like to play in the Women’s College World Series.

You might think attempting to keep the streak alive on the road would put all the pressure on the Cowgirls this weekend, but that wasn’t how Oklahoma State coach Kenny Gajewski saw things on Sunday night.

“I look at it as they’re the ones, like Arkansas has got the pressure in this regional, right,” Gajewski said. “They’re supposed to win this.”

There could be some truth to that. Arkansas has watched its season end at home during each of the last four years.

In the 2024 regional, Arkansas finished third despite hosting. In 2023, the Razorbacks finished second in the Fayetteville Regional.

Arkansas made it out of the regional round during 2022 and 2021, only to drop a Super Regional matchup at home both times. Then, Arkansas was the first team eliminated when the Razorbacks visited Stillwater during the regional round in 2019.

Saint Louis, the fourth seed this weekend, is making its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. Indiana qualified for regionals during the last two seasons but finished second in 2023 and fourth last season.

History could help Oklahoma State win another regional this weekend, though Oklahoma State’s batted .300 or better only twice in the last 10 games and failed to hit even .200 five times. Among the latter games, OSU actually went 3-2 when struggling at the plate, thanks largely to dominant pitching performances.

Ace Ruby Meylan has what it takes to power OSU through the weekend, but she will likely need more help than normal against this group of batters.

Opposing Names to Know

Bri Ellis (Arkansas) needs no introduction.

Nationally she ranks:

• First in on-base percentage (.649)
• First in slugging percentage (1.189)
• Second in home runs (26)
• Fourth in batting average (.475)

Her teammate, Courtney Day, ranks 39th with a slugging percentage of .800, powered largely by 16 home runs. For perspective, Saint Louis junior Abby Mallo is tied for 19th nationally with 19 home runs. Meanwhile, Cowgirls catcher Amanda Hasler leads OSU with 15 home runs, but no other OSU player has more than eight.

Tia Warsop leads Oklahoma State with a batting average of .358. That is worse than two Saint Louis players, three Razorbacks and five Hoosiers.

Madalyn Strader’s .425 batting average ranks second on Indiana and 47th nationally. Meanwhile, Avery Parker and Kinsey Mitchell hit .401 and .400. That gives Indiana four .400 hitters. There are only 109 such players in the country.

Arkansas pitcher Robyn Herron would easily the best the arm OSU faces this weekend. She strikes out 8.2 batters per seven innings and holds opponents to 4.84 hits on average. Those marks rank 35th and 21st nationally, respectively, though her 2.50 ERA ranks 104th.

Meylan’s ERA of 1.61 ranks 12th. She also strikes out 8.2 batters per seven innings on average, putting her one spot above Herron, and she allows only 4.68 hits on average, ranking her 13th nationally.

Fellow Cowgirl RyLee Crandall dramatically lowered her ERA to 3.98 after a rough start this season. That puts her ahead of every Indiana starter.

Arkansas’ No. 2 option, Payton Burnham, enters the weekend with a 2.80 ERA. Saint Louis relies heavily on two arms. Taylor Hochman has a 2.38 ERA while holding batters to .247 this season. Isabel Royle has a 3.70 ERA while holding batters to .278. They combine for just over 200 strikeouts this season across 324 innings.

How the Cowgirls Stack Up

(Team stats not included below if ranked outside top 100).

ERA
OSU- 32nd (2.76)
ARK- 54th (3.00)
STL- 62nd (3.12)

Strikeouts per seven innings
OSU- 16th (6.98)
ARK- 20th (6.91)
IND- 78th (5.23)

On-base percentage
IND- 1st (.457)
ARK- 6th (.441)
OSU- 59th (.391)
STL- 86th (.383)

Batting average
IND- 1st (.368)
ARK- 31st (.323)
OSU- 94th (.297)

Slugging percentage
IND- 6th (.613)
ARK- 19th (.551)
OSU- 69th (.474)