Stillwater Regional Preview: Cowgirls Draw 13 Seed, Host Stanford, Princeton and Eastern Illinois

There will be NCAA Softball in Stillwater this weekend.

Oklahoma State was named the 13 seed in the NCAA Softball Tournament on Sunday evening. Eastern Illinois, Princeton and Stanford will join OSU in Stillwater this weekend, with the Cowgirls opening against Eastern Illinois.

The winner of the Stillwater Regional will be matched up with the winner of the Nebraska Regional in a Super. OSU and Nebraska played twice this season, splitting the games.

Stanford is the Stillwater Regional’s 2 seed. OSU and Stanford played twice at the beginning of this season, with Stanford beating OSU 4-2 and 10-0. So, needless to say, the Cowgirls will have to be on their A game, but it’s also fair to say the Cowgirls are playing their best softball right now.

Action starts Friday. Here’s a look a quick breakdown of the Stillwater Regional.

Oklahoma State

Record: 38-15
Conference (Big 12) Finish: 2
Team Batting Average: .313
Team ERA: 3.30

The Cowgirls played some of their best softball late in the year, picking up wins against Oklahoma, Texas and Arizona (x2) since April 15. They fell in the semifinal of the Big 12 tournament to an Arizona State team that got hot and won the whole thing.

This season, the Cowgirls have wins against NCAA Regional hosts UCLA, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Georgia, Texas A&M and Texas. So, they should have confidence going in.

Ruby Meylan is where this team starts. The Cowgirls’ All-American pitcher has a 2.11 ERA this season on 222 innings pitched.

Claire Timm, Rosie Davis and Amanda Hasler all have at least 30 RBIs this season while Tia Warsop, Audrey Schneidmiller, Karli Godwin and Aubrey Jones all have at least 20.

Stanford

Record: 37-13
Conference (ACC) Finish: 4
Team Batting Average: .326
Team ERA: 3.63

The Cardinal fell in the semifinal of the ACC Tournament, essentially matching their 4 seed at the event. Stanford finished the season en fuego, entering its conference tournament on a 14-game winning streak.

Senior outfielder Emily Jones leads the team with  a .404 batting averaged and 59 hits. Taryn Kern leads Stanford with 44 RBIs, 66 runs scores and 18 home runs.

Zoe Prystajko is the Cardinal’s ace. She’s 20-5 this season with a 2.50 ERA and 198 strikeouts. Alyssa Houston has thrown 58 1/3 innings and has a 2.88 ERA while Anna Brewer has tossed 73 2/3 innings with a 4.56 ERA.

Princeton

Record: 33-13
Conference (Ivy) Finish: 1
Team Batting Average: .353
Team ERA: 3.10

The Tigers dominated the Ivy, going 18-3 in conference games before going on to win the league’s tournament. In terms of games against high-major competition, Princeton lost to North Carolina 5-2 on Feb. 21. The Tigers fell to Grand Canyon, another team in the NCAA field, 7-4 in March.

Graciela Dominguez leads the Tigers with a .435 batting average and 67 hits. They’re a pretty deep team, with 11 players hitting better than .300 this season.

Cassidy Shaw is the team’s ace with a 2.57 ERA, with Reece Uehara (2.92) and Brielle Wright (3.36) providing relief.

Eastern Illinois

Record: 36-21
Conference (Ohio Valley) Finish: 1
Team Batting Average: .298
Team ERA: 4.09

The Panthers cruised through the Ohio Valley, going 23-3 in the league during the regular season before winning the conference tournament. EIU played Arizona and Arizona State in February, losing 8-0 and 9-5, respectively.

Lizzie Stiverson is hitting a team-best .376 with 42 runs scored and 29 RBIs. Sophia Olman has driven in 42 runs and has nine homers.

Three Panther pitchers have thrown north of 100 innings this season. Bryanna French has thrown 114 1/3 with a 3.55 ERA. Rylan Gick has thrown 117 1/3 innings with a 3.94 ERA and Karlie McKenzie has thrown 109 1/3 with a 4.16 ERA.