Tia Warsop’s Heroic Performance Powers Cowgirls to Bedlam Upset

OKLAHOMA CITY — Of all the bats to break through against the Sooners, junior Tia Warsop might have been the least likely.

Entering Bedlam, she had the lowest slugging percentage of any starter (.400). Despite having the second-best batting average in the lineup, Warsop’s slugging numbers were pulled down because she hardly ever hits for power. She had hit only one home run and four doubles all season before Wednesday night, but Oklahoma State coach Kenny Gajewski gave her the signal to put more power in her swing instead of slapping the ball.

The junior justified the call when she landed at second base.

“I feel pretty good because I did give her ‘hit’ in the first at-bat,” Gajewski said. “So I’ll take the credit there. … But this kid is, like, uber-talented. She has real power, like this fall, hit multiple home runs. Wore our pitching staff out driving balls. There is power there. It just gets a little quick and wants to not finish swings at times.”

That power hasn’t translated into the season often throughout her career, but it did during Wednesday night’s 6-4 Bedlam victory when she doubled in her first two at-bats and finished with two RBIs and one run scored.

All of it added up to power the Cowgirls to their first win over a No. 1 team since May 14, 2022 for another victory over the Sooners.

In fact, in Warsop’s 272 career at-bats prior to Bedlam only 12 resulted in extra-base hits. Four of her teammates have more than that this season alone.

“‘That was an awesome at-bat,’” Gajewski said, recalling what he told Warsop when he walked out to second base after Warsop’s first hit. “Not just because you got a hit, not just because you doubled and we scored a run, but because you showed quick bunt, you slapped, you foul balls off. You got deep in a count, and then you stood in and hit and drove a ball. Not just hit a ball, you drove a ball and that’s the type of player that Tia can be.”

Inside the circle, ace pitcher Ruby Meylan went the distance striking out nine of 31 batters faced while limiting the Sooners to only seven hits and two earned runs.

While it’s impossible to separate Wednesday night’s win from Warsop’s efforts at the plate, senior Lexi McDonald continued her comeback tour in OKC. After seeing a reduced role in 2025 and the first half of this season, McDonald finished Wednesday night with two hits, one RBI and a walk.

“For sure it means (extra),” McDonald said, discussing the Bedlam win. “It means a lot. … Being able to compete, especially being my last year, like, I had tears coming on the bus, like, my people from home, on Facebook (saying) ‘last Bedlam.’ I’m like, oh my gosh, it’s awesome getting to compete out here. And it just means a little bit more.”

The senior doubled in her first at-bat, which resulted in the first score of the game when Warsop doubled later in the bottom of the second inning to give the Cowgirls a 1-0 lead.

Warsop broke out into a huge grin when asked to relive the moment she got the “hit” call from her head coach. Her pivotal start to the night, was all the more satisfying coming on a nine-pitch at-bat.

“It was fun,” Warsop said of her overall performance. “I’m just seeing balls good. It’s just fun to get deep in counts, and like a lot of people I think don’t like it because it’s, like, scary, but it makes me feel good, like I’m fouling balls off that she like she’s having to come in with the pitch, that she has to throw like I’m fouling off all her pitches. She’s gotta come. So just feel good.”

The nation’s leading home-run hitter, Sooner freshman Kendall Wells hit her 32nd ball over the fence this season to take the lead in the third inning, but the Cowgirls didn’t blink.

OSU junior Karli Godwin tied things up in the third with a home run of her own, her fourth this season. That paved the way for Oklahoma State to expand the lead to 4-2 in the fourth thanks to consecutive hits from Warsop and Audrey Schneidmiller and an RBI single from freshman Jayelle Austin.

Warsop grounded out to second base in her third time up to the plate, but that was enough to bring Rosie Davis in for another score.

The Sooners added two runs in the sixth inning to add some drama, but McDonald’s second and final hit of the night drove in an insurance run in the sixth inning, extending the lead by two.

If the Cowgirls were going to make a run at hosting a regional this year, it probably had to start this week. Beating the top-ranked Sooners is a good start for both the eye test and the RPI numbers. Oklahoma State ranked 22nd entering Bedlam, while the Sooners ranked seventh.

Oklahoma State can continue that momentous surge this weekend when the Cowgirls host No. 16 Arizona (ranked 15th in RPI) and it’s safe to say the team is aware of the stakes.

“We’ve got to enjoy this here tonight and (get) back to work with a good Arizona team,” Gajewski said. “And like I told them, if we don’t go out and play well, this doesn’t mean a whole lot.”