Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirl Softball Falls To Tulsa In Season Finale
October 20, 2014 | Cowgirl Softball
The Oklahoma State Cowgirl softball team suffered back-to-back defeats in its fall exhibition finale against Tulsa on Monday, falling by respective scores of 5-0 and 6-4 at the Collins Family Softball Complex.
In game one, sophomore Brandi Needham navigated through multiple jams to keep the Golden Hurricane scoreless through the first three innings. After recording the first two outs of the following frame, however, Tulsa broke the game open with five singles in the following six at bats, plating five runs for the home squad.
Needham finished her outing with a scoreless fifth before handing the final two innings to Jessi Haffner, who limited the TU advantage with a strikeout and consecutive scoreless innings.
Offensively, the Cowgirls were shut down by Tulsa's pitching arsenal, which kept the OSU bats silent until Shelby Davis' infield single in the sixth. Haffner and Danielle Riddle reached on walks in the seventh, but the Cowgirls were eventually shut out for the first time of the fall.
In the second half of the twin-bill, Oklahoma State responded by taking a 1-0 advantage in the top of the third. After Davis led off with a single, the senior stole second, advanced to third on Bailey Donathan's groundout and scored on an RBI groundout from Vanessa Shippy.
Tulsa responded in the bottom of the frame by tying the game on a two-out single, marking the first of six runs scored by the Golden Hurricane in two-out situations. TU then took the lead on a two-run double in the fourth and extended the margin after three OSU errors in the sixth, placing the Cowgirls in a 6-1 hole heading into the final inning.
After a single from Miranda Cavin and consecutive walks drawn by Davis and Bailey Donathan helped Oklahoma State load the bases in the top of the seventh, Tulsa's left fielder misplayed a base hit off the bat of Shippy and allowed the three Cowgirls to score. However, Oklahoma State was unable to continue its seventh-inning rally and extend the inning.
In the circle, Meagan Lively overcame five walks to only allow three runs over the first five innings, helping her conclude the season with a 1.12 ERA and a team-leading 24 strikeouts.
The Cowgirls conclude their fall scrimmage slate with a 5-3 record, and will return to action when the team opens the regular season in February. For more updates and information during the offseason, follow @CowgirlSB on Twitter.
