Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State University
BYU
Cowgirls Defeat BYU 6-5 in Eight Innings
February 21, 2014 | Cowgirl Softball
Feb. 21, 2014
Final Stats
Palm Springs, Calif. - The Oklahoma State softball team split the first day of the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. The Cowgirls defeated BYU, 6-5 in eight innings in the first game, and fell to Pacific, 5-4 in game two.
The Cowgirls (8-4) got on board in the top of the first inning. Shelby Davis walked to lead off the inning and later scored on a double up to the middle by Danielle Riddle to put OSU up 1-0.
BYU (5-8) tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the second when Sydney Broderick scored on a sacrifice fly by Coco Taualii.
The Cowgirls took back the lead in the top of the third inning when Shianne Hughes singled to the shortstop, scoring Ari Morrison. The next batter, Gessenia DeLaCruz, singled to right field, scoring Tarah Ettinger, extending the lead to 3-1.
The Cougars wouldn't go away, and jumped out to a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning when Ashley Thompson hit a three-run home run.
The Cowgirls refused to quit and tied the game at 4-4 in the top of the seventh inning when pinch runner Michaela Patton scored from third on a base hit by Davis. In the top of the eighth inning, Tiffany Mikkelson hit a two-run home run to center to put the Cowgirls up 6-4.
In the bottom of the frame, BYU scored a run when Lauren Bell singled to left to make it 6-5, but the Cowgirls would cement the victory.
At the plate, the Cowgirls put together 13 hits, with Davis going 3-for-4 with a run batted in and the game-tying RBI. Shannon Kaufman and Hughes went 2-for-3, and Riddle was 3-for-5 with an RBI. Mikkelson went 1-for-4 with two RBIs. DeLaCruz and Morrison also had hits for the Cowgirls.
In the circle, Simone Freeman (5-2) struggled, but still picked up her fifth win of the season. She pitched eight innings, allowing five runs on seven hits and striking out 10.
In the second game of the day, Pacific took an early 2-0 lead over the Cowgirls when the Tigers scored on an error by the third baseman. Pacific added two more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning when Melanie Habib singled to left center, scoring Sara Anderson and Bailey O'Mara to extend the Tiger's lead to 4-0.
The Cowgirls rallied back in the top of the sixth inning.The first run was scored when Morrison singled and Davis scored on a throwing error. A few batters later, pinch hitter, Whitney Whitehorn hit a two-run single to right center, scoring Ettinger and Morrison to cut the Tiger lead to 4-3. The Cowgirls then tied the game at 4-4 in the top of the seventh when Miranda Cavin scored on a single by Morrison.
Pacific (3-6) then scored the winning run when Taylor Petty walked with the bases loaded to give the Tigers the 5-4 win.
In the circle, Freeman got the start and allowed two runs on three hits and struck out five in three innings of work. Peyton Walker came in and gave up two runs on one hit and struck out one in her one inning of relief. Meagan Lively (0-1) pitched two and two-thirds innings of relief. She allowed one run on three hits and struck out three.
At bat, the Cowgirls had six hits. Morrison went 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Whitehorn had two RBIs and one base hit, while Ettinger, Cavin and Kaufman all recorded hits for OSU.
The Cowgirls return to the diamond tomorrow evening when they take on Long Beach State at 7:30 p.m. CT. Fans can follow the action online through GameTracker or via Twitter at @CowgirlSB.
