Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State University
1-3
Lipscomb
4-2
Cowgirls Get First Win of 2015, Split Doubleheader
February 13, 2015 | Cowgirl Softball
Feb. 13, 2015
MOBILE, Ala. - The Oklahoma State softball team registered its first win of the season on Friday, as the Cowgirls came from behind to beat Lipscomb, 9-5, in the first half of a doubleheader at the Mardi Gras Invitational in Mobile, Ala. In the nightcap, OSU fell to No. 24 South Alabama, 5-4, in a back-and-forth battle highlighted by five lead changes.
After recording only ten hits in last weekend's three-game set at Arizona, the Cowgirls broke out with 14 on Saturday, including nine against Lipscomb. In the two games combined, OSU also drew 12 walks, stole ten bases and hit four home runs, culminating in a dangerous offensive attack.
“I loved the way we fought back in the first game today,” head coach Rich Wieligman said. “We were down by five, but we didn't give up. We've got to work on a few things, but these girls know that they can compete, and they know that they can win.”
In the opener, things looked bleak early on, as the Cowgirls fell into a quick 5-0 hole after the first two and a half innings. Meagan Lively, coming off a strong performance last weekend, started in the circle, but struggled against the Lipscomb lineup.
The Lady Bison grabbed the first two runs of the game on a second inning home run from Laura Dukes, before adding on three additional runs in the third. After Mimi Cartwright's RBI double, clean-up hitter Gracey Aguirre knocked in two with a homer to left, pushing the Lipscomb lead to 5-0.
However, the Cowgirls responded in the bottom of the inning, as Mallory Collins hit a three-run home run off the left field light pole. The round tripper was the freshman's second of the year, and would mark the first, second and third of nine unanswered runs for Oklahoma State.
The eventual game-winning runs were manufactured by Danielle Riddle and her fifth inning home run, a line drive shot into left that put the Cowgirls up, 6-5. OSU would go on to add three more runs in the inning, including two on bases-loaded walks.
After Lively's day ended in the third, Brandi Needham came on to provide four scoreless innings, giving the sophomore her first win of the year. Needham allowed only three hits, and was able to escape multiple jams with an effective changeup and standout defensive plays from Tiffany Mikkelson and Maddi Holcomb.
Game two started in similar fashion, as Oklahoma State erased a 1-0 deficit with a second-inning home run from Riddle, beginning a seesaw battle between the two teams. The Jaguars answered in the third by capitalizing on three-straight walks and back-to-back infield hits, producing two runs and another lead for the home side.
The resilient Cowgirls responded immediately, as freshman Vanessa Shippy tied the game with a deep home run in the top of the fourth. The solo shot was Shippy's first of the season, and highlighted a day in which she reached base five times in eight at-bats. Three batters later, Michaela Patton helped OSU regain the lead by scoring Holcomb on a base-hit into shallow left field.
Despite being outhit by a margin of 14-5, the Cowgirls held a lead going into the bottom of the sixth. Going into the inning, Whitney Whitehorn had shut down five of the Jaguars' last six batters, but Amanda Minahan's solo home run would tie the game and spark an additional offensive threat.
Following Minahan's at-bat, South Alabama used a double, walk and infield single to load the bases and put the home team in position to score. However, in one of the wildest plays of the early season, the Cowgirls were able to turn two and end the Jaguar threat.
After misplaying a high pop up between home plate and the circle, Cowgirl first baseman Darcy Taylor flipped the ball to home for a force out. Catcher Dre McKee then fired to third, but the ball glanced off Patton's glove, rolled into left field and ended up in the hands of Collins. With pinch runner Haileigh Lowe racing toward home, Collins fired a strike back to McKee, who completing the improbable play by tagging out Lowe at the plate.
Oklahoma State had a chance to flip the score again in the seventh, but failed on capitalize on back-to-back at-bats with the bases loaded. South Alabama used the gained momentum to fill the bases in the bottom of the inning, and would earn the victory on Steph Pilkington's walk-off walk.
Offensively, the Cowgirls were led by several individual efforts on the day, including three-hit performance from Mikkelson. Shelby Davis, making her 2015 debut, inched closer to OSU's all-time stolen bases mark with three swiped bags, while Mikkelson and Shippy each added three stolen bases of their own.
The Cowgirls will return to action with another doubleheader on Saturday, beginning with a matchup against Evansville at 1:30 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Needham, Brandi (1-1)
L: SANDERS (2-2)
Batting:
2B: ELMORE 1 ; CARTWRIGHT 1
HR: AGUIRRE 1 ; DUKES 1
RBI: CARTWRIGHT 1 ; AGUIRRE 2 ; DUKES 2
Base Running:
RUNS: ELMORE 1 ; CARTWRIGHT 1 ; AGUIRRE 1 ; FENICHEL 1 ; DUKES 1
Batting:
HR: Collins, Mallory 1 ; Riddle, Danielle 1
RBI: Davis, Shelby 1 ; Holcomb, Maddi 1 ; Shippy, Vanessa 1 ; Collins, Mallory 3 ; Riddle, Danielle 2
SF: Shippy, Vanessa 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Davis, Shelby 1 ; Shippy, Vanessa 1 ; Collins, Mallory 1 ; Mikkelson, Tiffany 1 ; Riddle, Danielle 1 ; Haffner, Jessi 1 ; Hughes, Shianne 1 ; O'Donnell, Randee 1 ; DeLaCruz, Gessenia 1
SB: Davis, Shelby 2 ; Shippy, Vanessa 2 ; Mikkelson, Tiffany 1
