Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State University
3-5
Long Beach State
6-7
Lively's Shutout Highlights Cowgirl Softball Victory
February 21, 2015 | Cowgirl Softball
Feb. 20, 2015
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. – The Oklahoma State softball team took down Long Beach State, 2-0, on Friday, as the Cowgirls opened play in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Palm Springs, Calif. OSU also took on No. 8/9 Florida State, but fell, 4-1, in a tight battle.
Box Score - Game Two 
“I thought we played really well defensively, and overall, I like the way we battled out there,” head coach Rich Wieligman said. “Tiffany Mikkelson and Vanessa Shippy both had some big plays in the infield that helped keep us in the game against Florida State, and I'm proud of the team for battling the way they did.”
In the opener, Meagan Lively's seven scoreless innings led the way for Oklahoma State (3-6), which earned its first shutout of the season in Friday's victory. Lively held a no-hitter until the top of the sixth, when LBSU's Lauren Lombardi dropped a single into right for the 49ers' only hit of the night.
Multiple defensive highlights also supported Lively's stellar effort in the circle, as Tiffany Mikkelson and Maddi Holcomb each made individual efforts to keep the 49ers off the scoreboard.
Offensively, the Cowgirls were limited to four hits off of LBSU starting pitcher Christina Clermont, who completed her seven-inning outing with ten strikeouts. However, Vanessa Shippy's two-RBI double in the bottom of the third would be all the Cowgirl offense would need, as it knocked in Shianne Hughes and Shelby Davis for the only two runs of the ballgame.
Davis continued her early-season tear through the base paths, as the Cowgirl senior tacked on three more stolen bases, bringing her season total to ten.
The Cowgirls' shutout win is the team's first since a 3-0 victory over Texas Southern toward the end of the 2014 season. The win also marks the first shutout of Lively's career, in addition to rewarding the sophomore with her first-career complete game.
In the second half of Friday's doubleheader, the Cowgirls had a chance to take the lead in the bottom of the seventh inning, but were eventually halted by eight-ranked Florida State. Oklahoma State struggled to string hits together against FSU starter Lacey Waldrop, who only allowed three hits on the night.
Despite trailing, 4-1, heading into the final frame, the Cowgirls rallied enough to load the bases and put the potential game winning run at the plate. After Shippy led off the inning with a double, Mikkelson walked, and Taylor reached on a fielding error. The next two Cowgirl batters would go down swinging, though, sealing the win for Florida State.
Whitney Whitehorn earned the start in the circle, and allowed four earned runs in a complete game's worth of work. Whitehorn scattered eight hits over the course of the game, allowing two runs apiece in the fourth and the sixth.
Oklahoma State will continue play in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic on Saturday, as the Cowgirls take on Stanford at 5 p.m. CT.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Lively, Meagan (1-1)
L: Clermont, Christina (0-1)
Batting:
SH: Loera, Rachel 1
Base Running:
SB: Tautalafua, Darian 1
HBP: Tautalafua, Darian 1
Batting:
2B: Shippy, Vanessa 1
3B: Mikkelson, Tiffany 1
RBI: Shippy, Vanessa 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Davis, Shelby 1 ; Hughes, Shianne 1
SB: Davis, Shelby 3 ; Hughes, Shianne 1 ; Shippy, Vanessa 2
