Offense Comes Alive in Cowgirl Softball's Doubleheader Sweep

Saturday, February 13

San Marcos, TX

3:00 PM

Oklahoma State University

1-2

DePaul

1-3

Oklahoma State

DePaul

Offense Comes Alive in Cowgirl Softball's Doubleheader Sweep

February 13, 2016 | Cowgirl Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Oklahoma State softball team rebounded from yesterday's pair of defeats with a doubleheader sweep on Saturday, taking down DePaul, 3-0, and Abilene Christian, 9-7, at the CenturyLink Classic in San Marcos, Texas.

Saturday's opener was highlighted by a complete game shutout from junior Brandi Needham, who was masterful in the Cowgirls' victory over DePaul. The nightcap was filled with strong offensive efforts from both squads, with Oklahoma State and Abilene Christian combining for 18 hits.

The Cowgirls will wrap up competition at the CenturyLink Classic on Friday, as they take on Texas State at 12 p.m. CT.

Game One – Oklahoma State 3, DePaul 0
Saturday's victory over DePaul marked the first of the head coach Kenny Gajewski's career with the Cowgirls and gave Oklahoma State its first win of the 2016 season.

As was the case in both of Friday's contests, OSU reached the scoring column first when Tiffany Mikkelson hit a two-out towering home run to center in the top of the first. The moonshot put the Cowgirls ahead, 1-0, and leaves Mikkelson only eight home runs short of a new career record at OSU. Red Reasnor followed with a double to left-center, sparking a huge day at the plate for the Connors State transfer.

Needham's domination in the circle began in the bottom of the first, as she opened up the contest with a three-pitch inning, forcing consecutive groundouts to Taylor Lynch, Vanessa Shippy and Randee O'Donnell.

"Brandi set the tone early on, and she was really good from the very first pitch," Gajewski said. "That's who she's going to be. She's not going to strike a ton of kids out, but she's going to fill up the strike zone and get ground balls."

Oklahoma State kept things going on offense in the third when Mikkelson beat out a weak groundball up the middle and stole second. Reasnor brought her home with an RBI-single off the wall in center, extending the OSU lead to 2-0.

With Madi Sue Montgomery standing on first with one out in the sixth, Darcy Taylor lined her second double of the day to score Montgomery and push OSU's advantage to 3-0.

Needham didn't allow a hit until the bottom of the third, when Haydn Christensen lined a single through the left side for DePaul's first baserunner of the day. After allowing an infield single two at-bats later, Needham cut down the threat to keep her shutout alive.

The victory marked the second complete game shutout of Needham's OSU career, with her last coming in a 10-strikeout effort against Arkansas-Pine Bluff in 2015. Needham used the ground ball to complete an efficient outing in the circle, needing only 56 pitches to shut down the Blue Demons. 16 of her 21 outs came via the groundball.

Game Two – Oklahoma State 9, Abilene Christian 7
The Cowgirls' back-and-forth contest with Abilene Christian ended in a 9-7 shootout victory for Oklahoma State and the team's second-consecutive win.

ACU threatened early on in the contest, putting two on base in the first with a pair of infield singles. Starting pitcher Kacy Freeze responded with a strikeout, but saw the Wildcats plate a pair of runs when a two-out grounder to Vanessa Shippy was misplayed at second, allowing both runs to score.

Oklahoma State fired back in the bottom of the frame, beginning with a two-out single from Mikkelson. After stealing second, Mikkelson came around to score on an infield single from Red Reasnor, who tallied her third RBI of the tournament.

The Wildcats again capitalized on OSU defensive miscues in the third, bringing in a run after consecutive passed balls reached the backstop.

However, OSU would roar back in the bottom of the third with a huge two out rally. With Mikkelson standing on first, O'Donnell launched a 2-1 pitch off the top of the wall in the left, and saw it bounce over for a two-run home run. Three pitches later, Madi Sue Montgomery provided her own heroics with a solo shot to right, putting the Cowgirls ahead, 4-3, with back-to-back home runs.

"Offensively, I think that was our best performance so far," Gajewski said. "We had great at-bats up and down the whole lineup, and we showed some pop. With nine walks and only two strikeouts, that's the kind of offense that we've got to be."

The action didn't stop there, as Darcy Taylor, Berkley Faulkner and Maddi Holcomb drew three-straight walks to load the bases with two outs. After a pitching change, Shippy wore an inside pitch to plate an additional run and extend the OSU advantage to 5-3. In total, the Cowgirls scored four two-out runs in the inning thanks to clutch situational hitting and a strong plate presence.

More fireworks came an inning later, thanks to a two-run blast from Reasnor. After knocking 22 home runs at Connors State last season, it marked the first for her in a Cowgirl uniform and gave Oklahoma State a commanding four-run lead.

Later in the inning, Michaela Patton came on to pinch hit for Holcomb and delivered another two-out hit for OSU, bringing Montgomery around to score. In total, the Cowgirls had five two-out hits on the night and produced six runs in those situations.

In the top of the fifth, Abilene Christian used some clutch hitting of its own to plate three and cut the deficit to 8-6. Peyton Hedrick and Holly Neese each registered two-out base-hits to keep the Wildcats close.

Oklahoma State notched its third-consecutive scoring inning in the bottom of the fifth, using three singles and a sacrifice fly to add one run to its lead. Base-hits in the inning came from Jessi Haffner, Reasnor and O'Donnell, while the sacrifice fly came via Montgomery.

Freeze's night ended after five strong frames in which she tallied five strikeouts and allowed three earned runs on six hits. The performance was enough to give the senior her first victory with Oklahoma State keep the Cowgirls in line for their second-straight win.

"We had a couple of untimely errors, but I thought Kacy Freeze was really good," Gajewski said. "She got tired in the fifth and we had to get her out there, but I'm really happy with how she and the team got through it and battled back. It shows what this team is all about."

Abilene Christian made one final effort in the top of the seventh, as they put runners on second and third with one out. However, after coming on in relief to start the sixth, Needham close things out to earn the save and cap off the Cowgirl victory.

Over the course of the day, Reasnor, Mikkelson, O'Donnell and Taylor each produced multi-hit efforts, with Reasnor going 3-for-4 in the nightcap with three RBIs and a home run. Oklahoma State's three home runs against ACU were the most since a three-homer performance against Iowa State last season.

Season tickets for the 2016 Cowgirl softball season are now available, starting at $50 for general admission seating and $75 for seats in the reserved lower level. Tickets can be purchased by phone at 877-ALL-4-OSU, at the OSU Athletics Ticket Office or online at http://okla.st/SoftballSeasonTickets-2016.