Cowgirls Split Pair Of Games To Advance To Regional Championship

Saturday, May 20

Gainesville, Fla.

11:00 AM CT

Oklahoma State University

36-24

Florida

52-6

OKLAHOMA STATE

Florida

Cowgirls Split Pair Of Games To Advance To Regional Championship

May 20, 2017 | Cowgirl Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

GAINESVILLE, Fla. ---- Oklahoma State softball split a pair of games Saturday against No. 1 Florida and Florida International to advance to the Gainesville Regional Championship tomorrow. The Cowgirls dropped a tightly-contested 2-0 game to the Gators before responding with a 5-0 win over the Panthers in the elimination game.

With the FIU win, the Cowgirls advanced to the regional championship game for the second-consecutive year and improved to 5-3 in postseason games under Kenny Gajewski.

"Just a great performance from Shea Coats," Gajewski said. "I was thinking during this game – this is why you coach. You get to watch these kids grow, and to have a senior pitch this type of a game this late is a big deal. That saved us in our staff and put us in a good place. We had some quality at-bats, played good catch and obviously had a great performance from Shea. It's a recipe for winning games, and we're looking forward to another chance at the big dogs."

Oklahoma State (37-24) had to face one of the best pitchers in the nation in Shannon Saile for the second-straight day and jumped ahead early. Maddi Holcomb's RBI-single in the top of the first to score Rylee Bayless and give OSU the 1-0 lead it wouldn't surrender.

Holcomb wasn't content with just one RBI single as she produced with another in her next at-bat in the top of the fourth to score Bayless again and extend the lead to 2-0. Madi Sue Montgomery's two-RBI single later in the inning scored Vanessa Shippy and Taylor Lynch to further extend the lead to 4-0.

Alex Edinger kept the scoring going in the top of the fifth as she grounded out to short to score Bayless and make it 5-0 Cowgirls.

Shea Coats (8-9) earned the victory in the circle for the Cowgirls going all seven innings. She allowed just two hits and had no walks while striking out three. Coats retired the last 13 batters to finish the game.

The first game of the day pitted Gajewski against longtime friend Tim Walton and the Gators.

The Cowgirls stood toe-to-toe with the No. 1 team in the country throughout the game as a two-run single in the bottom of the fourth to give Florida a 2-0 lead ended up being the deciding factor in the game.

Lynch was responsible for the lone Cowgirl hit of the day as she finished 1-for-3.

Brandi Needham (20-10) took the loss for the Cowgirls in four innings of work.

Through three postseason games, the OSU pitching staff has allowed just eight hits and two runs while pitching two complete-game shutouts.

----
Up Next: Oklahoma State returns to action tomorrow to face No. 1 Florida in the regional championship at 11:00 a.m. CT. The if-necessary game would start 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first game. An announcement on the TV information will be made later tonight.