Quartet of Home Runs Powers Cowgirls Past Central Arkansas

Wednesday, March 14

Conway, AR

5 P.M. CT

Oklahoma State University

21-6

Central Arkansas

12-10

Oklahoma State

Central Arkansas

Photo by: OSU Athletics

Quartet of Home Runs Powers Cowgirls Past Central Arkansas

March 14, 2018 | Cowgirl Softball

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CONWAY, Ark. – The No. 24 Oklahoma State softball team pushed its winning streak to 12 on Wednesday, as the Cowgirls bested Central Arkansas, 10-1, in six innings at Farris Field.

The 12-game winning streak matches the longest unbeaten for OSU (20-6) since a 12-game stretch in March 2013. Oklahoma State used a quartet of home runs Wednesday to push past the Bears.

"It was a really good day after a long drive to get here," OSU head coach Kenny Gajewski said. "I thought our girls responded well. In the first couple of innings, it took us a while to get things rolling. We had some great at-bats and were grinding them down though. Our bats just took over and hits those home runs. We had some good at-bats up and down the lineup."

Jessi Haffner provided the first, as she launched a solo shot to left field in the top of the third that gave the Cowgirls a 2-1 lead. It was Haffner's eighth home run of the year, which is tops among the squad this season.

Madi Sue Montgomery followed up Haffner's blast with one of her own the top of the fifth. She hit a second home run - a three-run shot this time - in the sixth inning that helped the Cowgirls open up a 10-1 lead.

The junior has hit seven home runs so far this season and she now ranks 14th in team history with 17 career home runs.

Montgomery's home runs also helped the left-handed batter extend her hitting streak to 12 games. It is the longest such streak of her career and is tied for the ninth-longest hitting streak in program history.

She finished 2-for-3 at the plate on Wednesday and is batting .556 with five home runs during the 12-game run.

Chelsea Alexander was the other Cowgirl to lace a home run on Wednesday, as she recorded her first-career home run with a three-run shot to right in the fifth inning. Alexander, a freshman, is batting .357 in 24 games played this season.

"It kind of reminded me of my first home run that I ever hit because I didn't think that one was going over either," Alexander said. "It just feels really good to get in my swing that our coaches have been telling me to get to. When all that hard work pays off, it's an amazing feeling. And to be able to help the team out was even better."

The Cowgirls as a team have now hit an NCAA-leading 41 home runs this season. Through 27 games, OSU is only 12 home runs away from matching the program's single-season record.

"This has been an impressive feat and we just continue to hit home runs," Gajewski said "I'm very happy with that, but we'll just kind of see. Those things tend to come and go, and we've still got some great teams that we've got to play and I'm excited to see where we are. This is a complete team and we can score in a lot of ways. We can run; we can hit home runs; we can bunt. The one thing we consistently do is grind. We grind at-bats and I'm just very happy with the toughness that these kids have."

Wednesday's contest also marked a pair of historic moments for two-time All-American Vanessa Shippy.

Shippy, a USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year candidate, made the 200th consecutive start of her OSU career on Wednesday. She has started every possible game in her three-plus years as a Cowgirl.

The Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, native also drew a walk in the top of the sixth inning, making her just the fifth player in Big 12 softball history to record at least 225 hits, 150 runs, 150 walks and 125 runs batted in.

She is the first player to reach those marks since Lauren Chamberlain (Oklahoma, 2012-15) and is the first Cowgirl to ever do so.

"It means a ton to me to do those things," Shippy said of her 200th start and elite career numbers. "As a team, I think it was kind of obvious by the scoreboard that we struggled early, but we made adjustments throughout the game. That's what good teams do. And without the team, I wouldn't have been able to start today. Without the team, I wouldn't have all these numbers so I can only thank them and our coaching staff."

Oklahoma State will have a week off now, but returns to action next Wednesday when the Cowgirls head east for an in-state meeting against Tulsa. For more information on the Cowgirls, follow the team on Twitter (@CowgirlSB), Facebook (Cowgirl Softball) and Instagram (osusoftball).