Cowgirls Win Fifth-Straight Big 12 Series

Sunday, April 22

Austin, TX

11 A.M. CT

Oklahoma State University

34-14, 12-3

Texas

27-18, 10-3

Oklahoma State

Texas

Photo by: Charles Taylor

April 22, 2018 | Cowgirl Softball

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AUSTIN, Texas – The No. 24/19 Oklahoma State softball team earned its fifth Big 12 series win of the year on Sunday, as the Cowgirls bested Texas, 4-1, at McCombs Field.

Sunday's victory marked the first time in program history that OSU (34-14; 12-3 Big 12) has bested UT in a three-game set. The Cowgirls' seven road wins in Big 12 play this year are also the team's most since the league first began play in 1997.

"I told our team that this is a tough place to play. They've got a great pitching staff and they made us fight and we had to battle all weekend long," head coach Kenny Gajewski said. "The hits were hard to come by all weekend long. I thought both teams played well, but the bottom line is that we pitched really good as well and we just got enough clutch hitting to get the job done.

"I'm just happy with the way this team continues to change the perception and break streaks and all that kind of stuff. It has taken time, but I'm just really happy with our progress and where we're at now."

Vanessa Shippy was the spark at the top of the Cowgirl lineup once again, going 2-for-4 with a pair of runs batted in.

Shippy's biggest moment of the series finale came in the fourth inning, when she scored two runs on a single back up the middle that gave OSU its first lead of the day. The senior's clutch hit came on the ninth pitch of the at-bat.

With her pair of base hits, Shippy extended her career-long streak to 41 consecutive games reaching base safely.

Whitney Whitehorn provided OSU's fourth and final run of the day with a two-out double to right center in the top of the fifth. It was Whitehorn's third RBI of the weekend after driving in a pair during Friday's doubleheader.

OSU racked up five hits off a pair of Longhorn pitchers, but the Cowgirls also found other ways to get on base, as Texas hit five Cowgirl batters - the sixth-most in a game in the NCAA this year - and walked three more.

"They're like hits and walks and it's momentum for us," Gajewski said of the Cowgirls' free passes. "The more bases we can get for our offense, the better. We haven't gotten a lot of those free bases a long time. My first year we had a bunch, and they're a little harder to come by now. But we'll take it - whatever you've got to do to win."

In the circle, Gajewski continued to rely on workhorse Samantha Clakley.

Clakley pitched her second complete game of the weekend and 10th of the year, going seven innings en route to earning her 14th win of the year. The right-hander allowed just one run on six hits and struck out three.

"I thought she was really good and just continued to battle and throw strikes," Gajewski said of his pitcher. "She's just a kid that has a lot of guts and I'm very happy with how she threw this weekend. And like I said, we got enough clutch hitting and some hit by pitches. When you keep fighting and you've worked hard, good things are going to happen."

Oklahoma State will now shift gears toward their upcoming trip to Los Angeles. The Cowgirls will face both South Dakota and No. 3 UCLA twice in the City of Angels, with the two-day weekend beginning on Friday, April 27.