Oklahoma State University Athletics
Saturday, February 9
Houston, TX
11:30 a.m. CT
Oklahoma State University
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Sam Houston State
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Sam Houston State
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Oklahoma State
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Power and Pitching Push Cowgirls to Saturday Sweep
February 09, 2019 | Cowgirl Softball
PDF Box Score - Sam Houston State
PDF Box Score - Illinois
HOUSTON, Texas – The No. 22 Oklahoma State softball team used a quartet of home runs and some clutch pitching to sweep a Saturday doubleheader against Sam Houston State, 3-0, and Illinois, 10-6, during the second day of the Houston Invitational.
OSU now stands at 3-1 during its first weekend of the 2019 season, with the Cowgirls' only loss coming to the Illini in Friday's season opener.
"Well, the bottom line is winning and we did a really good job of that today," coach Kenny Gajewski said. "It wasn't clean and it wasn't our best performances, but there were a lot of really good things in both games. In my four years, we're finally able to not play great and still win games, and that's a good sign."
Against Illinois, Rylee Bayless got things started right away with a leadoff double that smacked off the outfield wall. Bayless, who went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles against the Fighting Illini Saturday, has reached base as OSU's first batter of the game in three of four contests this season and seven of the last eight dating back to the Cowgirls' win over No. 7 Arizona on opening day last year.
Madi Sue Montgomery cracked open the scoring in Saturday's finale, driving Bayless home with an RBI groundout to second base. It was Montgomery's 159th career RBI, moving her into a tie with Courtney Totte (2004-07) for third in OSU history.
The second inning is where the Oklahoma State offense came to life, as sophomores Michaela Richbourg and Sydney Pennington hit back-to-back solo home runs to start what was a six-run frame for the Pokes. Senior Samantha Show later polished off OSU's best offensive inning so far this season with a grand slam that made it a 7-0 ballgame.
It was the first grand slam hit by a Cowgirl since Whitney Whitehorn blasted one over the batter's eye at Cowgirl Stadium on March 2, 2018 against Omaha.
"We had some good at-bats and generated some runs, but in the second game our bats really woke up," Gajewski said. "I thought that for the first four innings, our at-bats were really good - as good as we've been maybe ever here during this staff's time. We're gonna go with our offense and those kids are going to continue to grow moving forward."
In the circle, sophomore Gabby Sprang made her first appearance for the orange and black after transferring from Tennessee.
Sprang pitched five-plus innings, allowed three earned runs and struck out three in her OSU debut. Logan Simunek made her second relief appearance of the day when she replaced Sprang in the sixth inning and helped clinch the Cowgirls' 10-6 victory by securing the final six outs from the circle.
Earlier in the day, Simunek earned her fourth career save and first of the season in a slam-the-door outing against Sam Houston State. She struck out two in that final frame after she replaced Samantha Clakley, who pitched six innings of shutout softball to keep the Bearkats off the scoreboard.
The Cowgirl staff was most impressive in its toughest moments Saturday, as all three pitchers who saw action consistently battled out of pitching jams.
Clakley, in particular, shined when runners reached base. She kept Sam Houston State scoreless with runners at second and third in the third inning, first and third in the fourth and a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the fifth.
"Samantha Clakley was really good in the first game and battled through while not having her best stuff to keep them from scoring," Gajewski said. "I thought that Gabby's strike zone was super tight, but she battled through and that was the first time she's gone five-plus in a long, long time. It should help her."
Offensively, It was the expected faces that produced OSU's three runs against SHSU.
The first run of the day was a result of some outstanding small-ball by the Cowgirls, as Samantha Show beat out a dropped third strike to first base. Montgomery quickly moved her to second with a single up the middle, and Taylor Lynch drove the Texas A&M transfer home with a bloop single to left field.
Run No. 2 came from the bat of Sydney Pennington, who uncorked on a ball up in the zone, sending it over the left-field fence and halfway up the video board at the Cougar Softball Complex. It was Pennington's first home run since March 29, 2018.
The early offense continued in the third when Show blasted an RBI double to right center to cap OSU's three-run effort. Show finished 2-for-4 with that RBI double against Sam Houston State Sautrday.
Oklahoma State will look to end its first weekend of the 2019 season on a high note tomorrow morning, as the Cowgirls face No. 13 Kentucky at 9 a.m. OSU is 3-1 all-time against the Wildcats, but the two programs have not met since 2001.
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Oklahoma State is proud to celebrate more than 40 years of rich softball tradition and its 20th season of play at Cowgirl Stadium this year. To renew or purchase your season tickets for the 2019 campaign, visit okstate.com/tickets or call the OSU ticket office at 877-ALL-4-OSU.
PDF Box Score - Illinois
HOUSTON, Texas – The No. 22 Oklahoma State softball team used a quartet of home runs and some clutch pitching to sweep a Saturday doubleheader against Sam Houston State, 3-0, and Illinois, 10-6, during the second day of the Houston Invitational.
OSU now stands at 3-1 during its first weekend of the 2019 season, with the Cowgirls' only loss coming to the Illini in Friday's season opener.
"Well, the bottom line is winning and we did a really good job of that today," coach Kenny Gajewski said. "It wasn't clean and it wasn't our best performances, but there were a lot of really good things in both games. In my four years, we're finally able to not play great and still win games, and that's a good sign."
Against Illinois, Rylee Bayless got things started right away with a leadoff double that smacked off the outfield wall. Bayless, who went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles against the Fighting Illini Saturday, has reached base as OSU's first batter of the game in three of four contests this season and seven of the last eight dating back to the Cowgirls' win over No. 7 Arizona on opening day last year.
Madi Sue Montgomery cracked open the scoring in Saturday's finale, driving Bayless home with an RBI groundout to second base. It was Montgomery's 159th career RBI, moving her into a tie with Courtney Totte (2004-07) for third in OSU history.
The second inning is where the Oklahoma State offense came to life, as sophomores Michaela Richbourg and Sydney Pennington hit back-to-back solo home runs to start what was a six-run frame for the Pokes. Senior Samantha Show later polished off OSU's best offensive inning so far this season with a grand slam that made it a 7-0 ballgame.
It was the first grand slam hit by a Cowgirl since Whitney Whitehorn blasted one over the batter's eye at Cowgirl Stadium on March 2, 2018 against Omaha.
"We had some good at-bats and generated some runs, but in the second game our bats really woke up," Gajewski said. "I thought that for the first four innings, our at-bats were really good - as good as we've been maybe ever here during this staff's time. We're gonna go with our offense and those kids are going to continue to grow moving forward."
In the circle, sophomore Gabby Sprang made her first appearance for the orange and black after transferring from Tennessee.
Sprang pitched five-plus innings, allowed three earned runs and struck out three in her OSU debut. Logan Simunek made her second relief appearance of the day when she replaced Sprang in the sixth inning and helped clinch the Cowgirls' 10-6 victory by securing the final six outs from the circle.
Earlier in the day, Simunek earned her fourth career save and first of the season in a slam-the-door outing against Sam Houston State. She struck out two in that final frame after she replaced Samantha Clakley, who pitched six innings of shutout softball to keep the Bearkats off the scoreboard.
The Cowgirl staff was most impressive in its toughest moments Saturday, as all three pitchers who saw action consistently battled out of pitching jams.
Clakley, in particular, shined when runners reached base. She kept Sam Houston State scoreless with runners at second and third in the third inning, first and third in the fourth and a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the fifth.
"Samantha Clakley was really good in the first game and battled through while not having her best stuff to keep them from scoring," Gajewski said. "I thought that Gabby's strike zone was super tight, but she battled through and that was the first time she's gone five-plus in a long, long time. It should help her."
Offensively, It was the expected faces that produced OSU's three runs against SHSU.
The first run of the day was a result of some outstanding small-ball by the Cowgirls, as Samantha Show beat out a dropped third strike to first base. Montgomery quickly moved her to second with a single up the middle, and Taylor Lynch drove the Texas A&M transfer home with a bloop single to left field.
Run No. 2 came from the bat of Sydney Pennington, who uncorked on a ball up in the zone, sending it over the left-field fence and halfway up the video board at the Cougar Softball Complex. It was Pennington's first home run since March 29, 2018.
The early offense continued in the third when Show blasted an RBI double to right center to cap OSU's three-run effort. Show finished 2-for-4 with that RBI double against Sam Houston State Sautrday.
Oklahoma State will look to end its first weekend of the 2019 season on a high note tomorrow morning, as the Cowgirls face No. 13 Kentucky at 9 a.m. OSU is 3-1 all-time against the Wildcats, but the two programs have not met since 2001.
----
Oklahoma State is proud to celebrate more than 40 years of rich softball tradition and its 20th season of play at Cowgirl Stadium this year. To renew or purchase your season tickets for the 2019 campaign, visit okstate.com/tickets or call the OSU ticket office at 877-ALL-4-OSU.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Sprang, Gabby (1-0)
L: Sydney Sickels (1-1)
Batting:
2B: Bayless , Rylee 2 ; Springfield, Sydney 1 ; Naomi, Kiley 1
HR: Show, Samantha 1 ; Richbourg, Michaela 1 ; Pennington, Sydney 1
RBI: Bayless , Rylee 1 ; Show, Samantha 4 ; Montgomery, Madi Sue 1 ; Lynch, Taylor 1 ; Richbourg, Michaela 2 ; Pennington, Sydney 1
SF: Lynch, Taylor 1 ; Richbourg, Michaela 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bayless , Rylee 2 ; Show, Samantha 1 ; Montgomery, Madi Sue 1 ; Tuck, Taylor 1 ; Richbourg, Michaela 1 ; Pennington, Sydney 1 ; Thomas, Mackenzie 1 ; Naomi, Kiley 2
Batting:
HR: Stephanie Abello 1
RBI: Kiana Sherlund 1 ; Stephanie Abello 3 ; Kailee Powell 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Annie Fleming 1 ; Bella Loya 1 ; Stephanie Abello 1 ; Zaria Dunlap 1 ; Katie Wingerter 2
SB: Kiana Sherlund 1 ; Stephanie Abello 1 ; Katie Wingerter 1
HBP: Maddison Demers 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
4
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
RHP
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