Cowgirl Bats Erupt in Doubleheader Sweep

Saturday, March 2

Stillwater, OK

1 P.M. CT

Oklahoma State University

13-5

McNeese State

8-12

McNeese State

Oklahoma State

March 02, 2019 | Cowgirl Softball

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STILLWATER – The No. 21 Oklahoma State softball team picked up a pair of run-rule victories to sweep a Saturday doubleheader, as OSU bested McNeese State, 12-2, and Northern Iowa, 12-0, on the second day of the OSU/Tulsa Invitational.

OSU (14-5; 0-0 Big 12) is off to its best start since 2011, when the Cowgirls also started 14-5 in their first 19 games before making the program's seventh appearance in the Women's College World Series at the season's end.

"Cold day, but our bats stayed hot," coach Kenny Gajewski said. "I thought we continued to pitch well. Really happy about our kids cutting the walks down and limiting the hits. It's nice to see our bats finally come alive and take some pressure off the pitchers. Chyenne Factor had a really good weekend. Samantha Show was really good here today with the bat and pitched well. Madi Sue Montgomery hit a few balls hard and had a few other ones that kind of fell, which was kind of nice for her. It's good to see Shalee Brantley have a really good weekend, too.

A lot of good performances and we are going to have to continue that as we go into next week."

Oklahoma State's 24 runs scored Saturday was its most runs scored in back-to-back games since scoring 35 against Maine and Omaha in last year's Mizuno Classic. The Cowgirls scored at least two runs in its first seven trips to the plate across both games, with their streak being snapped by a scoreless fourth inning against UNI.

The offensive eruption was powered by six home runs hit by OSU batters, with the first being a two-run shot by Samantha Show in the opening frame of Saturday's action.

Freshman Chyenne Factor followed Show's effort with a solo shot - the first home run of her career - in the second inning against McNeese State. Factor finished 3-for-3 and scored a trio of runs against McNeese while making her third career start.

Show provided the finishing blow in the bottom of the fourth inning with a two-run double through the left side, which capped a five-RBI outing for the Texas A&M transfer.

"What I love about that kid is that she showed up today about 8:30 a.m. pissed off," Gajewski said. "She hit and got some extra work in and it showed right away today. It's kind of cool to see a mature kid. She wears everything on her sleeves and every at-bat matters to her. It's cool to see her come in on her own, get some work done and watch some film."

Show was again a part of the Cowgirls' first-inning home run efforts in the second half of the doubleheader, as her one-out walk paved the way for Madi Sue Montgomery to hit a two-run home run that gave OSU the early edge. It was Montgomery's fourth home run of the year and the 29th of her illustrious career, leaving her just six shy of matching Tiffany Mikkelson's program record.

Michaela Richbourg doubled the Cowgirl lead against UNI just two batters later, as she skied a two-run home run to left field. Richbourg is one of four Cowgirls to have recorded at least four home runs so far in 2019.

The left side of Oklahoma State's infield also each recorded a solo home run, with freshman Kiley Naomi going yard in the bottom of the second and sophomore Sydney Pennington launching her 10th career home run in the third.

OSU's offense continued to shine even when the balls were kept inside the park, as Show, Montgomery and Factor recorded back-to-back-to-back RBI doubles to push the Cowgirls' lead to 12-0 in the bottom of the third. The 3-4-5 spots of Coach Gajewski's order combined to go 5-for-6 with seven runs batted in and three walks in Saturday's finale.

In the circle, seniors Samantha Show and Samantha Clakley handled the 10-inning load for the Cowgirl pitching staff.

Show struck out a season-high seven batters and walked just one en route to recording her sixth complete game of the season. She has thrown a complete game in each of her last five appearances for the Cowgirls.

Clakley, meanwhile, earned her second win of the year with a four-inning shutout effort against Northern Iowa. She struck out three before sophomore transfer Gabby Sprang polished off the victory in the fifth inning.

OSU is scheduled to wrap up the OSU/Tulsa Invitational tomorrow afternoon against Northern Iowa with first pitch set for 12 p.m. CT.

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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 tickets for the 2019 campaign, visit okstate.com/tickets or call the OSU ticket office at 877-ALL-4-OSU.