Cowgirls' Comeback Bid Halted by No. 9 Texas

Sunday, March 31

Stillwater, OK

1 P.M. CT

Oklahoma State University

26-10, 4-2

Texas

31-8, 5-2

Texas

Oklahoma State

March 31, 2019 | Cowgirl Softball

Box Score

STILLWATER – The No. 21 Oklahoma State softball team came up just short in its efforts to sweep No. 9 Texas Sunday, as the Cowgirls' comeback bid fell one run short in a 4-3 series-finale loss to the Longhorns at Cowgirl Stadium.

Despite the loss, OSU (26-10; 4-2 Big 12) has won seven of its last eight Big 12 series dating back to the start of conference play last season.

"We knew (Texas pitcher Miranda Elish) was going to be good. I was disappointed with the way we swung the bats during the first three innings," coach Kenny Gajewski said. "From a coach's point of view, that's hard to take. After (Samantha) Show's home run though, we felt like we could hit again and the at-bats really improved. I was proud of our fight and the way we came back and gave ourselves a chance to win."

OSU was starved for offense in the early goings of Sunday's series finale, as Sydney Pennington's infield single to second base the only hit on the board for the Pokes through three innings. Pennington reached third after a stolen base and a throwing error in that frame, but she was stranded there, ending OSU's first offensive threat.

Texas, holding a 1-0 advantage, doubled its lead on the first pitch of the fourth inning, as Miranda Elish smoked a solo home run over the center-field wall off of Cowgirl starter Samantha Show.

Show responded right away in the bottom of the inning with a solo homer to right center off Elish. It was OSU's first run of the day and sparked life into a packed Cowgirl Stadium crowd. The solo shot was Show's team-leading 10^th home run of the season, making her the 15^th player in school history to record double-digit home runs in a single year.

"It's just fun," Show said of her home-run exchange with Miranda Elish Sunday. "We both play with a lot of emotion, and she was showing more today and that's perfectly fine. It makes me happy to see pitchers who hit, and who hit well. We were both competing out there, it was pretty cool."

The power-hitting senior also handled most of the work in the circle Sunday, pitching 5.1 innings and striking out four Longhorns in that time. Show allowed four earned runs though, the last of which came off a two-run shot from Mary Iakopo in the sixth inning.

Iakopo's two-run blast gave Texas a 4-1 advantage heading into the home half of the sixth inning.

With her team's hopes dwindling, Rylee Bayless again brought the loyal and true to their feet with a towering two-run home run to left field, cutting the deficit back to one. It was Bayless' second no-doubter in as many days, and she has now hit five home runs in total this season.

Texas maintained its 4-3 advantage heading to the bottom of the seventh, where Sydney Pennington hoped to start an OSU rally with a two-out single through the right side. It was Pennington's second hit of the day, but she was left stranded at first as the Pokes fell just shy of their first recorded three-game sweep against a top-10 opponent.

OSU will look to get back on track Wednesday night when the visit UT Arlington in a midweek matchup. First pitch in Texas is set for 5 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 purchase your tickets for the 2019 campaign, visit okstate.com/tickets or call the OSU ticket office at 877-ALL-4-OSU.