Cowgirls Kick Off Fall Ball with a Victory

STILLWATER – The Oklahoma State softball team notched a victory against Wichita State, 10-4, on Sunday at Cowgirl Stadium to kick off the fall season.

With steady pitching and an explosive offense, the Cowgirls took care of business at home; the first home game since last May.

"I thought it was a great first day for us," Head Coach Kenny Gajewski said, "We have so many new faces. In a fall game it's most important to set up the defense because we have so many kids in different spots. There was some good at bats late. I'm happy with the first game it was a good day"

Carrie Eberle, a transfer from Virginia Tech who is the reigning ACC Pitcher of the Year, started the game for the Cowgirls on the mound, tossing three scoreless innings.

"It's always good to get out there and play someone else besides your own teammates," Eberle said. "It was definitely fun and different, but I have been adjusting well so I think it was a good day."

The offense echoed Eberle's performance early on with a solo shot in the bottom of the first from Hayley Busby, who is a transfer from Virginia. OSU added two more runs in the bottom of the third to extend the lead to 3-0.

After sitting out the majority of last year, Kelly Maxwell appeared out of the bullpen in the fourth and provided strong pitching relief for the Cowgirls with four solid innings.

"It felt great," Maxwell said. "It was a cool experience since it has been so long. It feels good to face new hitters other than our own in inter-squads."

The Cowgirls took advantage of Shockers' defensive mishaps to tally four runs in the bottom of the fifth to put the game out of reach.

Junior Gabby Sprang closed the game for the Cowgirls. She pitched three innings and gave up two runs.

Several of the team's newcomers made their Cowgirl debuts tonight and they did not disappoint.

Freshman Karli Petty was a force at the top of the lineup with two runs and two hits, while showing promise defensively at a new position for her at second base.

"Maxwell and Petty were very good," Gajewski said. "Petty is sitting in the top of our order so she's replacing Vanessa Shippy and Rylee Bayless, which are hard shoes to fill. I knew from the first day of practice that that was the kid. She plays well, but has a lot to learn. She's a third baseman by nature that we moved to second so we are going to have bumps there, but both of those freshmen were really good."

Twelve Cowgirls had at least one hit to lead a balanced offense at the plate. Busby and Petty were among the four Cowgirls who registered multiple hits on the night; the other two were Taylor Tuck and Mady Lohman, each with two hits.

The Cowgirls will return to Stillwater take on Tulsa on Oct. 4 at 6 p.m. CST.

Oklahoma State University Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Rylee Bayless

Mady Lohman

Kelly Maxwell

Vanessa Shippy

Gabby Sprang

Taylor Tuck

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