Cowgirls Upset No. 9 Alabama 4-1

Saturday, February 15

Clearwater, FL

9:30 AM

Oklahoma State University

6-3

Alabama

4-5

Oklahoma State

Alabama

February 15, 2020 | Cowgirl Softball

Box Score

CLEARWATER, Fl. – The Oklahoma State softball team had its best win of the season to date with a 4-1 victory against No. 9 Alabama on the third day of St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational.

After a devastating extra-inning loss against No 18 Missouri, the Cowgirls bounced back with a signature win in their first matchup against a top-10 team.

"We talked to the team pretty intently on about how we went wrong last night," head coach Kenny Gajewski said. "Just really excited about the way Carrie pitched, the way we played defense and the way we competed at the plate. We are really growing and it was really fun to see."

OSU starter Carrie Eberle stifled Alabama's offense through seven innings, registering three strikeouts and gave up just three hits. The right-hander also helped the cause on defense with a crucial double play in the sixth with the bases loaded.

"Last night we beat ourselves with errors; so it was good to see that when we play our game, we can beat the best of the best," Eberle said. "It was a great team effort. It was huge to get those extra runs at the end. This is the most I've practiced fielding so I just relied on my muscle memory on that double play."

Despite not lighting up the scoreboard, the Cowgirls offense kept up the pressure throughout the game. OSU reached base in every inning and threatened with a runner in scoring position in six of seven innings. In the third, junior Michaela Richbourg drove in the game's first run on an infield single. The Cowgirls tacked on another in the fourth when senior Alysen Febrey got the job done with a run-scoring groundout.

Alabama trimmed the lead to one in the sixth but the Cowgirls quickly responded with two runs in the seventh. Junior captain Sydney Pennington continues her torrid start to the season with a no-doubter solo homer and freshman Maci Cunconan scored on a wild pitch to extend OSU's lead to three heading into the final inning. Closing out what she started, Eberle wrapped up the win for her second complete game of the season.

The win against Alabama marks the highest ranked opponent the Cowgirls have defeated this season. It's also the first victory against softball powerhouse Alabama in OSU history.

Next up, the Cowgirls wrap up the SPC Elite Invitational with an exhibition match against Team USA tomorrow on February 16 at 9 a.m. The match will be televised on ESPN3.