Oklahoma State University Athletics
2022 Oklahoma State Softball Position Preview - Pitchers
February 07, 2022 | Cowgirl Softball
A third consecutive trip to the Women's College World Series seems attainable for Oklahoma State in 2022. As the countdown to the season continues, we preview the pitching staff, where Cowgirls feature three ace-level performers in left-hander Kelly Maxwell and right-handers Morgan Day and Miranda Elish.
A 2021 first team All-Big 12 and first team NFCA all-region honoree, Maxwell can be overpowering. Her 8.80 strikeouts per seven innings is second on Oklahoma State's career list, trailing only three-time Olympian Lauren Bay. She has thrown a solo perfect game and combined with Carrie Eberle on a second perfect game. On top of that, she's thrown an additional two no-hitters. Maxwell started the 2021 season with 25.2 consecutive scoreless innings and the run that broke the streak was unearned. She went 36.2 innings to start the season before giving up her first earned run.
Overpowering is an appropriate description for Day as well. The Illinois State transfer was a first team All-Missouri Valley Conference and all-region honoree in 2021 who ranked seventh in the nation with 10.6 strikeouts per seven innings. Her strikeout-to-walk ratio of 7.06 ranked eighth in the NCAA. In the last two seasons alone, she has nine games with 12 or more strikeouts and three games with 15 or more strikeouts. Her Illinois State career included 115 appearances, 81 starts and 537.2 innings pitched, so there is high confidence that she has what she needs to perform at a high level on a larger stage.
Where things really have a chance to get interesting is with Elish, a 2020 first-team All-American and the 2020 National Player of the Year, according to Softball America. Having lost Eberle (an All-American in her own right) to graduation, it would seem that OSU is due to regress in the circle, but having Elish in the mix changes that thought process. Between her time at Oregon and Texas, Elish has posted a 66-15 career record with a 1.53 earned run average and 669 strikeouts in 550 innings of work. Opponents are batting just .179 against her.
Those three figure to chew up most of the innings, but Tatum Clopton - the No. 7 overall recruit in the nation by FloSoftball in the 2021 class - is a name to know. At 5-foot-10, she is a commanding presence in the circle who can also contribute with the bat. Even on a team with as much returning star power as the Cowgirls have, Clopton is a candidate to see early playing time.
Others in the pitching mix include freshmen Bailee Runner and Kathryn Ogg.
The staff benefits from the tutelage of renowned pitching coach John Bargfeldt, who won eight conference titles in 14 years as head coach at the University of Tulsa. Since coming to Oklahoma State prior to the 2020 season, Bargfeldt coached Eberle to the first two All-America honors of her career and coached both Eberle and Maxwell to first team all-region and first-team all-Big 12 accolades in 2021.
A 2021 first team All-Big 12 and first team NFCA all-region honoree, Maxwell can be overpowering. Her 8.80 strikeouts per seven innings is second on Oklahoma State's career list, trailing only three-time Olympian Lauren Bay. She has thrown a solo perfect game and combined with Carrie Eberle on a second perfect game. On top of that, she's thrown an additional two no-hitters. Maxwell started the 2021 season with 25.2 consecutive scoreless innings and the run that broke the streak was unearned. She went 36.2 innings to start the season before giving up her first earned run.
Overpowering is an appropriate description for Day as well. The Illinois State transfer was a first team All-Missouri Valley Conference and all-region honoree in 2021 who ranked seventh in the nation with 10.6 strikeouts per seven innings. Her strikeout-to-walk ratio of 7.06 ranked eighth in the NCAA. In the last two seasons alone, she has nine games with 12 or more strikeouts and three games with 15 or more strikeouts. Her Illinois State career included 115 appearances, 81 starts and 537.2 innings pitched, so there is high confidence that she has what she needs to perform at a high level on a larger stage.
Where things really have a chance to get interesting is with Elish, a 2020 first-team All-American and the 2020 National Player of the Year, according to Softball America. Having lost Eberle (an All-American in her own right) to graduation, it would seem that OSU is due to regress in the circle, but having Elish in the mix changes that thought process. Between her time at Oregon and Texas, Elish has posted a 66-15 career record with a 1.53 earned run average and 669 strikeouts in 550 innings of work. Opponents are batting just .179 against her.
Those three figure to chew up most of the innings, but Tatum Clopton - the No. 7 overall recruit in the nation by FloSoftball in the 2021 class - is a name to know. At 5-foot-10, she is a commanding presence in the circle who can also contribute with the bat. Even on a team with as much returning star power as the Cowgirls have, Clopton is a candidate to see early playing time.
Others in the pitching mix include freshmen Bailee Runner and Kathryn Ogg.
The staff benefits from the tutelage of renowned pitching coach John Bargfeldt, who won eight conference titles in 14 years as head coach at the University of Tulsa. Since coming to Oklahoma State prior to the 2020 season, Bargfeldt coached Eberle to the first two All-America honors of her career and coached both Eberle and Maxwell to first team all-region and first-team all-Big 12 accolades in 2021.
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