Cowgirl Softball Welcomes Florida State For Showcase Nonconference Series

Friday, March 10

Stillwater, OK

6 P.M. CT

Oklahoma State University

Florida State

Cowgirl Softball Welcomes Florida State For Showcase Nonconference Series

March 08, 2023 | Cowgirl Softball

Watch Listen Follow Game Notes

The Basics
The No. 3/3 Oklahoma State softball team invites No. 5/6 Florida State to Stillwater for a showcase nonconference series from March 10-12.

The Cowgirls' first of three games with the Seminoles is scheduled for a 6 p.m. CT first pitch on Friday.

On Saturday, along with the reintroduction of the Cowgirl Grove Tailgate Series, OSU and FSU will get started on 2 p.m. CT. The series finale is set for Sunday with first pitch slated for 2 p.m. CT.

Watch, Listen, Follow
Each of Oklahoma State's game with No. 5/6 Florida State can be streamed on ESPN+ with Chris Deal, Casey Kendrick and Ali McCutcheon on the call.

Each of Oklahoma State's games over the weekend can be heard on stillwaterradio.net or The Varsity Network with Bill Van Ness on the call.

Live stats for all of Oklahoma State's games are available online at statbroadcast.com.

Fans can follow @cowgirlsb on Twitter all season for regular coverage and updates.

In The Rankings
As of March 6, Oklahoma State ranks:
• No. 3 in the USA Today/NFCA DI Top 25 Coaches Poll
• No. 3 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25
• No. 3 in the Softball America NCAA Division I Softball Top 25
• No. 3 in the D1Softball Top 25

Oklahoma State From A Distance
Six starters are back from a 2022 Oklahoma State team that put together a 40-win season, which ended at the Women's College World Series for an NCAA era program record third consecutive year. Five of OSU's returning starters were also starters on the Cowgirls' 2021 WCWS team and two of them started for OSU during its 2019 WCWS appearance.

Returning for the Cowgirls are All-Americans Kelly Maxwell and Katelynn Carwile, as well as a pair of graduate veterans and All-Big 12 regulars Chyenne Factor and Kiley Naomi.

Impact newcomers include two-time All-Big Ten honoree and All-American infielder Rachel Becker, All-SEC Newcomer and All-Region pitcher Lexi Kilyfoyl and 2022 NFCA DI Freshman of the Year finalist Megan Bloodworth.

A talented freshman class – including six members of the Extra Inning Softball Elite 100 – enter the mix. Tallen Edwards (No. 3 overall), Haidyn Sokoloski (No. 17 overall) and Kyra Aycock (No. 26 overall) are all likely candidates to see meaningful playing time in their first year with the Cowgirls. Angelina Craig, Katie Lott, Lexi McDonald and Claire Timm round out the 20th ranked signing class in the country, per Extra Inning Softball.

Notable Streaks & Trends
• OSU has been ranked in the National Fastpitch Coaches Assocation Poll in each of its last 222 games, dating back to the start of the 2019 season.
• OSU has won each of its last 16 games, which is the longest win streak since Kenny Gajewski took the reins as head coach, dating back to the start of the 2016 season.
• OSU has outscored its opponents 155-43 in its last 19 games.
• OSU has run-ruled nine of its last 15 opponents.
• Rachel Becker has reached base safely at least once in each of the Cowgirls' 19 games this season.
• Rachel Becker has pieced together an 18-game hitting streak – the team's longest active streak and the longest by any Cowgirl this season – dating back to February 11 vs. North Carolina; the streak is the second longest in program history behind Taylor Lynch, who tallied at least one hit in 23 consecutive games during her freshman season in 2016.

Series History
The recent history of the all-time series between Oklahoma State and Florida State has held significant weight.

In 2019, OSU knocked off the defending national champion Seminoles at the Tallahassee Super Regional to reach its first WCWS since 2011. Two years later, in the second round of the winner's bracket at the 2021 WCWS, it was Florida State who ended the Cowgirls' season early.

A season ago, the Cowgirls lost a pair of one-run games in Tallahassee in late April, at a time in which both teams were fighting for a top-eight RPI as a lock to host the Regional and Super Regional rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

Overall, Oklahoma State holds the series lead over FSU, 13-11, including a 2-1 record in games played in Stillwater.

Offensive Powerhouse
The Oklahoma State offense has positioned itself among the elite through the first month of the 2023 season. As a team, OSU enters the weekend with a plethora of top-five statistical rankings:
• .381 batting average (third in NCAA DI).
• .477 on-base percentage (fourth in NCAA DI).
• .617 slugging percentage (tied-fourth in NCAA DI).

Sweeping The Country
Oklahoma State has pieced three-consecutive weekend tournament sweeps to amass 16 wins in a row: the TaxAct Clearwater Invitational in Clearwater, Florida, the Troy Cox Classic in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and the Cowgirls' 2023 home opener, the OSU/Tulsa Invitational.

During this stretch, the Cowgirls have outscored opponents 143-30, emerged victorious over three ranked opponents, posted seven shutouts and claimed nine victories via run-rule.

Along with their success as a unit, the Cowgirls also became the first team to sweep the Big 12 Conference individual weekly awards as Lexi Kilfoyl was named Pitcher of the Week and Micaela Wark earned Player of the Week status in week four.

Kilfoyl notched the Pokes' first no-hitter of 2023 and the third solo no-hit performance of her career against Maine on March 9. Wark's week four performance ranked first in the Big 12 Conference in batting average (.692), on-base percentage (.750), RBI (nine) and stolen bases (three).