Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State University
Texas Tech
Cowgirls Set For Final Conference Road Trip To Texas Tech
April 26, 2023 | Cowgirl Softball
The Basics
Traveling to Lubbock, Texas, for its final conference road trip of the 2023 season, the No. 7/7 Oklahoma State softball team takes on the Texas Tech Red Raiders at Rocky Johnson Field from April 28-30.
The first game of the conference series is set for 6:30 p.m. CT Friday. Saturday's game gets started 2 p.m. CT and Sunday's series finale is slated for noon CT.
Watch, Listen, Follow
Each of Oklahoma State's games at Texas Tech can be streamed on ESPN+ and can be heard on The Varsity Network or stillwaterradio.net 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 for regular in-game coverage and updates.
In The Rankings
As of April 24, Oklahoma State ranks:
• No. 4 in the NCAA DI Adjusted Rating Percentage Index.
• No. 7 in the USA Today/NFCA DI Top 25 Coaches Poll.
• No. 7 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25.
• No. 8 in the D1Softball Top 25.
• No. 9 in the Softball America NCAA Division I Softball Top 25.
• No. 9 in the Extra Inning Softball Top 25.
Oklahoma State From A Distance
Oklahoma State is on the verge of a third-consecutive 40-win season, a feat it has accomplished only twice in its history (1988-90 & 1992-94). The Cowgirls already have ranked wins over Oregon (RPI No. 18), Virginia Tech (RPI No. 26), Michigan (RPI No. 36) and Missouri (RPI No. 42), as well as a pair of wins over Florida State (RPI No. 5) and a series sweep of Baylor (RPI No. 24).
Leading the way for Oklahoma State on offense is a pair of All-American candidates in Rachel Becker and Kiley Naomi. The graduates form a dynamic middle infield duo and their role in the top half of the OSU batting order has been equally impactful. As the Cowgirls' every day second baseman and leadoff hitter after transferring from Purdue, Becker currently ranks in the top 10 nationally in batting average (.471 – sixth), doubles (16 – fourth), hits (64 – eighth) and on-base percentage (.589 – fifth). Naomi is further solidifying her name in OSU program record books in her fifth and final year as a Cowgirl. The NCAA DI active career leader in games played (251), the Cowgirls' shortstop is approaching OSU career records for home runs and runs scored.
Just as she did in 2022, redshirt senior Kelly Maxwell anchors the Oklahoma State pitching staff as the Big 12 Conference leader in hits allowed per seven innings (3.22), saves (five), strikeouts (171) and strikeouts per seven innings (11.5).
Series History
Oklahoma State owns a 50-24 series lead over Texas Tech, including an 18-14 record in games played in Lubbock.
In his eight-year tenure as head coach of the Cowgirls, Kenny Gajewski is 15-4 all-time versus Texas Tech. A season ago, OSU opened its 2022 conference slate with a sweep of the Red Raiders in Stillwater, one of the Cowgirls' four conference sweeps that season.
In its dominating performance against TTU last year, OSU outscored the Red Raiders, 32-2, outhit TTU, 31-8, and claimed two of its three victories via five-inning run rule.
Notable Streaks & Trends
• OSU has been ranked in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Poll in each of its last 250 games, dating back to the start of the 2019 season.
• OSU has nine wins over RPI top 25 opponents.
• OSU has outscored its opponents, 297-101, a +196 run differential.
• OSU has outscored its opponents, 65-5, in the first inning.
• OSU has earned 13 of its 39 wins this season via run-rule.
• OSU has claimed 20 of its 39 wins this season by five or more runs.
• OSU has scored first in 34 of its 47 contests this season.
• OSU has committed zero errors in 30 of its 47 games this season.
• OSU has held opponents to five runs or less in 41 of its 47 games this season.
• Rachel Becker has reached base safely at least once in each of the Cowgirls' 47 games this season.
• Kelly Maxwell has recorded 172 of the Cowgirls pitching staff's 348 strikeouts this season, which equates to 49.4 percent of Oklahoma State's strikeouts.
National Powerhouse
Oklahoma State has positioned itself among the elite in 2023, with the numbers to show for it.
As a unit, OSU travels to Texas Tech with several top-10 statistical rankings:
• .331 batting average (seventh in NCAA).
• .53 double plays per game (fourth in NCAA).
• 81 doubles (fourth in NCAA).
• 1.72 doubles per game (sixth in NCAA).
• .423 on-base percentage (seventh in NCAA).
• .982 fielding percentage (fifth in NCAA).
• 18 shutouts (fifth in NCAA).
• .830 win percentage (ninth in NCAA).
Becker's Batting Bonanza
Graduate infielder Rachel Becker has played at an All-America level in her first season at Oklahoma State and the final season of her collegiate career. Her .589 on-base percentage ranks fifth among NCAA DI hitters, while her .471 batting average ranks sixth in NCAA DI.
Consistency is key to Becker's success at the plate: she has pieced together a 20-game hitting streak (second-longest in OSU history) from March 17 to April 22 and a separate 18-game hitting streak from February 11 to March 5 (third-longest in OSU history).
To The Max
In All-American form, Kelly Maxwell has anchored the Oklahoma State pitching staff in her second year as the Cowgirls' ace. The redshirt senior lefty leads the Big 12 Conference in hits allowed per seven innings (3.22), saves (five), strikeouts (171) and strikeouts per seven innings (11.5).
For reference, her 171 strikeouts this season is more than 100 NCAA DI teams.
We've Got Five On ItÂ
One of three graduate Cowgirls to have spent her entire collegiate career at Oklahoma State, Kiley Naomi is on pace to make the final season of NCAA softball one of her best as she further solidifies her name into Oklahoma State's program record books.
The Lafayette, Louisiana native has shown notable improvement over the last year, having already surpassed her 2022 season totals in a number of statistical categories:
2022 (Senior)
AVG .224
SLG .376
OBP .333
H 37
RBI 21
2023 (Graduate)
AVG .371
SLG .650
OBP .459
H 53
RBI 49
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