Cowgirls Set For Season Opening West Coast Trip

February 05, 2024 | Cowgirl Softball

Game Notes (PDF)

The Basics
The No. 9/11 Oklahoma State softball team starts its 50th season of competition with five games in Southern California, first traveling to Cal State Northridge on Feb. 8, then facing Portland State, Utah State and UC Riverside at the Lynn Russell Miller Classic in Riverside from Feb. 9-10 before a showcase matchup with No. 10/8 UCLA in Westwood on Feb. 11.

Watch, Listen, Follow
There will be no radio available for any of the games in California. The game against CSUN will be available on ESPN+, as will the UCLA game, in addition to the game against the Bruins being televised live on ESPN. Live stats for all of OSU's games in California are available online at statbroadcast.com. Fans can follow @CowgirlSB on X all season for regular coverage and updates.

In The Rankings
Oklahoma State is No. 9 in the preseason USA Today/NFCA Coaches poll and No. 11 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll. Softball America has the Cowgirls at No. 14 and D1Softball has the Pokes at No. 12. Of OSU's opponents in California, only UCLA is ranked, with the Bruins No. 10 in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches poll and No. 8 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball top 25.

Oklahoma State From a Distance
Five starters are back from Oklahoma State's 2023 Women's College World Series team that was No. 6 in the final rankings: 2023 All-America pitcher Lexi Kilfoyl, 2023 freshman All-American Tallen Edwards, 2023 all-region selection Micaela Wark, 2023 Big 12 all-freshman honoree Kyra Aycock and 2022 all-region selection Megan Bloodworth. Impact transfers include catcher Caroline Wang, the 2022 and 2023 Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Year at Liberty playing under her maiden name of Caroline Hudson and utility player Jilyen Poullard, who slashed .320/.423/.513, hit 13 home runs, had 73 runs batted in and stole 48 bases in 140 career games played for McNeese. Mississippi State transfer Macy Graf is another utility player who should factor into the playing time rotation. A talented freshman class is headlined by a trio of top-15 national recruits in pitcher Katie Kutz (the No. 6 national recruit by Softball America), infielder Karli Godwin (the No. 8 national recruit by Extra Innings Softball) and Tia Warsop (the No. 14 national recruit by Extra Innings Softball). Infielder Rosie Davis and utility player Taylor Anderson are additional freshmen likely to see significant playing time. Other key returners include pitcher Ivy Rosenberry, catcher Audrey Schneidmiller, infielders Lexi McDonald and Sophie Page and outfielders Scotland David, Claire Timm, Katie Lott and Haidyn Sokoloski.

Notable Streaks and Trends
• OSU has been ranked in the NFCA poll in each of its last 271 games, dating back to the start of the 2019 season.
• Dating to last season, OSU has scored five or more runs in seven of its last nine games.
• Dating to last season, OSU has won four of its last six against NFCA-ranked opponents.
• OSU is coming off a season in which it eclipsed 40 wins for a third year in a row, a feat it has accomplished only two other times in its history (1988-90 and 1992-94).
• Dating to last season, Micaela Wark has started 29 consecutive games, the longest streak on the team.

Series History
Oklahoma State is 4-3 in its seven meetings with Cal State Northridge, with the last meeting between the two programs in 2014. The Cowgirls are making their first trip to the Matadors' home turf, as each of the previous seven contests were played at neutral sites. Portland State holds a 2-1 series advantage over OSU, with the last meeting in 2009. The Pokes are 9-4 all-time against Utah State but have not faced the Aggies since 2001. The game against UC Riverside is the first meeting between the two programs. Oklahoma State trails the all-time series with UCLA, 12-5, and is in search of its first win over the Bruins in Westwood, as UCLA holds a 2-0 edge over the Cowgirls at Easton Stadium. The Bruins have won the last three series meetings overall, but the two teams have not squared off since 2018. OSU's last win over UCLA was an 8-1 victory in 2007 when the Cowgirls were unranked, and the Bruins were No. 9.