DENTON, Texas -
The Oklahoma State softball team defeated Dayton, 4-2, following a 1-0 eight-inning loss to Nebraska-Omaha Saturday at the Lovelace Invitational, hosted by North Texas.
Game one against Nebraska-Omaha was a pitcher's duel, as OSU pitcher Kat Espinosa (1-3) struck out 11 batters in 7-1/3 innings of work, but with the game tied at zero in the bottom of the eighth, Allie Matthewson hit one off the fence in left center field to score the game-winning run for UNO. Tamara Brown picked up the lone hit for the Cowgirls.
In game two against Dayton, Taylor Woodall got the Cowgirls started in the second inning, blasting a grand slam to left center to give OSU a 4-0 lead. Dayton cut the lead in half in the top of the sixth inning when Kathleen Maloof hit a two-run home run to left center. That was all the offense Dayton would muster as the Cowgirls toke the game, 4-2.
Pitcher Simone Freeman (3-2), who took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, allowed two runs on three hits and struck out 12.
OSU wraps up competition at the Lovelace Invitational on Sunday with a rematch against Iowa scheduled for 11:30 a.m.
