Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State University
24-6
South Florida
17-15
No. 20 OSU Picks Up Two More Wins
March 19, 2011 | Cowgirl Softball
March 19, 2011
CLEARWATER, Fla. (OSU Athletics South Florida jumped off to an early lead against the Cowgirls when Stephanie Medina hit a three-run home run in the first inning. OSU began to chip away at the 3-0 lead in the second inning as Chelsea Garcia hit a double to center field. She advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Tamara Brown and scored on a single up the middle from Ashley Boyd.
In the third inning, Ari Morrison walked and stole a base then scored on a fielding error by the USF second baseman to make the score 3-2. But in the bottom of the third, Medina hit a two-RBI double to widen the USF lead to 5-2. She had all five RBIs for USF.
However, in the top of the fourth inning, the Cowgirls rallied to score six runs off five hits to take the lead and didn't allow South Florida to score another run. Tamara Brown led the inning off with a double down the left field line and was followed with back-to-back singles from Boyd and Sammy Jo Diffendaffer. With the bases loaded, Tarah Ettinger grounded to the second baseman and scored Kelsea Schultz, who pinch ran for Brown.
Mariah Gearhart was hit by a pitch to load the bases again. Ari Morrison then reached on a fielder's choice that scored a run, and a USF error scored another. The next batter, senior Alysia Hamilton, cleared the bases with a double to left field. She would score two batters later on a single from Garcia. The score at the end of the fourth inning was 8-5.
OSU added one more insurance run in the sixth when Brown hit an RBI-single to centerfield. Sophomore Kat Espinosa threw the complete game for the Cowgirls and improved to 12-2 on the season.
In the first game of the day, the Cowgirls (24-6) scored five runs off five hits in the first inning and another five runs off five hits in the fourth inning against the Eagles (14-16). Julie Ward hit a triple in the fourth to score two runs and Ashley Boyd hit a double three batters later to score another two. Tamara Brown went 3-for-3 in the game.
Freshman Morgan Hawkins picked up her fourth win of the season. She threw the first three innings, gave up just two hits, struck out three and walked none. Senior Sarah Odom came in for relief in the fourth and gave up one run off two hits, while striking out two. In the bottom of the fifth, freshman Simone Freeman entered the game with nobody out and the bases loaded. She struck out the final three batters to end the game.
OSU will wrap up the USF-The Game Tournament tomorrow when they face Rutgers at 8:30 a.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Espinosa, Kat (12-2)
L: S. Nevins (7-5)
Batting:
2B: Hamilton, Alysia 1 ; Garcia, Chelsea 1 ; Brown, Tamara 1
RBI: Morrison, Ari 1 ; Hamilton, Alysia 2 ; Garcia, Chelsea 1 ; Brown, Tamara 1 ; Boyd, Ashley 1 ; Ettinger, Tarah 1
SH: Brown, Tamara 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Gearhart, Mariah 1 ; Morrison, Ari 2 ; Hamilton, Alysia 1 ; Ward, Julie 1 ; Garcia, Chelsea 1 ; Brown, Tamara 1 ; Schultz, Kelsea 1 ; Diffendaffer, Sammy Jo 1
SB: Gearhart, Mariah 1 ; Morrison, Ari 1
HBP: Gearhart, Mariah 1 ; Ward, Julie 1
Batting:
2B: S. Medina 1
HR: S. Medina 1
RBI: S. Medina 5
Base Running:
RUNS: G. Kafalas 1 ; A. Goff 1 ; K. Salvarola 1 ; J. Richardso 1 ; S. Medina 1
HBP: G. Kafalas 1 ; S. Medina 1 ; A. Nowell 1
