Cowgirls Split Pair Of Games In Clearwater

Saturday, February 18

Clearwater, FL

12:30 AM CT

Oklahoma State University

5-3

Saint Joseph's

0-4

Saint Joseph's

OKLAHOMA STATE

February 18, 2017 | Cowgirl Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

CLEARWATER, Fla. ---- Oklahoma State Softball split a pair of games Saturday with Saint Joseph's and No. 20 South Florida at the Michele Smith Invitational. The Cowgirls defeated the Hawks, 5-0, in game one before falling to the Bulls, 12-4, in six innings in the second game.

Senior Brandi Needham was the difference maker in the win. She threw her second complete-game shutout of the season against the Hawks. Needham only allowed six hits while stranding seven Saint Joseph's runners.

"What I take away is we just can't make errors," head coach Kenny Gajewski said. "Errors right now are killing us and showing up in the box scores. Our pitches for the most part have really competed well and thrown the ball well. I've been really happy with that. We're just making one play a game that's costing us too many runs."

Oklahoma State (5-4) used a combination of great pitching and timely hitting to earn its fifth win of the year and second in the tournament. The Cowgirls scored first on a solo home run by junior Jessi Haffner that gave OSU a 1-0 lead after two innings.

The Cowgirl offense came alive once more in the fourth. Sophomore Madi Sue Montgomery led the way with a three-run triple. Senior Kristin Reasnor later brought home Montgomery with an RBI single up the middle to make it 5-0.

Oklahoma State was led offensively by Montgomery, who went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and a run scored. Alongside Montgomery, Haffner went 1-for-3 with a solo home run.

In the circle, Needham (3-1) worked her way to a 1.57 ERA on the year while earning the win.

The Cowgirls ran into their fourth-ranked opponent of the year in the second game of the day in USF.

South Florida (5-3) jumped out to an early 4-0 lead after two innings but OSU wouldn't go down without a fight.

The Cowgirls scored four runs in the bottom of the third to tie the game at 4-4. Junior Rylee Bayless had a two-RBI double to cut the deficit to 4-2. Oklahoma State eventually scored two more runs in the inning thanks to wild pitches.

USF responded with seven runs in the fourth, five of which were unearned, to take the 11-4 lead it wouldn't give up.

Freshman Logan Simunek (2-1) took the loss. She went 0.2 innings in relief of sophomore Christina Biggerstaff.

The Cowgirls were led offensively by Bayless, who went 2-for-4 with two RBIs.

With at least a hit in both games, sophomore Taylor Lynch extended her hitting steak to nine games. She set an OSU record with 23-straight games with a hit in 2016.

All four losses on the year for OSU have come at the hands of ranked opponents.

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Up Next: Oklahoma State concludes the Michele Smith Invitational tomorrow with Binghamton. First pitch is set for 8:30 a.m. (CT). Fans can follow along on Twitter (@CowgirlSB) or with live stats on okstate.com.