Cowgirl Comeback Falls Short In Home Opener

Wednesday, March 1

Stillwater, OK

5:30 PM

Oklahoma State University

8-8

Arkansas

12-1

Arkansas

OKLAHOMA STATE

March 01, 2017 | Cowgirl Softball

Box Score

Photos

STILLWATER, Okla. ---- Oklahoma State Softball lost its home opener Wednesday to Arkansas 7-6 at Cowgirl Stadium.

Oklahoma State (8-8) scored first with two runs in the bottom of the first inning and added another run in the bottom of the second. Arkansas belted three home runs in the game, which proved to be the difference maker.

"I saw some good things," head coach Kenny Gajewski said. "We're starting to swing the bats a little bit more. And I thought our energy was really good, so looking forward to what the rest of the season holds."

Arkansas (12-1) responded to the early 3-0 Cowgirl lead in the top of the third with back-to-back home runs to tie the game at 3-3.

The Cowgirls would later regain the lead in the bottom of the fourth. Rylee Bayless hit an RBI double to score Mackenzie Thomas and pulled the Cowgirls within a run at, 4-3.

Arkansas responded once again in the top of the sixth with a two-out grand slam to take a 7-3 lead.

The Cowgirls refused to quit, though. They responded with RBI hits from Bayless and Vanessa Shippy in the bottom of the sixth to cut the lead to 7-6. Bayless and Shippy combined for five of the team's seven RBIs on the night.

"If this game doesn't get you excited about Cowgirl softball, then I don't know what else will," Bayless said. "This is a huge step for us. I'm just really excited about the rest of the games."

Bayless went 2-for-3 with three RBIs and a run scored. Shippy continued her hot start by going 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Bayless has now reached base in all 16 games this season.

With the loss, Oklahoma State moves to 1-1 in home openers under Gajewski.
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Up Next: The Cowgirls host the Mizuno Classic this weekend. Oklahoma State will play five games in three days against Abilene Christian, Tennessee Tech and Northern Iowa. Fans can watch live on okstate.com/live, follow live stats on okstate.com or on Twitter (@CowgirlSB).