Cowgirls Blank Missouri State in Bounce-Back Performance

Wednesday, April 11

Springfield, MO

5 P.M. CT

Oklahoma State University

29-12

Missouri State

23-15

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Oklahoma State	0	1	1	0	0	1	0	3	13	0
Missouri State	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	1

Photo by: OSU Athletics

April 11, 2018 | Cowgirl Softball

Box Score

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Oklahoma State softball team snapped its midweek skid with a 3-0 victory over Missouri State on Wednesday at Killian Stadium.

"That was a really good way to bounce back from last night's performance," head coach Kenny Gajewski said. "I thought Emmie (Robertson) was really good and the bats were really good. We're just a couple of hits away from really scoring a lot of runs and breaking some games wide open. We've got to clean some stuff up, but overall it was a good road win and a good way to bounce back."

Emmie Robertson handled duties in the circle, helping guide OSU (29-12; 7-2 Big 12) to its seventh shutout of the year. Robertson struck out seven and walked only one on Wednesday. She has now thrown back-to-back complete-game shutouts.

"I didn't think she was as sharp as she has been, but it's a shutout again," Gajewski said of Robertson. "That's now 14 innings without giving up a run and I'm just very happy with the way she threw. It's only an hour away from her hometown, so I'm sure she was amped up and excited to perform in front of them, and it was just another great day for her."

The Cowgirl bats were on display as well, with OSU racking up 13 hits against the Bears. Two of those hits came from senior Vanessa Shippy, who finished 2-for-4 on the day with an RBI single in the second inning that opened the scoring.

Shippy's base knock scored Chelsea Alexander from third and was the 128th RBI of her illustrious career. She also opened Wednesday's contest with a single, marking the 21st time in the last 26 contests that she has reached as the Cowgirls' first batter of the game.

OSU tacked on a second run in the top of the third when Michaela Richbourg doubled down the right-field line with two outs, scoring Whitney Whitehorn from second base.

Missouri State threatened to respond to the Cowgirls' offensive efforts, as the Bears put multiple runners on base in the third and fourth innings, but Robertson and the OSU defense kept them off the board.

In the sixth inning, Michaela Richbourg again played a key role in helping Oklahoma State tack on an insurance run. She wore a pitch to reach first base, and moved into scoring position on a pair of wild pitches.

Elise LeBeouf, pinch hitting for Mackenzie Thomas, drove Richbourg home after singling the ninth pitch of her at-bat back up the middle to make it 3-0 in favor of the Pokes.

"Elise's at-bat was just clutch. It was a huge at-bat and she's a kid that has been working really hard and keeping her head up," Gajewski said. "She hasn't gotten the opportunities that a lot of kids have, but she just continues to fight and I'm really happy for a great kid."

The Cowgirls will look to build on their midweek victory this weekend when they welcome No. 16 Baylor to Stillwater for a pivotal three-game conference series. The Big 12 foes will open the series Friday night at Cowgirl Stadium with first pitch scheduled for 5 p.m.