Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State University
28-11, 7-2
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Kansas
25-15, 0-6
Cowgirls Come From Behind to Sweep Kansas
April 07, 2018 | Cowgirl Softball
PDF Box Score
LAWRENCE, Kan. – The Oklahoma State softball team earned its first Big 12 sweep of the season Saturday, as the Cowgirls rallied from a pair of deficits to defeat Kansas, 9-3, at Arrocha Ballpark.
OSU trailed twice Saturday, falling behind 2-0 after the first inning and 3-2 after the conclusion of the third. Both times, however, the Cowgirls responded, first tying the game with two runs in the top of the second and taking their first, and only, lead of the game with a three-run sixth inning.
"It was just a grind. I'm really proud of this team - they're resilient; they're mentally and emotionally tough," head coach Kenny Gajewski said. "Nothing was as planned and they just answered the bell this whole weekend. To sweep the doubleheader (on Thursday) was big. Then to sit in a hotel room all day and not know if we were going to get this game played, and to come out here in a dogfight and score those runs late - I'm really proud of our toughness and I thought it was a good weekend all around."
In the sixth inning, a pair of walks and an infield single loaded the bases for Taylor Lynch, who drove in her 32nd run of the year with a grounder to second base that tied the game at 3-3. Lynch also drove in a pair of runs in the top of the seventh inning to seal the Cowgirls' sweep of of the Jayhawks.
Madi Sue Montgomery followed Lynch in the score-flipping sixth inning, and she too delivered with a clutch RBI-single into center field that gave OSU its first lead of the day. Montgomery has driven in a team-high 44 runs so far in 2018.
Two batters later, Whitney Whitehorn drew a two-out walk that loaded the bases for the second time in the sixth inning. Elise LeBeouf, pinch hitting for Jessi Haffner, brought home the Cowgirls' third run of the frame, as she drew a four-pitch walk to score Montgomery.
Prior to the sixth-inning rally, the Cowgirls clawed out of a 2-0 deficit with a pair of runs in the second inning.
Maddi Holcomb drove in the first run of the frame with a groundout to second base that scored Jessi Haffner from third. Following Holcomb, Vanessa Shippy drew a two-out walk to give OSU runners at the corners.
Shippy's walk was the 164th of her illustrious career, pushing her into sole possession of fourth place in Big 12 history. The two-time All-American finished 3-for-3 with a double and two walks on Saturday.
One her hits was a leadoff single to open the game, marking the 20th time in OSU's last 24 contests that Shippy has reached game as the first Cowgirl batter. She has recorded a hit on 10 of those occasions and walked in the other 10.
"I saw good at-bats all day long and we've really worked hard this week on shortening up and it's paying off for some of those kids," Gajewski said. "Of course, Shippy was on base all five times today and when she's on, we really go as she goes. I'm just very, very happy with the way that we were resilient and continued to battle."
Shippy also helped score OSU's second run of the day, as she got caught in a rundown between first and second that allowed Chelsea Alexander to sprint home from third and tie the game at 2-2.
In the circle, Samantha Clakley earned her 11th win of the year. She allowed just one hit and struck out three in 3.1 innings of relief work.
OSU will return to action with a pair of midweek matchups next week. First, the Cowgirls will host UT Arlington Tuesday night at 5:30 p.m. before traveling to Missouri State for a Wednesday clash in Springfield.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Clakley, Samantha (11-4)
L: Formby, Andie (11-6)
Batting:
2B: Shippy, Vanessa 1
RBI: Lynch, Taylor 3 ; Montgomery, Madi Sue 1 ; Whitehorn, Whitney 2 ; LeBeouf, Elise 1 ; Holcomb, Maddi 1
SH: Thomas, Mackenzie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Shippy, Vanessa 1 ; Gilbert, Brighton 1 ; Montgomery, Madi Sue 1 ; Pennington, Sydney 1 ; Haffner, Jessi 1 ; Alexander, Chelsea 1 ; Richbourg, Michaela 1 ; Holcomb, Maddi 2
SB: Shippy, Vanessa 1 ; Alexander, Chelsea 1
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Batting:
2B: Jackson, Brittany 1
RBI: Ridling, Harli 1 ; Travieso, Tarin 2
SH: Jackson, Brittany 1
SF: Travieso, Tarin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jackson, Brittany 1 ; Valeo, Lily 1 ; Balderston, Addie 1
SB: Balderston, Addie 1
