Cowgirls advance to Super Regional with comeback vs. Nebraska

STILLWATER – A dramatic fourrun seventh inning propelled the No. 6 national seed Oklahoma State Cowgirls to a 5-2 comeback victory over Nebraska on Sunday afternoon at Cowgirl Stadium.

With the win, OSU improved to 44-14, while Nebraska fell to 3622. As the No. 6 national seed, OSU will host the NCAA Super Regional in Stillwater next weekend, against Oregon, who advanced from the Fayetteville Regional. Game times and TV designations are set to be announced when available.

OSU extended its NCAA Regional winning streak to 12 games with the win today, all of which have happened at the NCAA Stillwater Regional.

After her double-digit strikeout performance in game one of the Stillwater Regional, coach Kenny Gajewski turned to Kelly Maxwell once again. The southpaw maintained her momentum into today’s contest, collecting seven strikeouts in 4.1 innings of work.

Playing as the designated away team in Sunday’s contest, the Pokes nearly took the lead in the top of the first inning after loading the bases, but OSU couldn’t capitalize and the game remained scoreless.

Both teams were held off the scoreboard until the fourth inning, when OSU broke through and took the lead. Freshman Tallen Edwards tallied her 25th run batted in of the season with a double that scored Morgyn Wynne and put the Cowgirls on top,1-0.

Nebraska took the lead in the fifth inning, capitalizing on two wild pitches from reliever Lexi Kilfoyl to put the Cornhuskers ahead 2-1.

Down to their final two outs in the top of the seventh, the Pokes began their comeback bid.

Edwards got on base with a single and advanced to second after pinch-hitter Katie Lott notched a base hit of her own. Following a base on balls from Megan Bloodworth, OSU’s lead-off hitter, Rachel Becker, came through with a two-RBI single to put the Cowgirls back in front 3-2.

Another single loaded the bases for Kiley Naomi, who notched an RBI as she reached base from a Nebraska fielding error. The Pokes capped off the four-run seventh with an RBI groundout from Micaela Wark, extending the lead to 5-2.

Kilfoyl, who went 2.2 innings in relief with a pair of strikeouts, kept the Cornhuskers off the scoreboard in the bottom of the seventh and secured the victory.

OSU outscored its opponents in the NCAA Stillwater Regional 202, including a run-rule victory over Maryland-Baltimore County on Friday evening.

Edwards’ fourth-inning double elevated the 2023 Cowgirls’ team total to 100, which marks the first time in program history that OSU has tallied triple-digit two-baggers.

With five RBI in Sunday’s win, the Pokes have totaled 333 RBI on the year, which is also for a new program record, passing the mark set in 2021 of 330 RBI.

Gajewski improved his head coaching record in the regional round of the NCAA D1 Softball Championship to 18-6 with the win Sunday.