Cowgirls advance to NCAA Regional final with record-setting offensive explosion
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – A 12-run third inning catapulted the No. 24 Oklahoma State softball team to a record-setting 16-8 win over Indiana in an elimination game played at Bogle Park Saturday.
All 12 of OSU’s runs in the third came before the first out was recorded to set an NCAA Tournament record. It was the fifth-highest single-inning scoring output for any team in NCAA Tournament history and the most for OSU in any inning of any game since a 14-run inning against Omaha in 2018.
The Cowgirls’ total of 16 runs against the Hoosiers Saturday established a new school record in an NCAA Tournament game and OSU’s 18 hits set a season high and was just two short of the school record for any game.
A 12-run third inning blew open a regional elmination game against Indiana as OSU rolled to a 16-8 victory to advance to Sunday’s rematch against Arkansas in the Regional Final.
The win advanced the Pokes (35-19 overall) into tomorrow’s regional final against Arkansas. The Cowgirls will need to beat the homestanding Hogs twice. The first game is scheduled for 3 p.m., with the if-necessary game starting shortly after its conclusion.
Additionally, the win was Kenny Gajewski’s 400th as OSU’s head coach.
Indiana (34-20) got on the board with a pair of runs in the first inning, but the Cowgirls went on to claim their 13th win of the season in a game in which they trailed by two or more runs. Every OSU starter scored at least one run in the game, with Megan Delgadillo scoring three and Amanda Hasler, Rosie Davis, Tia Warsop and Rachael Hathoot scoring two apiece.
Hathoot set a career high with four hits in the game, with Delgadillo, Davis, Karli Godwin, Warsop and Audrey Schneidmiller adding multi-hit performances of their own. In a game loaded with offensive explosiveness, Hasler’s third-inning grand slam was the biggest blow of them all. It was her 16th home run of the year and OSU’s first grand slam of the season. It was the Cowgirls’ first grand slam in an NCAA Tournament game since 2022. Hasler’s slam was followed immediately by a home run from Davis just two pitches later.
RyLee Crandall picked up the win for OSU to improve to 7-4 on the year. Indiana was forced to make five pitching changes in the game, with Brianna Copeland (18-10) saddled with the loss.
