Oklahoma State finally got to play at home last weekend, and they did not disappoint.
Through dominant pitching and, “suffocating” Cowgirl offense, OSU grabbed five more wins this past weekend.
OSU’s first of five games got started last Friday with a top 25 matchup against Missouri.
Kelly Maxwell put on a show for the fans in Stillwater tossing a complete game, including 12 strikeouts and only allowing three runs.
Her start in the circle started out slow as she gave up a solo home run in the first to give the Tigers the early lead.
The Cowgirl offense was quiet, as they didn’t get anyone across home plate for the first three innings.
That all changed in the fourth inning as OSU put up a crooked number.
Rachel Becker reached on a walk and Tallen Edwards singled to start the inning.
After a fielder’s choice that got Edwards out at second, Micaela Wark stepped into the batter’s box.
The junior delivered with a blast up the middle that scored Becker to tie the game 1-1.
Katelynn Carwile and Cheyenne Factor both drove in runs for the Cowgirls as well that inning to give OSU the 3-1 lead.
Wark led the charge again in the fifth with a bases-loaded double that scored three more runs to give OSU the 6-1 advantage.
THREE RBI MICDOUBLE ‼️
B5 | MIZ 1 – OSU 6#AllOne | @micaela_wark | 📺 ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/wTptYCreJ2
— OSU Cowgirl Softball (@cowgirlsb) March 4, 2023
Missouri did hit a homer in the sixth, but it wasn’t enough as OSU pulled through with a 6-3 win.
In the second game against Maine, Lexi Kilfoyl was simply amazing.
The transfer from Alabama tossed a no-hitter, including 11 strikeouts in five innings pitched.
It was the fourth time in her career that Kilfoyl produced a no-hitter, and the third solo no-hitter of her career.
The bats were not quiet in this game as OSU batted around in the first.
It started with Becker and Edwards both reaching on base to set up another opportunity for Wark.
Wark hit a single to center field that scored Becker to put OSU up 1-0.
An error by Maine led to Edwards scoring for the Cowgirls to go up 2-0
Singles by Katie Lott and Audrey Schneidmiller scored two more runs to give OSU a 4-0 cushion.
Megan Bloodworth reached on a fielder’s choice that also scored a run to round out the first inning with a 5-0 lead.
Through four more runs and Kilfoyl’s phenomenal pitching, OSU cruised to a 9-0 run-rule victory.
Saturday was more of the same for the Cowgirls.
South Dakota State was the first opponent for OSU, and pitching dominated again.
Kyra Aycock got the nod and went the distance.
The freshman was outstanding, striking out eight batters in the complete-game shutout.
OSU offense was scarce once again as it totaled only six hits against the Jackrabbits.
The scoring came fast with three runs in the second.
After walks from Factor and Morgyn Wynne, Bloodworth got the party started.
The sophomore hit a two-RBI double to give OSU a 2-0 lead.
A ground out from Edwards still produced another run to put the game at 3-0.
In the fourth, Edwards tacked on another run for the Cowgirls.
After a Taylor Tuck single and a Becker walk, the freshman hit a single that scored Becker, and gave OSU the 4-0 lead.
Aycock continued the charge the last three innings to give the Cowgirls a 4-0 victory.
Saturday night, OSU’s bats came alive against Tarleton State.
Becker got it started with a lead-off triple, which was the first of many extra base hits in the first.
Edwards drove in Becker the next at-bat with a sacrifice-fly to put the Cowgirls up 1-0.
Lott kept it going with an RBI double that scored Kiley Naomi and gave OSU a 2-0 advantage.
Factor and Wynne both produced RBI at-bats later that inning to give OSU a 5-0 lead after the first.
After Tarleton State put up two runs in the second, Wark got one of them right back with a single to left field that scored Naomi to put the advantage back to four.
The Cowgirls kept the big innings going with another five runs in the fourth.
A walk from Becker and a single from Edwards set up an RBI spot for Naomi for the first time this weekend.
The senior got out of her slump with a screaming double to center field that produced two RBIs and an OSU 8-2 lead.
Wark increased the lead to with a bomb over the left field wall that scored Naomi and pushed the lead to 10-2
Ivy Rosenberry was consistent in the circle all game as OSU produced another run-rule victory.
Gajewski said he wasn’t pleased with the offense the first three games of the invitational but was encouraged with the at bats in the fourth game.
“It was good to score early,” Gajewski said on Saturday. “We’ve come out like gangbusters, and we kept that up.”
Aycock was the main story all Saturday. She said she loved the atmosphere that the fans brought on Saturday.
“It was fun to be in (front of the home crowd in Stillwater),” Aycock said on Saturday. “I’m excited to see what happens next time.”
The Cowgirls ended the weekend with another solid victory over South Dakota State.
Kilfoyl started in the circle producing four scoreless innings. Maxwell then came in and shut the door striking out seven in the last three innings.
The offense came when it had opportunities for the Cowgirls.
After only scoring two runs through four innings, OSU found a different way to score in the fifth.
Factor reached on a walk, which then led to Haidyn Sokoloski pinch-running for her.
Wynne reached on a fielder’s choice to set up pinch hitter Claire Timm.
Timm did what she needed to do, producing a run after reaching on an error from the Jackrabbits, stretching the OSU lead to 4-0.
Two more runs and dominant Maxwell pitching led to a 6-0 win.
The Cowgirls offense was off and on throughout the invitational. Gajewski said the players put a lot of pressure on themselves to do well in the homestand.
“These kids enjoy being here so much that I think they have been putting too much pressure on this weekend to hit home runs and hear that new horn and all this stuff,” Gajewski said. “I think when you start playing like that you are a little tied up, and we have had some tied up at bats.”
OSU is riding a 16-game winning streak now after this weekend. They will look to extend that winning streak in a top 10 matchup against Florida State.
The first game of the series is Friday at 6 p.m. All three games of the series will be streamed on ESPN+.