Oklahoma State softball run-rules UMBC in NCAA Tournament opener on Kiley Naomi walk-off HR
STILLWATER — If Friday night's victory turns out to be the palate cleanser the Oklahoma State softball team needed to wash away its recent struggles, the fourth inning will go down as the critical moment.
Pitcher Kelly Maxwell struck out the side in the top half of the inning to protect a one-run lead against the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and the OSU offense exploded in the bottom half, sparking a 9-0 run-rule victory in the opener of the Stillwater Regional at Cowgirl Stadium.
The sixth-seeded Cowgirls advanced to Saturday’s winner’s bracket final at 2 p.m., where they’ll Wichita State, which rallied to beat Nebraska 6-5 in Friday's late game.
In a game delayed 3 hours, 30 minutes by rain that picked up just as OSU players took the field for the original 3 p.m. start, the hosts got a strong start from Maxwell — a much needed one thanks to the ace’s inconsistency in recent outings.
“Really good start. A complete ballgame,” said OSU coach Kenny Gajewski, whose team had lost 11 of 13 games prior to Friday. “When we play like this, we’re as good as anybody in the country.”
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In a game delayed 3 hours, 30 minutes by rain that picked up just as OSU players took the field for the original 3 p.m. start, the hosts needed a couple of innings before settling in.
Battling inconsistency in recent appearances, Maxwell issued a four-pitch walk with two outs in the second inning. But rather than unraveling, the Cowgirls’ ace ramped up her performance. She got a popup to end the second inning, then struck out the side in each of the next two innings.
That second-inning walk turned out to be the only one issued by the redshirt senior left-hander (she had walked 11 over her previous 7 ⅔ innings). She gave up two hits while striking out 10 in five innings of work before handing the game over to Lexi Kilfoyl.
“We talked about that early on this week, trying to limit those walks and being able to pound the zone,” said Maxwell, who improved to 15-5 on the season while dropping her ERA to 1.75. “That was my game plan going in, making sure I was getting balls on the plate, not trying to be too cute or nibble at the corner too much.”
Maxwell needed just 69 pitches, throwing 46 strikes, 20 of which were swing-and-misses.
Maxwell has struck out 209 batters this season, becoming the sixth pitcher in program history with multiple seasons of at least 200 strikeouts.
The offense got some early baserunners, but finally brought one home with a run-scoring single from Katelynn Carwile in the bottom of the third inning.
To lead off the fourth, freshman Tallen Edwards singled and moved to second on Taylor Tuck’s sacrifice bunt, then scored on a double by Megan Bloodworth.
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After Rachel Becker walked, she and Bloodworth scored on Kiley Naomi’s two-out triple to right field for a 4-0 lead.
Another freshman, Micaela Wark, followed with a two-run home run, a line drive over the left-field deck to cap the inning with a 6-0 lead.
OSU added another in the bottom of the fifth when Morgyn Wynne tripled, then scored on a double by Edwards, who was 3-for-3 in her first NCAA Tournament game.
Naomi ended the game in the sixth with a two-run home run, going 3-for-4 with four RBIs.
Eight Cowgirls had at least one of the team’s 12 hits, and the defense did not commit an error.
And the Cowgirls might’ve adopted a new dugout mascot. Maxwell was joined by a plush stick horse for her postgame interview on the ESPN+ broadcast.
“A local elementary decorated our whole facility, and they included this little horse on a stick in a basket,” Maxwell said. “We adopted him and named him Bullet. We used that to keep the energy in the dugout. They were chanting Bullet the whole game, and he was behind my shoulder in the postgame interview.”
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Stillwater Regional
Friday, May 19
Game 1: No. 6 Oklahoma State 9, UMBC 0 (6)
Game 2: Wichita State 6, Nebraska 5
Saturday, May 20
Game 3: Oklahoma State vs. Wichita State, 2 p.m.
Game 4: UMBC vs. Nebraska, 4:30 p.m.
Game 5: G3 loser vs. G4 winner, 7 p.m.
Sunday, May 21
Game 6: G3 winner vs. G5 winner, 3 p.m.
Game 7: G6 winner vs. G6 loser (if necessary), 5:30 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State softball beats UMBC in NCAA Tournament regional opener
