Oregon's bats silenced by Oklahoma State during season-ending Super Regional series
Oregon's softball season was ended Friday afternoon in the NCAA Tournament Super Regionals by Oklahoma State and a Cowgirls' pitching staff that dominated the Ducks.
Oregon didn't get its first hit Friday until the seventh inning as it lost 9-0 to end its best-of-three series against Oklahoma State after two games in Cowgirl Stadium in Stillwater.
A week after averaging 9.7 runs and 10.7 hits in three wins at the Fayetteville Regional, the Ducks (38-17) were held to one run and five hits in two games against the sixth-seed Cowgirls.
Friday it was Kelly Maxwell (16-5) silencing Oregon's bats with a complete-game shutout in which she allowed just two singles and no walks and had eight strikeouts.
Oregon's string of 11 consecutive innings without a baserunner that began in the third inning of Thursday's 8-1 loss finally ended in the seventh Friday when Allee Bunker broke up Maxwell's bid for a no-hitter with a one-out single. Ariel Carlson also doubled in the inning for Oregon's only other hit.
"I think our team is really good at flushing, and we came in with fire and energy and it just didn't go our way today," Oregon catcher Terra McGowan said. "But I'm really proud of what this group did."
While Oregon struggled offensively, Oklahoma State had no such problems. The Cowgirls had 13 hits, including a home run and five doubles.
After leading 1-0 through the first four innings, they scored six in the fifth to put the game well out of reach, especially considering the way Maxwell was pitching.
"She moved the ball really well," Bunker said of Maxwell. "She can hit all corners of the strike zone, which is really tough as a hitter. You just don't know what's coming at you. So yeah, she's a really tough opponent."
With the win, Oklahoma State advances to its fourth straight Women's College World Series.
Follow Chris Hansen on Twitter @chansen_RG or email at chansen@registerguard.com. For more sports coverage, visit registerguard.com. Want more stories like this? Subscribe to get unlimited access and support local journalism.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Oregon Ducks softball season ends in NCAA Super Regionals
