Six-Run Sixth Inning Pushes Cowgirls Past Iowa State

Saturday, March 24

Stillwater, OK

2 P.M. CT

Oklahoma State University

23-7, 2-0

Iowa State

17-18, 0-2

Iowa State

Oklahoma State

Photo by: OSU Athletics

March 24, 2018 | Cowgirl Softball

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STILLWATER – The No. 23 Oklahoma State softball team scored six runs in the sixth inning to complete a 7-2 come-from-behind victory over Iowa State on Saturday in front of a packed crowd at Cowgirl Stadium.

OSU's rally marked the second time this season that the Cowgirls (23-7; 2-0 Big 12) have been victorious when trailing after five innings.

"Obviously any time that you can win a series and a conference game, it's a big day," head coach Kenny Gajewski said. "We had to fight here today. I didn't think that Emmie (Robertson) wasn't her normal, sharp self and that was evident in the way she was really having to labor. Like I told her, I was proud of the way she kept us in the game even though it wasn't her best day. Good teams just find ways and we were able to get Logan (Simunek) in there and she was able to do what she's done all year long and just slam the door."

The sixth-inning rally began with a leadoff single into left field from senior Jessi Haffner. After Haffner's single, freshman Brighton Gilbert came on to pinch run for her as a group of young Cowgirls stepped into the pressure-packed spotlight.

Chelsea Alexander, another freshman, followed Haffner, and she delivered with a chopper that found its way into right field, advancing her to second and Gilbert to third. Michaela Richbourg - yet another freshman - then delivered the tying run with a fielder's choice to second base that allowed Gilbert to sprint home and knot the game at 2-2.

The frequent faces for OSU then came around in the order and delivered on their opportunities, as Maddi Holcomb grounded into a fielder's choice of her own, scoring Alexander from third and giving the Cowgirls their first lead of the day.

"I thought our at-bats were actually good, but we just couldn't get the hits going," Gajewski said. "Credit the kid that we were facing because I thought she made some good pitches. She gave us a bit of a weird look, but we just continued to fight and that's why I'm so proud of this team. We can win games in a lot of ways."

Oklahoma State tacked on four more runs as Taylor Lynch delivered a two-out, two-RBI single back up the middle, Madi Sue Montgomery drove in her team-leading 31st run of the season with a sac fly to left and freshman Sydney Pennington laced a single to left center, capping off the six-run frame.

Lynch, batting out of the two-hole, had the most productive day at the plate among the Cowgirls on Saturday, finishing 3-for-4 with a double and the pair of runs batted in.

"We have a really good team and we know it's only a matter of time before we put up an inning like that," Lynch said. "It was just a matter of us knowing that we would be able to hit off their girl. We didn't do it in the first five innings, but our hits just started to fall and we knew that would happen eventually."

Logan Simunek earned the win in the circle, improving her to 6-0 on the year. She pitched three shutout innings in relief of Emmie Robertson, and in doing so she lowered her ERA to 0.37 for the year, which ranks third nationally among qualified pitchers.

Another notable moment in Saturday's contest came in the bottom of the third inning when Vanessa Shippy beat out a bunt single with one out. It was the 345th total base and 233rd hit of the Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, native's Oklahoma State career, pushing her into a tie for third and fourth place in program history, respectively.

Shippy - the Big 12 leader in batting average and on-base percentage - scored both times she reached base Saturday, as she finished 1-for-3 at the plate and was hit by a pitch. She has reached base safely in all but one game so far this season, and both her current .548 batting average and .694 on-base percentage would shatter the previous OSU single-season records.

OSU will look to complete the sweep in its first Big 12 series of the year tomorrow at 12 p.m. Fans can purchase tickets at okstate.com/tickets or by calling the ticket office at 877-ALL-4-OSU. The game will also air on Fox College Sports with Casey Kendrick and Alli McCutcheon on the call.