OSU softball blanks North Texas ahead of Big 12 opener
Mar. 22—Taylor Tuck spent the days leading up to Oklahoma State softball's matchup with North Texas on Wednesday night getting some extra cuts in. She wasn't the biggest fan of what she had — or, perhaps more accurately, hadn't — done lately.
Tuck, a graduate-student catcher, saw her extended efforts pay off against the Mean Green. Batting eighth in the order, she stepped into the box and ripped a ball by the third baseman to plate a run, which were at a premium in No. 2 OSU's 2-0 win at Cowgirl Stadium.
"I think I just stayed true to my work," said Tuck, who finished 2 of 3 with the much-needed RBI in the bottom of the fourth. "Staying true to that and getting reps in outside of practice has really helped me gain my confidence in the box again."
The result of that at-bat from Tuck was a rarity during a game in which both teams combined for 10 hits, with the Cowgirls (26-2) tallying six of those. OSU's other run, another outlier in a low-scoring slugfest, came from graduate-student shortstop Kiley Naomi knocking an RBI double in the bottom of the first for her seventh extra-base hit of the campaign.
Cowgirls coach Kenny Gajewski wasn't concerned with his team's second-lowest scoring output of the season, he said. That's what OSU expected after fending off the Mean Green (19-10) in last year's regional finale — a contest the Cowgirls also won 2-0.
"Their pitching is elite. I mean, their pitching is — there's a lot of Power Five teams that would drool to have those kids," Gajewski said of UNT. "They've got a really good staff. We knew what they were gonna do to us. We knew they'd be tough. I didn't expect us to score 1,000 runs here tonight."
Gajewski, in his eighth year at the helm of the program, was more impressed with the Cowgirls' defensive prowess, a smothering outfield attack that started with senior pitcher Lexi Kilfoyi getting the nod in the circle.
UNT entered the matchup on a six-game win streak, one predicated on the Mean Green scoring an average of 7.67 runs per outing. Kilfoyi blanked them, marking only the second time that North Texas has been shut out this season. She had four strikeouts, a walk and allowed three hits in four innings of action, picking up the win to move to 7-1 on the year.
"I think, going in there, we just try to play our best ball the whole time," Kilfoyi said. "I think it's awesome as a team to come out, shut them out and play our best ball."
The Mean Green had a chance to flip their offensive woes, too.
With runners on the corners and two outs in the top of the fourth inning, Kilfoyi was stuck in a bind. Then she — a dropoff pitcher, traditionally known for forcing ground balls — got UNT's Kalei Christensen to fly out in shallow right field.
"I mean, it's just like a big, deep breath," Kilfoyi said. "Thank goodness we're over with it and get to go back out there with nobody on base and try to start from the beginning."
"That's what we're gonna have to have and we're gonna have to do in conference play going forward," Gajewski said of Kilfoyi fighting her way out of the jam. "This is where it's gonna get; everything just kind of gets dialed up a notch."
That time of the year is approaching quickly for the Cowgirls. Less than 48 hours following their two-run triumph over UNT, they'll open Big 12 Conference play with a three-game series against Baylor at Cowgirl Stadium.
And with that, Gajewski and Co. know it's time to take the next step. They'll have a target on their backs after winning the Big 12 Tournament a season ago. It's a challenge that the Cowgirls are embracing, and it's a challenge they couldn't be more ready for.
"I just can't wait. I mean, it's conference. It's fun. It just has another level of intensity," Gajewski said. "I'm excited that the grind is here. It gets real. We'll start working on Baylor here tonight, go home, have a nice meal and start really diving in on them."
Follow News Press sports reporter Jon Walker on Twitter @ByJonWalker for updates on Oklahoma State athletics, Stillwater High sports and more.
