Cowgirls' bats go quiet as UCF wins Big 12 series opener 4-1

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It was a long time coming, but Oklahoma State had UCF right where it wanted.

No outs. Bases loaded. Two of its top speedsters on second and third base.

The Cowgirls were running out of chances to plate runs, and this was their best shot all night to get something going while trailing 3-0 in the sixth inning.

But after Audrey Schneidmiller produced a sacrifice fly to score a run from third and cut the deficit to 3-1, the rest of the inning matched the game’s previous script — OSU couldn’t take full advantage of an opportunity, and the Knights remained in the driver’s seat, winning 4-1 at Cowgirl Stadium on Friday in each team’s Big 12 conference-play opener.

The loss dropped No. 12 OSU to 16-6 and snapped its two-game winning streak. The Cowgirls will look to even up the series on Saturday at 2 p.m.

“I think we left so much meat on the bone,” OSU coach Kenny Gajewski said. “... Just the amount of balls that we chased out of the zone. The amount of good pitches we took in the zone for strikes. We got pinch hitters going up there and getting 0-and-2 (counts) and taking strikes. It’s obviously something that we’re doing as coaches.”

UCF’s dugout was loud all night, and so were its bats.

The Knights put early pressure on the Cowgirls by putting two runners on base in the top of the first inning, and quickly capitalized on the early opportunity. Izzy Mertes stepped up to the plate and crushed a ball over the left-field spot for a 3-0 lead.

Over the next four innings, UCF managed eight more hits, while OSU mustered only two all night. The Knights also totaled 13 hits through seven innings and left 12 runners on base.

Gajewski replaced starting pitcher RyLee Crandall in the third inning with ace Ruby Meylan, who kept the Cowgirls in it by giving up only one run and two walks in 4 ⅓ innings. OSU’s bats just couldn’t come alive, though.

The Cowgirls had two runners on base in the fourth with only one out, but a ground-out and a foul-out put that opportunity to rest. And in the sixth, after Schneidmiller batted in OSU’s lone run, another groundout and a strikeout ended the inning.

“I just felt in every facet; the way they competed at the plate, they got off better swings, they just competed in a better way,” Gajewski said. “It’s disappointing for us at home with an opportunity to do some good stuff.”

In the top of the seventh, shortly after Knights pitcher Isabella Vega halted that sixth-inning opportunity, UCF fans started a short but loud, “Go Knights!” chant.

UCF then drove in another run to grow the lead to 4-1, courtesy of Samantha Rey’s RBI triple.

The Cowgirls had one more chance in the seventh, but a quick three-up, three-down inning from Vega sealed the deal. She finished with four strikeouts in a complete-game effort.

Now, OSU has a quick turnaround to Game 2 and will look to tie the series with a better showing at the plate.

“All we can do is come back tomorrow and rake,” Cowgirls catcher Amanda Hasler said.