OSU Drops Heartbreaker To Northwestern In Postseason Play

Oklahoma State softball dropped a heartbreaker Friday against Northwestern, 2-1, in the opening round of the NCAA Georgia Regional held at Jack Turner Stadium. 

In a pitcher's duel, the Wildcats delivered an RBI-single in the top of the seventh to secure the 2-1 win.  

Oklahoma State will play at 2:30 p.m. (CT) Saturday against the loser of Georgia and Maine.  

"I told our kids that I thought that was a really good softball game," coach Kenny Gajewski said. "It was one of the better ones that we have been a part of all year long. I thought both teams pitched well and played pretty good catch. It just came down to execution and at the very end they found a way to make it happen. All in all, I thought it was a good game. It's just hard when you come up on the wrong end."

Oklahoma State (29-25) started the game as well as it could have hoped, taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning thanks to sophomore Vanessa Shippy scoring from third on a throwing error by the catcher.

Northwestern (27-26) responded the following inning with an RBI-bunt single to tie the game at 1-1.

Senior Kacy Freeze (16-10) took the loss in the circle for the Cowgirls in seven innings of action.

"Kacy pitched a great game today," Shippy said. "We couldn't have asked for anything more. She shut them down when we needed her to. She was great and lights out all day. We had great defensive plays behind her and it was just a tough game and tough loss, but if we can get that kind of performance from her every game, we are going to be successful."

The Cowgirls were led at the plate by freshmen Taylor Lynch and Madi Sue Montgomery, who finished with two of the team's four hits.
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Up Next: Oklahoma State's second round game between Georgia or Maine will be aired on ESPN3.  The winner of that game will move on, with the loser being eliminated.