Pitchers’ Duel Ends in Cowgirls Bedlam Victory

Originally Published: Apr 7, 2010 10:13 PM CDT

Stephany Speck
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

STILLWATER, Oklahoma -- In a battle between pitchers, a late three-run home run by Oklahoma State’s Mariah Gearhart proved to be enough to win Bedlam over the Oklahoma, 3-2.

Gearhart’s homer came in the bottom of the fifth, providing the first runs of the night. Megan Castle reached first after hitting a deep ball to center field. Amy Graham followed with a sacrifice bunt, but an error by OU’s Dani Dobbs advanced Castle to second while Graham was able to reach first.

It was the first time in the game a player had reached second base.

Oklahoma’s Keilani Ricketts then faced Chelsea Garcia, the reigning Big 12 Player of the Week, who bunted. She reached first base, but Castle was thrown out at third.

Ricketts struck out Kelsey Anchors and faced Gearhart with Garcia on first and Graham on second. Gearhart, averaging .410 this season, missed her first bunt attempt, but finished by hitting the three-run homer deep into center field.

The Sooners tried to battle back, putting two runs on the board in the top of the sixth. Brianna Turang singled to third base before Flores hit her tenth homer of the season. The Sooners trailed the Cowgirls 3-2 to lose to Oklahoma State for the second time this season.

The Cowgirls improved to 33-7 on the season, as pitcher Anna Widdon earned her second-career win over the Sooners (29-9), improving to 18-3. The senior gave up two hits, two runs earned, one walk and finished with eight strikeouts.

Ricketts finished with the loss, despite striking out 11 batters. The freshman gave up four hits and three unearned runs.

The Cowgirls’ Bedlam victory is the 10th-straight win for the team and ends a six-year losing streak in Stillwater Bedlam match ups.