State college briefs

Kilfoyl pitches Cowgirls to 3-2 win

STILLWATER—Lexi Kilfoyl’s three-hit complete game headlined the Cowgirls’ series clinching win over Iowa State as the No. 3/3 Oklahoma State Softball team came from behind to beat Cyclones, 3-2, Saturday afternoon at Cowgirl Stadium.

Win the win, OSU improved to 39-3 and 8-0 in Big 12 play, while Iowa State fell to 13-25 and 1-10 against conference opposition.

Kilfoyl moved to 12-1 with her complete-game, nine-strikeout showing.

Just as in yesterday’s game, Iowa State was first to score, this time with a two-RBI single up the middle to give it an early 2-0 lead in the third.

OSU immediately responded with two runs of their own in the bottom of the inning.

Chyenne Factor tallied her second-consecutive game with an RBI as she brought home Audrey Schneidmiller with a single to right field.

In the next at-bat, Kiley Naomi tied the game up with an RBI base knock that scored Rachel Becker.

The Cowgirls took the lead in the next inning as Morgyn Wynne blasted her eighth home run of the year, a moonshot to left that would ultimately be the game winner for the Pokes.

After Iowa State’s two-run third inning, Kilfoyl and the Cowgirls’ defense held the Cyclones scoreless to secure the victory and the conference series.

The series finale is slated 12 p.m. CT tomorrow at Cowgirl Stadium; fans can stream the game on ESPN+ or listen on The Varsity network.

Sooners drop contest to Tech

NORMAN—Oklahoma baseball dropped the second game of its three-game weekend set to Texas Tech 9-5 at L. Dale Mitchell Park on Saturday.

The Sooners were first on the board with a run in each of the first and second innings on a pair of groundouts.

After OU (18-18, 3-8 Big 12) starter Braxton Douthit faced the minimum in the opening frame, the Sooners had runners on the corners after a walk by junior first baseman Anthony Mackenzie and a single by junior right fielder Bryce Madron. The Red Raiders turned a double play for the first outs of the inning, but Mackenzie raced home.

In the second frame, sophomore centerfielder John Spikerman reached on an error by the TTU (25-11, 6-5 Big 12) shortstop and the Sooners had runners on first and second after a walk by sophomore second baseman Jackson Nicklaus. A ground out advanced the duo and another ground out plated Spikerman from third.

The Red Raider offense exploded for five runs in the third.

With one out, Texas Tech tallied back-to-back walks and a bunt single to load the bases. Kevin Bazzell laced a single to left that plated a run and another run crossed the plate on an error. Following another walk, a single up the middle scored two.

Down to their last out, Texas Tech’s Dylan Maxcey pushed a single through the left side, plating the final run of the inning.

TTU added to its tally with three runs in the fourth. Bazzell slashed a double to left center to score the first run. In the next at bat, Gavin Kash tallied a two-run home run.

Nicklaus, who tallied a team-high three RBI on Friday night, blasted a three-run home run in the bottom half of the inning. It was Nicklaus’ fifth homer of the season.

With a three-run cushion, the Red Raiders tacked on an additional insurance run in the sixth. With one out, Bazzell singled and advanced to second on an error. Kash laced a single to right, scoring Bazzell to reach the final 9-5 tally.

Reliever Carter Campbell pitched two scoreless innings and faced seven batters. Kale Davis faced the minimum in the ninth. Douthit pitched the first four frames and earned the loss (4-2). Texas Tech reliever Ryan Free tossed five scoreless innings and recorded nine strikeouts to improve to 4-3.

In the series opener Friday, Jackson Nicklaus recorded three RBI and forced the game to extra innings with a RBI single in the bottom of the ninth, but Oklahoma baseball dropped the series opener against No. 21 Texas Tech 13-7.

Down 6-5, catcher Diego Muniz opened the ninth with a double down the right field line. Kade Fletcher replaced Muniz on the base paths and scored on a single to right by Nicklaus.

The Red Raiders plated seven runs in the 10th on a pair of singles, a bases loaded walk and a grand slam.

Texas Tech opened the contest with a run in the first and second innings. Oklahoma tallied its first run on a triple by Nicklaus in the second.

The Sooners captured the lead after a three-run third inning.

Sophomore third baseman Wallace Clark tallied a two-out double and was joined on the base paths by designated hitter Caden Powell, who walked in the next at bat.

Muniz ripped a double down the right field line, plating Clark and Powell. The Sooners had runners on the corners after Muniz stole third and Nicklaus earned the walk. Texas Tech made a pitching change after the free pass. The Red Raider reliever hit the first two batters and pushed across a run in the second at bat with the bases loaded.

The score remained 4-2 through five and the Red Raiders closed the gap with a solo run in the sixth inning on a sacrifice fly.

Texas Tech continued to find its rhythm at the plate and scored three runs in the seventh.

The Sooners narrowed the gap on a sacrifice fly by Nicklaus in their half of the inning.

Both programs were held scoreless in the eighth and a trio of Sooners pitched in the ninth, recording three strikeouts.

Muniz finished the contest 2 for 4 at the plate with two RBI and two doubles. Nicklaus led the Sooners with three RBI.

The Sooners used seven pitchers and starter James Hitt pitched 6.1 innings and allowed three earned runs with a pair of strikeouts. Reliever Aaron Weber earned the loss (0-2) and Tech’s Brandon Beckelimproved to 5-0.

The two programs conclude the series on Sunday. First pitch is at 2 p.m. inside L. Dale Mitchell Park.

OSU baseball falls again at home

STILLWATER – Oklahoma State suffered a 9-5 loss to West Virginia in the second game of the series Saturday night at O’Brate Stadium.

With the loss, the 14th-ranked Cowboys fell to 23-13 overall and 7-7 in conference play, while the 25th-ranked Mountaineers improved to 24-10 overall and 5-3 in Big 12 play.

WVU plated four runs with two outs in the eighth inning to doom the Cowboys, with the big blow in the inning a three-run home run by Landon Wallace.

Roc Riggio and Chase Adkison sparked the OSU offense, each collecting a double and a single; Riggio and Carson Benge reached base safely three times each.

Ben Abram got the starting nod for OSU, working four innings and striking out three while allowing five runs. Isaac Stebens worked the final five innings, allowing four runs while striking out five Mountaineers, but suffered his first loss of the season to fall to 4-1.

The Cowboys jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first after a WVU error on a groundball to third base resulted in two unearned runs, but the visitors tied the contest in the third on a sacrifice fly and a balk that allowed two runs to cross home.

OSU answered with three doubles and two runs in the fourth inning courtesy of Adkison, Brown and Riggio to take a 4-2 lead.

WVU came back with three runs in the fifth to jump back on top and threatened to add to their lead in the sixth when the Mountaineers loaded the bases with one out against Stebens. But Stebens delivered for the Cowboys, fielding a comebacker to get the second out at the plate and then striking out the next batter on three pitches to hold the Mountaineers scoreless in the frame and keep OSU’s deficit at 5-4.

OSU tied the game in the seventh when Nolan Schubart singled to center field to bring home Benge and knot the score at 5-5.

The Cowboys will be back at O’Brate Stadium Sunday for the series finale, scheduled for a noon first pitch.

OSU golf fourth At Thunderbird

PHOENIX – Oklahoma State’s men’s golf team earned its third consecutive top-five finish after a fourth-place showing at the Thunderbird Collegiate on Saturday at Papago Golf Course.

The Cowboys carded a closing round of 281, 3-under par, at the par-71, 7,503-yard layout to finish three shots off the pace of North Carolina for third place. OSU finished with a 17-under total of 835.

Arizona State clipped Arizona by a stroke, winning the event with an 824 tally.

ASU’s Preston Summerhays closed with a 66 to finish at 13-under 200 en route to a four-shot victory.

Fifth year Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen climbed 12 spots into a tie for 12th place at 209 after signing for a 68.