OSU Softball: Cowgirls Go 4-1 in Home-Opening Weekend
By: Marshall Scott | Pistols Firing Blog
STILLWATER — The Cowgirls went 4-1 in their first weekend at home, which included a close split against a Top 5 team.
Oklahoma State closed out the OSU/Tulsa Invitational on Sunday with a 12-4 run-rule win against South Dakota State. OSU was also supposed to play a pseudo rubber game against No. 4 Nebraska, but with inclement weather in the Kansas/Nebraska area, the Cornhuskers needed an early start at getting home.
OSU beat No. 4 Nebraska via an 11th inning walk off on Thursday to start the weekend before the Cornhuskers pulled one back with a 4-3 win on Saturday night. The Cowgirls also picked up a pair of run-rule wins against Southeast Missouri to exit the weekend at 15-5 overall.
The Cowgirls have a game against Missouri State at 6 p.m. Wednesday before opening Big 12 play Friday against UCF.
“I categorize the weekend as successful,” OSU coach Kenny Gajewski said. “Four and one, with the kinds of games that we played, and I think that we have a lot of things that we can coach to. I think that’s what you want as a coach, like, I want to have things I can show in film this week and go, ‘Hey, here’s where we left some meat on the bone.’”
Sunday’s game was a back-and-forth affair … that was, until Ruby Meylan entered the circle.
The Cowgirl ace was the third pitcher OSU turned to Sunday, but when she got in, she shut things down. Meylan threw 3 2/3 innings where she allowed no runs, only one hit and struck out seven of the dozen batters she faced.
“That’s a good team, as you can see by all their numbers, but when Ruby’s on, she can make bats look bad,” Gajewski said. “That was really good. We were anticipating not having to throw her today, but we had to. And she came right in and shut the door. It was cool.”
RyLee Crandall got the start but had some trouble finding the strike zone. In two innings, she allowed two runs while walking four and striking out two.
Crandall started the third inning but after issuing a leadoff walk, OSU brought in freshman Preslee Downing. The Jackrabbits got three consecutive hits off Downing — a two-run home run, a double and an RBI single. That tied the game at 4, bringing in Meylan.
With Meylan keeping South Dakota State off the scoreboard, the Cowgirl offense started separating itself.
Tia Warsop had an RBI single in the fourth to get OSU back in the lead.
Then the Cowgirls plated three in the fifth inning. Freshman Aubrey Jones sent a ball back up the middle that scored two. Jones advanced to second on the throw home before stealing third. Aubrey Schneidmiller then brought Jones home with a sacrifice fly to left.
Then the Cowgirls closed the show in the sixth with a four-run inning that enacted the run rule. With the bases loaded and no outs, freshman Montgomery Henderson singled up the middle to score a pair.
The bases reloaded before Jones was hit by a pitch to score another run. Then Schneidmiller looped a ball into right field that scored the game-clinching run.
A redshirt senior from Burleson, Texas, Schneidmiller is now hitting .412 on the season with 10 RBIs. That RBI total ties her season-best for her career and conference play hasn’t even started yet.
“She’s the epitome of what we talk about the Cowgirl Way,” Gajewski said of Schneidmiller. “She could’ve left here, played at a lot of schools. Many years I’ve tried to recruit over her every single year. Had talks with her at the end of each year, she just keeps doing the things that (says) she wants to play here. Well, she’s gonna play here. I’ve told her it’s her journey, and if she’ll just run her race, things will happen the way they should. And it’s really cool to watch. Hitting balls hard, making great contact, doing a lot of great things. It’s really cool.”
In her own words, here’s why Schneidmiller said she stuck it out:
“There’s two things — one is because this place is home,” she said. “I made a family here. There’s people I love here, so giving up on them, it’d take a lot for me to do that.
“Then the next one is just proving to myself and everyone else that I’m capable of doing this. In the past I haven’t had the best mental health, so I wanted to prove that I’m better than that.”