Cowgirl Softball Surges Past Central Arkansas

STILLWATER – Freshman Brianna Evans hit a grand slam and pitcher Miranda Elish struck out 13 to lead the No. 10 Oklahoma State softball team to a 14-1 win over Central Arkansas at the Memphis Tournament on Friday.
 
The Cowgirls have won five in a row and 11 of their last 12 and improved to 16-5 overall with the victory.
 
For Evans, the grand slam was her first collegiate home run. It was only the sixth grand slam ever hit by an OSU freshman.
 
"This kid is special," Head Coach Kenny Gajewski said. "She's a great human being. She's just fun to watch, I just smile when I think about her. It's really cool to see."
 
Chyenne Factor hit a home run immediately after Evans in the third inning, followed by back-to-back home runs in the fourth inning by Morgyn Wynne and Hayley Busby. Wynne now has home runs in back-to-back games. 
 
Central Arkansas starter Kayla Beaver was 8-1 entering the contest but the Cowgirls rocked her for seven runs in two innings.
 
For the game, OSU finished with 14 hits coming from 10 different players. Wynne (3-for-4 with a double, a home run and three runs batted in), Evans (2-for-3 with a grand slam and Sydney Pennington (2-for-4 with two RBI) all turned in multi-hit performances.
 
Coming off a no-hitter against Minnesota earlier in the week, Elish improved to 5-4 on the year with another dominant performance on Friday. Each of UCA's first 12 outs of the game came via Elish strikeout.
 
"Her stuff was really good today," Gajewski said. "It was a little bit too good. As a matter of fact, it was a little erratic and that's why I think the catchers were having a bit of a hard time."
 
OSU plays South Dakota tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. CT, followed by a matchup with Southeastern Louisiana at 4:30 p.m.