Cottrill Greets Former Team Florida with 3-for-3 Performance, Oklahoma State Moves On

OKLAHOMA CITY – This was too good a setup for Oklahoma State head coach Kenny Gajewski. Throughout the NCAA postseason, Gajewski has talked about having more players than he needs and that he has players on the bench ready to go and contribute. He’s been proven right several times in wins during the regional and super regional. One of those heroes came in for a repeat in the Bracket Two winner’s game in the Women’s College World Series and she did it against her old team and a pitcher she caught many times. The Florida Gator turned Cowgirl reunion was a big part of the 2-0 win in front of an all-time single session record crowd of 12,533 fans. The win sends Oklahoma State into the Bracket Two Championship Game at 6 p.m. on Monday. 

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Oklahoma State President Dr. Kayse Shrum, far left and husband Darren in white hat, cheered on the Cowgirls.

Julia Cottrill is a Stillwater High grad and Pioneer softball All-State performer and the daughter of Cowgirls assistant coach Jeff Cottrill. She did the get away from home thing going to Florida where she made the 2021 All-SEC Newcomer Team and was a two-time All-Academic SEC honoree. After last season Cottrill came home to be a Cowgirl. The junior played in 50 games this season. She hit home runs in the Stillwater Regional against Nebraska and North Texas.

“They Florida were the best running team in the country with 130 stolen bags. That is wild, it’s a lot,” Oklahoma State head coach Kenny Gajewski explained starting Cottrill. “(Taylor) Tuck’s arm is the weakest part of her game, so we felt like it was a good move. The coach is feeling good when she goes three-for-three.”

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Maxwell was sensational to go 2-0 in this WCWS.

Cottrill got the start behind the plate against her former team and did a marvelous job catching Oklahoma State ace and strike out master Kelly Maxwell, who got the win to go 21-4 on the season. Maxwell struck out nine hitter, so she has 23 in the WCWS, 64 in NCAA postseason, and 302 on the season. Cottrill showed she was human with a passed ball in the seventh inning.

“I was battling the umpire’s strike zone a little bit,” Maxwell said of her kind of slow start and it was revealed she was caught in a lengthy drug test process on Thursday where she did not get back to the hotel until after 3 a.m. “It is a big stage, but I think I have pitched better. My rest was a little short based on what happened the other day, but I did get some rest and I was okay. I got a little tired, but I pushed through.”

“It made sense to go with Kelly,”  Gajewski said. “With the day off in the new format, it made sense.”

In the bottom of the fourth with the Cowgirls leading 1-0, Cottrill came up with Sydney Pennington at third and two outs and she was facing Florida pitcher Natalie Lugo.

Cottrill had caught Lugo many times in practice and in games. On the first pitch she poked the ball perfectly into leftfield for her second hit of the game and Pennington scored to give Oklahoma State a 2-0 advantage.

“I spent two and half-years at Florida and so I caught her those two and a half-years,” Cottrill said. “I give here credit because she held us to just six hits and I give Florida credit for a good performance, but yes, probably two and a half-years.

“I was kind of ready to go up there and get after it, so those first two pitches were good pitches to hit,” Cottrill added on her aggressive at bats. 

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Chyenne Factor at sedond after her squeeze bunt delivered the first RBI.

The Cowgirls opened the scoring in the bottom of the third with a textbook frame of small ball. Cottrill opened the inning with a single between first and second. Kiley Naomi batting in the nine-hole bunted in front of home plate and Florida third baseman Charla Echols threw her out, but the sacrifice bunt moved Cottrill to second. The line-up turned over and Chelsea Alexander bunted to the same spot, but she beat the throw barely. That was confirmed by review. Cottrill moved to third. Chyenne Factor got the RBI on a squeeze. The bunt to the right side was perfect and Florida couldn’t even make a play on it. Cottrill scored at home without a throw to make it 1-0.

“I figured it was coming, I get those calls (bunt) a lot,” Factor said. “It was good and it worked out with Julia going on the pitch.”

“it’s not something new,” Gajewski said of the small ball offense. “If you are watching our film it is something we do a lot.”

Katelynn Cartwile drew a 3-2 walk to load the bases for cleanup hitter Miranda Elish, but she hit it to Hannah Adams who started the 4-6-3 double play to end the threat.

Cottrill, for good measure added a double off the wall in left center in the sixth inning. On the night she had half of the Cowgirls six hits, going 3-for-3.

Florida threatened a few times, but Maxwell always seemed in control and got some good defensive plays behind her like Naomi’s throw out on Avery Goelz for the first out in the third. Then in the top of the seventh second baseman Karli Petty made a running grab of a foul ball past first base to get Reagan Walsh for the first out in the seventh.

Oklahoma State is now 48-12 on the season and still a perfect 7-0 in NCAA postseason and 2-0 at the Women’s College World Series with a day off coming on Sunday. On Monday they will play the Arizona vs. Texas winner from the Sunday elimination game and will need to win once in two tries to advance to the championship series.