Oklahoma State Softball Defeats No. 9 Florida State to Start Season
PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico – Home runs from Tallen Edwards, Micaela Wark and Amanda Hasler, plus a dominant pitching performance from Ruby Meylan propelled the Oklahoma State softball team to a 9-6 win over No. 9 Florida State Thursday at Nancy Almaraz Field.
It was the season opener for both teams and marked the 24th time OSU has beaten a top-10 opponent under head coach Kenny Gajewski.
The Cowgirls jumped out to a 3-0 lead after two innings. Aided by an FSU error, OSU scored twice in the first, then added the third on Edwards’ first home run of the season to lead off the second inning.
Meylan was overpowering, striking out six consecutive batters early in the game before the Seminoles got on the board with a Jaysoni Beachum solo home run in the third inning to bring the score to 3-1. Beachum added a second home run later in the game.
In her Cowgirl debut, Cal State Fullerton transfer Megan Delgadillo singled home Megan Bloodworth to extend the OSU lead to 4-1 in the fourth inning before FSU scratched a run back in the top of the fifth.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Cowgirls created separation thanks to Wark’s solo blast and a sacrifice bunt from Edwards that scored Rachael Hathoot.
The game nearly reached run-rule territory in the sixth, following Hasler’s solo home run, a run-scoring error and an RBI double from Hathoot that brought the score to 9-2.
FSU blasted a pair of two-run home runs in the top of the seventh to narrow the final margin.
Meylan picked up her first win for OSU, striking out nine in five innings of work. Ashtyn Danley took the loss for the Seminoles.
Offensive standouts for the Cowgirls included Delgadillo (3-for-4 with a double and three stolen bases), Wark (2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI) and Hathoot (2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and an RBI.)
The Cowgirls return to action at 4 p.m. tomorrow when they face Louisiana Tech. The game will be streamed live on FloSoftball and can be heard on The Varsity Network app.