AUSTIN, Texas – Rosie Davis and Madison Hoffman blasted two-run home runs and Ruby Meylan allowed only two hits over seven innings to lift the No. 18/17 Oklahoma State softball team to a 5-0 win over No. 7/4 Texas Wednesday at McCombs Field.
The win added to an impressive postseason résumé for the Cowgirls (31-12 overall). OSU has four wins over ranked opponents in the last seven days, defeating No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 16 Arizona twice and No. 7 Texas. The Cowgirls have 11 wins over ranked opponents on the season, with seven of those 11 coming away from home.
While the Longhorns (35-8 overall) were ranked No. 7 in this week's NFCA poll, they were No. 2 in today's NCAA RPI. Wednesday's win was OSU's sixth this season over a team currently ranked in the top 15 of the RPI, as the Cowgirls have also beaten No. 4 Nebraska, No. 6 Oklahoma, No. 9 UCLA, No. 11 Texas A&M and No. 15 Georgia.
For Meylan (21-6), it marked her 14th consecutive win in a game in which she was the pitcher of record. She allowed a single to the game's leadoff batter before retiring the next 10 Longhorn hitters. She didn't allow another baserunner until the fourth inning, then retired 11 straight to close out the game.
"I'm willing to do whatever I can do for this program," Meylan said. "To get to where we want to go, I know that I'm going to have to do these things. I'm just wearing it. It's hard. It's a challenge. Pitching is really hard and it's super stressful for me, but I'm just wearing it. I just love (my teammates), and I'll do anything I can so we can win. That's fueling me."
In earning the win over Texas, Meylan secured her seventh victory over a ranked opponent this season. She did not allow a baserunner to reach third base all night and limited the potent Longhorn offense to season-low totals in both hits and runs.
"I came here to be the ace, and they trust me to do that," Meylan said.
Longhorn right-hander Citlaly Gutierrez fell to 7-2 after taking the loss. She and Meylan staged a scoreless pitchers' duel through the first five innings, but Davis delivered what amounted to the knockout punch with a two-out, two-run home run to center in the sixth inning. Aubrey Jones added an insurance run with an RBI double with two out in the sixth before Hoffman put the game out of reach with the first home run of her career in the ensuing at-bat.
The Cowgirls return to action with a three-game Big 12 series at Baylor this weekend. Game one is set for 6:30 p.m. CT Friday.
