Oklahoma State Softball: Clearwater Invitational Preview
Oklahoma State softball started out perfect on the season.
Kenny Gajewski and his crew went 5-0 last weekend, including a 9-1 run-rule victory over UCLA on Sunday.
Now the Cowgirls set their sights on Florida, where they will be participating in the Clearwater Invitational.
OSU will play five games in three days, including three of those games being ranked matchups.
Friday: Georgia and Wisconsin
The Cowgirls first contest will come early in the morning, starting at 9 a.m. against the Georgia Bulldogs.
Georgia is off to a 5-0 start as well, including two straight wins against Purdue over the weekend.
Sydney Chambley got off to a hot start in the 2024 season, collecting a .500 batting average with six hits, three home runs and 10 RBIs in the first five games of the season.
Her best performance came in the first matchup against the Boilermakers, smashing two home runs and collecting three RBIs as well in the 6-1 victory.
OSU will get a test in the circle as the duo of Shelby Walters and Lilli Backes have been outstanding so far this season. They have combined for 0.66 ERA, giving up only one run in 11 hits and securing 25 strikeouts so far this season.
Later that day, OSU will take on Wisconsin, which is off to a 4-1 start to the 2024 season, including three straight run-rule victories.
Brooke Kuffel has shown her power so far, hitting .727 on the season, with four home runs and eight RBIs.
Gabi Salo is the top arm for the Badgers, posting 0.00 ERA, giving up zero runs and collecting 16 strikeouts in 10 innings of work this season.
Saturday: LSU and Northwestern
OSU’s opening contest on Saturday will be against the Tigers, who are 5-0 on the season and have jumped to No. 12 in the USA Softball rankings.
Taylor Pleasants has led the way, posting a .364 batting average with four hits, two home runs and 13 RBIs so far this season.
Out of the 17 players on the Tiger roster, six of them are hitting over .400 to start the season, including Ali Newland hitting .500 in the 2024 season.
LSU’s pitching has been just as dominant, giving up zero runs and collecting 29 strikeouts in the first five games.
Sydney Berzon has been making people miss, securing eight strikeouts in five innings pitched this season. Three other Tigers have produced over five strikeouts as well.
The Cowgirls next contest on Saturday will be against Northwestern.
The Wildcats are No. 24 in DI Softball Top 25 poll as they are off to a 4-1 start, including an 8-0 victory in their last outing against Weber State.
Three Wildcat players are batting over .500 this season, including Angela Zedak hitting .615 on the season. She also has 10 hits, two home runs and five RBIs.
Ashley Miller leads the charge in the circle as she has given up no runs on five hits with 16 strikeouts in nine innings pitched this season.
Sunday: Georgia Tech
Oklahoma State concludes the Clearwater Invitational with a battle at 11:30 a.m. against the Yellowjackets.
Georgia Tech is off to a 3-3 start to the season, including two losses to Alabama. They are on a two-game winning streak after consecutive run-rule victories against Longwood.
Sara Beth Allen has been the bright spot in the Yellowjackets offense, securing seven hits, one home run and three RBIs. Out of 15 Georgia Tech players, seven have over two RBIs to start the season.
Blake Neleman will get most of the work in the circle as she has posted a 1.54 ERA in 13 2/3 innings pitched, giving up eight hits with 19 strikeouts.
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Nick is a sports media student at Oklahoma State University, where he also minors Sports Managment. He has covered OSU softball for 107.7 The Franchise and also covers Oklahoma high school football for Enid News & Eagle.