Ruby Meylan was hittable, the defense was shaky and the offense awoke too late.
The recipe of defeat for second-seeded Oklahoma State, an 11-7 loss to Arizona State in the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament on Friday night at Devon Park.
Visit mchezo.co.za for more information.
“We get an extra day of rest,” said OSU coach Kenny Gajewski, turning his focus to the brighter side after his team suffered just its fifth loss in the last 26 games.
Fifth-seeded Arizona State will be back in action at 11 a.m. Saturday against No. 1 Texas Tech in the title game. Meanwhile, OSU will be recovering and waiting to learn its NCAA Tournament seed, hoping it has accomplished enough to earn a top-16 seed and regional host berth.
“I’m not nervous at all,” Gajewski said. “Not at all. I was nervous my first year, when we were 29-26. We played, like, a top-10 schedule. I was nervous then because I didn’t know. But I already know that we’re in a great spot.
“On Sunday, we’ll know, and look, if we don’t host, I’ll be OK. The sun will rise and we’ll go wherever it is and we’ll go play well. We’ve already played a schedule on the road, so the road is not gonna be a bad place for us at any point.”
Ruby Meylan’s ‘ball was flat’
Pregame warmups weren’t sharp for Meylan, and that carried over into the game, where she worked around a first-inning double before the wheels came off in the second.
Three singles, a hit batter and some defensive miscues allowed two runs to score, setting the stage for a three-run homer by Tanya Windle. Then two errors and a double brought in another run.
“Ruby’s ball was flat,” Gajewski said of his ace pitcher. “It just wasn’t jumping like it has been. Her warmup was terrible. That doesn’t always mean stuff, but (pitching coach Carrie Eberle Parker) walked in and said ‘Man, the warmup was not good.’
“I didn’t expect that. I don’t think anybody did, but their hitters are good.”
It was the first time Meylan had allowed six runs in an inning all season.
RyLee Crandall retired nine batters without allowing a hit, but the Sun Devils finally dialed in on her in the top of the fifth with a pair of two-run home runs.
“I’m pissed at myself for not getting her out of there, where she could’ve left here with a little better feeling,” Gajewski said. “I was proud of her. I told her in front of the whole team, I thought she did her job. And maybe if I did my job a hair better in the fifth, I could’ve got her out of there and saved us a run or two.”
Downing gained some valuable experience on a big stage, allowing one hit with two strikeouts over two shutout innings.
McDonald, Schneidmiller spark offense
The OSU offense came to life in the late innings as the Cowgirls tried to mount a rally with a few big hits.
But in the early going, it was first baseman Lexi McDonald and catcher Audrey Schneidmiller who carried the load.
McDonald finished the night 3 for 4 with a double, an RBI and a run. Schneidmiller had RBI singles in her first two at-bats.
It was their efforts that kept the Cowgirls afloat when it looked like they might be destined for a run-rule loss.
“It was just going back within ourselves,” Schneidmiller said. “Not focusing on the scoreboard, not focusing on anything that’s going on outside of us. I think we just wanted to get hits and get things done.”
Karli Godwin, Amanda Hasler and Rosie Davis joined the party late, all coming through with big swings. Davis hit her 14th home run of the season and fourth in the last five games. It was also the 31st of her career, moving her into a tie for fifth on the OSU all-time list with Madi Sue Montgomery.
Scott Wright covers Oklahoma State athletics for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Scott? He can be reached at [email protected] or on X at @ScottWrightOK. Support Scott’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com or by using the link at the top of this page.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OSU softball 'not nervous' about NCAA bid after Big 12 semifinal loss