Naomi, freshman standouts surging for Cowgirls
STILLWATER — Five wins, four by run rule, a near-perfect game and a resurgent performance from a familiar star.
The Oklahoma State softball team's trip to the Clearwater (Florida) Invitational was full of good happenings Thursday through Saturday as the Cowgirls rolled against five opponents, all of which were either ranked or receiving votes in one of the two major polls.
The Cowgirls averaged 11.0 runs per game and got more stellar pitching from ace Kelly Maxwell over a dominant few days.
Here's a look at what we learned about the Cowgirls.
Kiley Naomi renaissance
Shortstop Kiley Naomi has been an anchor in the Cowgirl offense throughout her career, but she saw her numbers dip last season.
Through her first three seasons, Naomi batted .308 with 28 home runs. As a senior last season, she had a career-low .224 average with six home runs.
But through nine games of her super-senior year, Naomi appears to be back on track.
She hit four home runs over the weekend, including two in the 10-9 win over Virginia Tech on Friday and a grand slam in the 12-2 run-rule win over Louisiana.
Coach Kenny Gajewski seems to have settled on Naomi in the third spot in the order. For the week, she went 7 for 12 with 12 RBIs.
Katelynn Carwile, Morgyn Wynne up to old tricks
After leading the Cowgirls in doubles a year ago, her first as a starter, Katelynn Carwile is at it again already this season.
The junior from Purcell has six doubles — no one else on the team has more than two — and two triples in her first 24 at-bats with a .417 average and nine RBIs.
Morgyn Wynne, who had 17 home runs two seasons ago as the starting first baseman at Kansas, seems to have rediscovered her power swing early this season.
Splitting time with Micaela Wark at first base, Wynne hit two home runs over the weekend and has three for the season in 23 at-bats.
She had a grand slam against Louisiana.
The Cowgirls are also getting an offensive boost from some freshmen. Tallen Edwards continued her hot start and hit her first career home run. She is batting .464 — second-best on the team behind Rachel Becker's .500 average — with eight RBIs and a team-best 10 runs scored.
Wark has a .381 batting average with two home runs and six RBIs in her first 18 at-bats.
And Katie Lott has earned a couple of starts as designated player thanks to her hot bat. She has four hits in seven at-bats, including a home run and RBI double that served as the walk-off hit in the 10-9 win over Virginia Tech.
Kyra Aycock close to perfection
Kyra Aycock won't quickly forget her first college start.
The true freshman from Newnan, Georgia, was one out away from a fiveinning perfect game on Friday, giving up a two-out single to Nebraska's Caitlynn Neal in the top of the fifth inning before inducing a game-ending groundout in the 10-0 win.
Aycock struck out five batters and had nine groundouts to account for 14 of the 15 outs.
Through 9 2⁄ innings pitched this
3 season, Aycock has walked one batter.
Maxwell continued to dominate opponents, though she finally allowed her first runs of the season. She gave up two runs on six hits over 11 innings with 22 strikeouts. For the season, she has a 0.58 ERA with 45 strikeouts in 24 innings.