Cowgirls Wrap Up Florida Trip with Team USA, Freshmen Pitchers Do Well

Oklahoma State softball finished the St.Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational with Team USA and facing the World's best in Monica Abbott.

(This story originated with Oklahoma State University athletic mdia relations and was written by Andy Cheng with Pokes Report publisher Robert Allen contributing.)

CLEARWATER, Fl. ­– The Oklahoma State softball team finished up the St. Pete Clearwater Elite Invitational on Sunday with an exhibition against the U.S. national team. The No. 16 Cowgirls were defeated by Team USA 4-0. The team that will represent the USA in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics had earlier beaten Liberty 18-5 and were set to take on Washington later on Sunday. 

Softball legend and Team USA flagship pitcher Monica Abbott cruised through seven no-hit innings; her only blemish in the game was a walk to OSU shortstop Kiley Naomi to start the game. In the second inning, Hayley Busby lined what looked like a single to right field but was thrown out by Team USA right fielder Michelle Moultrie. At one time, Abbott, holder of most NCAA softball pitching records, struck out five out of six Cowgirls and she was always in command during the game.  

Oklahoma State rotated through four available pitchers and all had success against a lineup that will be competing in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

Red-shirt freshman Kelly Maxwell started the game and tossed two hitless innings while freshman Mattison Boyd also saw her first action of the season with an inning of work. Maxwell allowed a couple of base runner by walks. Boyd looked solid in her work. Seniors Logan Simunek and Carrie Eberlie combined for the final four innings. That was when Team USA scored their runs using five hits and one of the big blows was a two-run double.

One of the best defensive plays for the Cowgirls came on a shapr groundball back to Simenuk at pitcher and she started a rare 1-5-3 double play going to Pennington at third and back across the diamond in time at first to catch the hitter in former Florida Gator and Team USA catcher Aubree Munro.

"It was a good weekend for us when you look at how we handled the ups and downs," head coach Kenny Gajewski said. "Finishing 4-1 in the tournament is nothing to be ashamed of. We had a chance to grow and see our kids in some really tough spots. It's an honor to finish the tournament with an exhibition against Team USA. We watched our hitters compete against the best pitcher in the world. Really fun day from a great crowd and it was a great opportunity for OSU."

After an impressive 4-1 record at the SPC Elite against some of the best teams in the nation, the Cowgirls travel to Birmingham, Alabama to participate in the Blazer Classic. The tournament kicks off with a doubleheader against Louisiana and Ole Miss on Feb. 21.