OU Softball: No. 4 Oklahoma State Dismantles No. 2 Oklahoma, Takes Bedlam Opener

Love’s Field sat in stunned silence. 

Oklahoma State freshman Karli Godwin hammered a two-run shot in the fifth inning, her fourth RBI of the night, to put the Cowgirls up 6-2.

The warts of the last month were on display. 

Oklahoma only brought one run around in the first inning despite having the bases loaded, and stranded runners all night.

In the other dugout, Kenny Gajewski’s Cowgirls delivered clutch hit after clutch hit to stun the Sooners and take Game 1 of Bedlam for the first time since 2021.

OSU won Friday’s contest 6-3, pulling No. 1 Texas level with the Sooners at the top of the Big 12 and putting OU’s 11-year regular season conference title streak in jeopardy. 

No. 2 Oklahoma (45-5, 21-4 Big 12) stranded eight baserunners in the loss to No. 4 Oklahoma State (43-8, 20-5), and was out-hit 7-3.

Friday was OU’s first defeat to the Cowgirls at home since 1997 and OSU’s six runs were the most the team had scored in Norman since notching a 6-2 Bedlam win on May 2, 1985.

The Cowgirls nearly took the lead from the jump. 

Kelly Maxwell fired a pair of strikeouts, but she walked Tallen Edwards to put a runner on first. 

Godwin doubled to the wall and Gajewski knew exactly what he wanted. 

He waved Edwards home, setting up a play at the plate. 

Rylie Boone hit Tiare Jennings on the cutoff, and she fired home for a bang-bang play. Edwards slide under Kinzie Hansen’s tag and was called safe, drawing a ferocious fist pump from Gajewski and putting OSU on top — or so the Cowgirls thought. 

After review, Edwards’ move to avoid Hansen took her wide enough for the Sooner catcher to apply the tag before Edwards’ hand caught a piece of home. The call was overturned, ending the top of the first with both teams still scoreless. 

The Sooners carried that momentum into the bottom half of the inning. 

Jayda Coleman, Jennings and Alyssa Brito all drew walks to load the bases with one out. 

Hansen drew the fourth walk of the inning putting Oklahoma up 1-0, but the Sooners struggled to turn the screw on Oklahoma State right-hander Kyra Aycock’s shaky start. 

Despite only throwing 12 of her 30 first inning pitches for strikes, Aycock got Ella Parker and Alynah Torres to fly out and limit the damage in the frame. 

Oklahoma capitalized on a mistake in the second inning. 

Kasidi Pickering dribbled a grounder toward the gap in the right side of the infield with two outs and Boone on second. OSU second baseman Rosie Davis covered the ground to field the ball, but mishandled the exchange to her throwing hand as she moved to try and toss the ball over at first. 

Boone rounded third and sped home as soon as she saw to ball hit the dirt to double OU’s advantage. 

A walk and a hit batter came back to bite Maxwell in the third, as Godwin produced again with a two-out double to clear the bases and tie the game up for the Cowgirls at 2-2.

OSU took the lead in the fourth. 

Micaela Wark hammered a one-out delivery to dead center, putting the Cowgirls in front 3-2.

Kierston Deal ended Maxwell’s outing to start the fifth. Maxwell allowed four hits and two walks while striking out three batters in her first start against her old team.

The change didn’t slow down the Cowgirls, as Jilyen Poullard hit a solo shot in Deal’s first at-bat to extend OSU’s lead to 4-2.

Godwin continued to torment the Sooners, belting a two-run shot to put the visitors up four runs.

Over the past three seasons, the fifth inning would typically where Oklahoma turned the tide, pulling a dramatic comeback victory out of the fire. 

With runners on first and second, Boone popped up her first pitch to record the second out, but Coleman helped get one run back for OU. 

Her hard-hit ball to third turned into a run off a bad throw, allowing Coleman to reach and a run to score, but Pickering flew out with runners at the corners, ending the sixth with the Cowgirls up 6-3.

Karlie Keeney, who was excellent in relief for OU, stopped the bleeding in the circle to give Oklahoma one final chance. The Sooners had Jennings, Brito and Hansen due up in the seventh to erase the three-run deficit.

This time, there was no magic.

Jennings flew out to the warning track and Brito and Hansen both grounded out to end the contest.

Game 2 between the Bedlam rivals will start at 12 p.m. on Saturday, and will be broadcast on ESPN.