Softball Defeats No. 6/7 Oklahoma State

cousin oliver · May 4, 2023

DENTON – UNT softball knocked off No. 6/7 Oklahoma State 5-1 on Wednesday at Lovelace Stadium. The Mean Green secured its first home win against a ranked opponent since April 17, 2013, a 5-3 win over No. 19 Baylor.

“What a great win in front of a great crowd,” head coach Rodney DeLong said. “We really fed off the energy of our fans. Our defense and pitching were really tough again today and that is key for us. We also had some timely hits that helped us score late. I couldn’t be more proud of this group that has overcome a lot to get to this point.”

North Texas (30-20) played in front of its largest home crowd in program history with an attendance of 481 for the midweek matchup. The Mean Green fought back against OSU (41-10) after it fell behind 1-0 in the top of the second inning.

Wednesday’s victory marked the fourth win against a top-10 team in program history and first since the Mean Green defeated No. 5 Oklahoma 4-3 in eight innings on Feb. 29, 2020, in Norman, Okla.

Skylar Savage (W, 7-4) started for UNT and allowed one run on five hits and two walks over five innings. She also collected the last win over a ranked opponent when the Mean Green prevailed over No. 25 Nebraska at the NCAA Regionals on May 21, 2022.

Ashley Peters (S, 2) closed the game and allowed no runs on one hit with no walks and one strikeout.

North Texas’ defense posted numerous highlight reel plays including a pair of double plays and diving catches from left fielder Rylee Nicholson and first base Kailey Gamble. The Cowgirls placed only one runner in scoring position with the lone run coming from a solo home run in the second inning.

Katy Truitt sparked a three-run fifth inning with a single up the middle and later scored on a Lexi Cobb RBI single. Cierra Simon followed with a two-out ground ball to shortstop which was misplayed resulting in a two-run error.

Gamble opened the bottom of the sixth with a single and was substituted by pinch runner Emma Grahmann. Grahmann collected her fourth stolen base of the season before scoring on an error at first base off the bat of Truitt. Molly Rainey tallied her second hit of the night with an RBI single to score Truitt.

Oklahoma State transfer Tatum Sparks secured the final out of the game on a pop up in foul territory to seal the 5-1 victory.

UP NEXT

The Mean Green open its final home series of the season on Friday against Middle Tennessee at 6 p.m. on ESPN+. Tickets for the homestand at Lovelace Stadium are available HERE.