Error leads to elimination for Cowgirls
Error leads to elimination for Cowgirls

By Scott Wright

Published: May 11, 2008

Heather Kim's first error of the season came at the worst possible time.

What would have been a game-ending groundout turned into a game-tying mistake when the Oklahoma State first baseman dropped an underhand toss from pitcher Sarah Odom with two outs in the seventh inning.

Texas' Kori Cook scored from second base to tie the game at 3 and the fourth-seeded Longhorns went on to win 4-3 in nine innings Saturday in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Softball Tournament at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium.

"She is a great player and a great kid,” OSU coach Rich Wieligman said of Kim, who had been perfect in 339 chances before the error. "It's just a tough circumstance. I think that play could have happened a hundred times and that would be an out a hundred times. It's tough that one play can change the game like it did.”

Odom got out of a one-out, bases-loaded jam in the eighth inning, but couldn't contain the Longhorns in the ninth. Loryn Johnson led off with a single and eventually scored on Kacie Gaskin's sacrifice fly to left field.

The game was one of emotional swings. The Cowgirls opened with a pair of runs in the top of the first inning. Texas tied it with a home run in the bottom of the fifth and OSU struck back when catcher Ashley Boyd hit a solo home run to left-center field.

But Texas pitcher Meagan Denney kept the Cowgirls off balance much of the afternoon, allowing three runs on nine hits in nine innings. She walked one and struck out eight.

Despite the crushing loss, Oklahoma State players remained positive about their accomplishments in their 26-25 season.

"Coming into the Big 12 Tournament, it's the first time for a lot of us out here,” Boyd said. "We're just trying to make a good showing and I thought we outplayed them for the most part.

"This season has been big for OSU. We've taken a big step for this program. We set the bar and now it's just gonna get better every year.”

The Cowgirls will likely be left out of the NCAA Tournament when the field is announced tonight. But after winning just three Big 12 Conference games last season and losing eight seniors, they responded with a 9-9 record in conference. And they nearly landed in the tournament semifinals.

"I liked how we kept fighting in this game,” Wieligman said. "Like I told our kids, sometimes life's not fair. But we'll bounce back from this and we'll be fine. I think we showed what we can do and we're getting better. And that's the key.”

Your thoughts!