Women’s College World Series: No. 13 Oklahoma State to take on No. 5 Florida

The Oklahoma State softball team has embarked on quite the journey to get to Oklahoma City for the Women’s College World Series.

The Cowgirls (44-15, 13-5 Big 12) worked their way through the Stillwater Regional to advance to the Tallahassee Super Regional where they beat defending national champions Florida State to clinch a spot in the Women’s College World Series. It’s OSU’s first WCWS appearance since 2011 and first under head coach Kenny Gajewski.

The No. 13-seeded Cowgirls will star the WCWS against No. 5 Florida (49-16, 12-12 SEC) at 6 p.m. Thursday at USA Hall of Fame Stadium. Gajewski will see some familiar faces as he was an assistant for the Gators prior to taking the reins in Stillwater.

Who: Florida (49-16, 12-12 SEC)

Where: USA Hall of Fame Stadium, Oklahoma City

When: 6 p.m. Thursday May 30

TV: ESPN2

Web stream: WatchESPN

Know the foe

Florida advance the WCWS after taking two games out of three from Tennessee. Amanda Lorenez is the only Gator hitting above .400 with a batting average of .419. Kendyl Lindaman is also a slugger for the Gators with a .330 average and 14 home runs this season. As a team they’ve hit .264. On the pitching side, senior Kelly Barnhill has a 1.45 earned-run average and 349 strikeouts. Overall, the Gators have a great pitching staff with a 1.99 ERA.

3 things to watch

1. Samantha Show

Show is a double threat in the circle and at the plate. If the Cowgirls get down, look for her to unleash her power at the dish. All she seems to do is hit home runs, with a staggering 18 bombs. In the circle, she’s been cool and collected in tough situations. She came up big in the Cowgirls’ win against FSU that sent them to the WCWS.

2. Florida’s pitching

This is going to be another tough pitching team for the Cowgirls. FSU was tough and the Cowgirls were able to get through it, but will they be able to handle another squad that has a lot of good arms?

3. Look for the Cowgirls to play their game

OSU likes to have fun and there’s no signs of that changing. From #BatFlipU to silly dances behind Gajewski during TV interviews, the Cowgirls have shown they like to keep things loose and have fun. OSU has has embraced one another and their “For The Girls” motto that has helped them get to this point.

The Cowgirls will have plenty of support from their fans as well with Stillwater being less than a hour drive from the WCWS.