Oklahoma State softball ace Lexi Kilfoyl is 'story of the weekend' in NCAA regional sweep

STILLWATER — Lexi Kilfoyl’s opening weekend of the NCAA softball tournament can’t technically be described as perfect.

The Oklahoma State pitcher gave up some hits, and even a few runs in her three victories at the Stillwater Regional at Cowgirl Stadium. 

But the hard-throwing right-hander was about as close to perfect as one could hope for, not just in the fifth-seeded Cowgirls’ 4-1 win over Michigan on Sunday, but all weekend as she powered the program to its fifth straight regional title.

In between a few soft singles allowed in the first inning and a harmless seventh-inning double, Kilfoyl retired 17 straight Wolverines (43-18).

That’s a day after she retired 19 straight Kentucky batters — likewise, sandwiched between some first- and seventh-inning hits — and two days after she retired all 15 she faced against Northern Colorado in the regional opener.

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A vote for anyone other than Kilfoyl as regional MVP would be laughable.

“The story of the weekend is Lexi,” OSU coach Kenny Gajewski said. “Just the way she carried this team. She’s been waiting for this moment, whether she knows it or not. 

“It’s really cool to see kids be able to answer and be so under control and so normal and so caring — caring about the program, her teammates, the Cowgirl way. It’s just really neat.”

The Cowgirls (47-10) advance to the Stillwater Super Regional, where they will play host to unseeded Arizona for a berth in the Women’s College World Series starting Friday night.

Here are three takeaways from OSU’s regional victory.

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Why OSU went with Kilfoyl again

It’s out of character for OSU coach Kenny Gajewski to lean so heavily on one pitcher, particularly in a year when the gap between his top two isn’t all that significant.

For reference, Kilfoyl pitched more innings in three games this weekend than Samantha Show did in the super regional at Florida State in 2019, when she was far-and-away the clear ace of that staff. 

But the decision for Gajewski and first-year pitching coach Carrie Eberle became easy when Michigan defeated Kentucky in Saturday night’s elimination game.

“We hadn’t faced Michigan yet,” Gajewski said. “Since it was a new set of hitters, it made sense. When Carrie called me, that’s what she wanted, and there was no doubt.”

Kilfoyl allowed a run on five hits with eight strikeouts and no walks Sunday, bringing her weekend total to three runs (two earned) on 10 hits with 21 strikeouts and no walks. In fact, she hasn’t walked a batter in her last 25 innings, dating back to the Bedlam series on the final weekend of the regular season.

While she admitted to being tired after the game, and ready for the steak dinner her family was preparing for her, she knew she wanted the ball Sunday.

“Last night, Carrie and I had a talk about how I was feeling, and I was feeling pretty good,” Kilfoyl said. “I was really excited. Mentally, going into this weekend, I was ready to go at any moment. 

“I was ready to go — just go win the game.”

Eight of the 10 hits Kilfoyl allowed this weekend came in the first inning of the last two games, but she has responded to both situations with dominance.

“It’s a mental, emotional test. That’s what the game does,” Gajewski said. “Whenever you think everything’s cruising along, you’ve got the best pitcher in the country over here, and you think you’re just gonna roll out there and go, the game tests you.

“We weathered the storm and it was cool to see.”

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Key homers from Godwin, McDonald

The look and the sound of the home runs hit by Lexi McDonald and Karli Godwin were not similar.

But the value of both was equally massive.

McDonald, a sophomore who settled in as the regular right fielder only a few weeks ago, hit a solo home run in the top of the second inning. The left-handed hitter reached out and hit a high fly ball to the opposite field, benefitting from the gusting wind blowing out to left at 20-plus mph.

“For an Oklahoma kid from Silo, this is just another step,” Gajewski said of McDonald. “This is just another step for her. She had to get over that hump, and she’s done that.”

Three innings later, Godwin’s two-run homer was a pure missile that never got more than 30 feet off the ground and cleared the left-center field fan deck with ease.

Though Godwin had a couple hits in the first two games of the regional, those around her could tell the freshman was pressing in her first postseason.

“(Jilyen Poullard) has been a big part of this weekend,” Godwin said. “Before I went on deck, she came up to me and was like, ‘Listen, we don’t need you to be a hero. We just need you to be Karli Godwin.’ 

“I think that took the pressure off my shoulders.”

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Arizona up next

When the NCAA bracket first was released, it looked like a Middle America showdown between programs from the Big 12 and Southeastern Conference was in the offing. Instead, it’ll be a future Big 12 rivalry.

OSU and 12th-seeded Arkansas were aligned for a super regional if both won. But that didn’t happen. With losses to Arizona and Villanova, the Razorbacks saw their season end Saturday.

Arizona advanced with an easy win over Villanova in Sunday’s regional final, so one of college softball’s most legendary programs will come to Stillwater next week.

The Wildcats’ seven WCWS titles are the second-most nationally behind UCLA, though they haven’t won one since 2007. They’re playing their final games as a member of the Pac-12 Conference, set to join the Big 12 in about six weeks.

The best-of-three series will begin at 7 p.m. CT Friday night (ESPNU) with Game 2 at 6 p.m. Saturday.