STILLWATER, Okla. — Even with a home run from pinch hitter Baillie Lott to start the bottom of the seventh inning, the Cougars fell 6-5 to Oklahoma State in game three of the NCAA Softball Super Regionals. UH forced the series to go to three games after beating the Cowgirls 1-0 earlier in the day.
Senior pitcher Amanda Crabtree was sorely missed in both games — she never stepped on the field, and senior Donna Bourgeois and freshman Diedre Outon had to pick up the slack.
“I think that any time you don’t have the strikeout leader in the country on the mound, you’re going to have a tougher job than if you did,” head coach Kyla Holas said.
“When you get to this point in the season and you have to go to an away game on a Saturday, you’re going to see a lot of offense, and pitching had to go through a lot of rounds.”
Bourgeois didn’t give the Cowgirls any room for a sweep, as she went the distance in game two.
“I’ve worked my entire life for this day,” Bourgeois said. “I think I had enough in the tank to get it done. But at the same time, I trust my coach’s decision and I trust every single one of my teammates. This is the place where I want to be. This is it.”
The Cowgirls scored quickly, racking up three runs in the first inning. The Cougars struck back with two runs in the same inning. and a home run from junior Jennifer Klinkert in the third brought two more runs in, putting UH in the lead 4-3. But the Cowgirls would eventually reclaim the advantage.
“I was really just trying to do something for my team,” Klinkert said. “I knew she was throwing drops, I was just trying to see a good pitch and put a good bat on the ball.”
It was the first time since 2008 that the Cougars made the Super Regionals. Prior to elimination, UH was the only school from a non-BCS conference remaining in the tournament.
