Oklahoma State's Ward knocks in game-winner

Oklahoma State coach Rich Wieligman discusses UT

Persistence paid off for Oklahoma State in the opening game of the NCAA softball tournament's Knoxville Regional on Friday afternoon at Lee Stadium.

Julie Ward looped a single into right field with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning to drive home the game-winning run in the Cowgirls' 2-1 victory over ACC regular-season champion Georgia Tech (44-11).

Ward's clutch hit came on the 10th pitch of her at-bat, after she had fallen behind 0-2 in the count and taken three balls and fouled off five pitches.

"I had two strikes for the longest time; I knew they would tease me out and jam me in,'' Ward said. "I was determined to poke one like I did, and it worked out. The first game sets the tone, so it's good to get the first win.''

Oklahoma State (38-17) advances to play 14th-seeded Tennessee (48-10) at 2 p.m. today at Lee Stadium. The winner advances to the championship game at 2 p.m. Sunday, while the loser plays again at 7 p.m. today against the winner of today's 4:30 p.m. game between Georgia Tech and Liberty (30-29) in another elimination game.

Cowgirls coach Rich Wieligman knows first-hand that the little things make the difference between winning and losing - his team had dropped six games in a row entering the NCAA tournament.

"If people could've watched us play these last five or six games, we did enough things to win, but we did one thing or another to hurt us,'' Wieligman said. "We didn't get blown out; we didn't just throw up on ourselves.

"With the conference (Big 12) we play in, it prepares us for these kind of battles.''

Wieligman, whose Cowgirls went 8-10 in league play, doesn't expect his team to get psyched-out playing a traditional power like the Lady Vols (48-10) this afternoon, either.

"The tradition they have built here speaks for itself,'' he said. "You get to these situations, and you can get caught up in who you're playing and their tradition.

"But you still have to play defense, and you've got to hit.''

Oklahoma State's Kat Espinosa allowed just one unearned run, in the second inning, en route to improving her record to 21-7.

Georgia Tech freshman Lindsey Anderson (12-1) was the hard-luck loser, pitching out of numerous jams in allowing six hits while yielding four walks.

Scouting Report: Georgia Tech coach Sharon Perkins explained why she went with her freshman pitcher over senior ace Kristen Adkins, who threw the bulk of the innings this season.

"They (Oklahoma State) have long swings, so I figured (Anderson) could jam them,'' Perkins said. "They swing the bat really well. That's the best (Anderson) has shown all year.''

Anderson throws harder than Adkins, who is more of a finesse pitcher.

Stung By Injuries: The Yellow Jackets were playing without senior center fielder Christy Jones, who broke her hand in practice earlier this week. Junior right fielder Jessica Sinclair also remained sidelined by a torn ACL suffered prior to the ACC tournament.