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STILLWATER — When the ball came off Rosie Davis’ bat, everyone within earshot knew the game was over.
Oklahoma State softball’s junior third baseman smashed a solo home run that cleared the batter’s eye in center field for a 2-1 win over No. 5 Nebraska on Thursday night at Cowgirl Stadium.
“I knew it was gone, because it literally felt like butter hitting my bat,” Davis said. “I’m not a big bat-flip person, but as soon as I saw that, I was like, ‘Oh yeah, this is out,’ and I just went ballistic.”
It was an epic ending to an epic game.
A crowd of 1,802 — which set the attendance record for an OSU home opener — was treated to a dazzling duel between two of the country’s best pitchers, the Cowgirls’ Ruby Meylan and Nebraska’s Jordy Frahm.
Frahm was nearly untouchable until the 11th-ranked Cowgirls got to her in the bottom of the seventh, getting four hits and pushing through the game-tying run to force extra innings. That ended Frahm’s night.
Meylan gave up a run on eight hits with one walk and nine strikeouts over 10 innings (135 pitches) before handing the ball to RyLee Crandall for the 11th.
Crandall retired the Huskers in order to set the stage for Davis’ moon shot.
That made Crandall the pitcher of record to earn the win, but Meylan was the MVP.
“I honestly didn’t feel a thing,” Meylan said. “I was just kind of in my flow state, just going out there and pumping strikes in the zone and forcing people to mis-hit balls. That’s the way I like to pitch.”
The teams will meet twice more this weekend, with the Cowgirls still set to play five more games in the OSU/Tulsa Invitational.
Here are three takeaways from the OSU victory:
OSU saved by seventh-inning video review
The Cowgirls were technically dead for about two minutes.
Tia Warsop had been called out at first base on what would have been the final out of the game in the seventh inning, but while Nebraska players began to celebrate, OSU coach Kenny Gajewski walked briskly toward the umpires, signaling that he wanted a video review.
The call was quickly overturned, keeping the Cowgirls alive with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, trailing 1-0.
Warsop moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on a single by Audrey Schneidmiller, one of three Cowgirls with two hits.
A single by Jayden Jones moved pinch-runner Kaya Booker to second base, and Aubrey Jones followed with a single to right field. But Booker was thrown out at home plate to send the game to extra innings.
“I want to go back and look at how we didn’t score,” Gajewski said. “I know that ball was scorched. They were playing deep, too. I was shocked. But they made the throw and we were out easy.”
Ruby Meylan’s hitless streak passes 12 total innings
Meylan threw her first career no-hitter last week in a five-inning win over Colorado State. In the game before that, she gave up one hit in a seven-inning victory over Texas State.
And on Thursday, she took a no-hitter into the fourth inning before it ended with one out in the frame. All together, Meylan went 12 ⅔ innings without allowing a hit over the three games combined.
Meylan, who grew up in Omaha, reiterated that the matchup with Frahm and the Huskers was “just a game” and her actions backed up the statement — particularly her ability to manage her emotions through a tense night.
“There’s a lot of history there,” said Meylan, whose father and grandfather played football at Nebraska. “I’ve talked about it a lot, but with my family and with some of the girls I played with and against for a long time. Yeah, it feels really good.”
Meylan’s 10-inning performance is the longest outing by a pitcher in the country so far this season.
“What a pitching performance by two of the top kids in the country,” Gajewski said. “I thought Jordy was awesome. Ruby was equally as awesome. I thought their kid that came in late was really good. We finally cracked through.
“It felt everything like a super regional, Oklahoma City-type game. Both teams fighting, crawling, just a fun night. This is why you want to play these types of games.”
Rosie Davis plays with swollen black eye
Earlier this week, a bad hop from a ground ball during an intrasquad scrimmage bounced up and hit Davis in the left eye, and for a time, it was unclear if she’d be able to play as she dealt with vision issues.
Still swollen and bruised with strong redness across one side of her eye, Davis got the go-ahead to play, but she wore a mask at third base, like the ones worn by pitchers.
“I hate the mask, but you gotta wear it to protect the moneymaker,” she said with a laugh.
As her walkoff homer ball sailed over the wall, Gajewski found himself watching the fans celebrate, taking in the atmosphere and excitement of a huge win.
“What an amazing ballgame,” Gajewski said. “And to have this type of crowd, I’m just so blown away with the support that we’ve got here. To see the decks full and the students out there were awesome. What a night.”
Scott Wright covers Oklahoma State athletics for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Scott? He can be reached at [email protected] or on X at @ScottWrightOK. Sign up for the Oklahoma State Cowboys newsletter to access more OSU coverage. Support Scott’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com or by using the link at the top of this page.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State softball walks off Nebraska on Rosie Davis' home run