The Basics
After a midweek contest at Tulsa (14-24-1, 3-5-1 American) on Wednesday at 5 p.m., the No. 6/7 Oklahoma State softball team (34-7, 11-1 Big 12) returns to Stillwater for its final home series of the regular season to host No. 16/16 Texas (31-12-1, 7-2 Big 12). Games are slated for Friday at 6 p.m., Saturday at 6:30 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.

Watch, Listen, Follow
The game against Tulsa can be streamed on ESPN+, as can the series finale with Texas on Sunday. Saturday's game can be seen on ESPN2 with Amanda Scarborough and Mark Neely on the call. 

All of Oklahoma State's games can be heard on 105.5 KGFY FM or online at stillwaterradio.net with Bill Van Ness on the call.

Live stats are available online on okstate.statbroadcast.com. 

Fans can follow @CowgirlSB on Twitter all season for regular coverage and updates.

In the Rankings
As of April 19, Oklahoma State ranks:
• No. 6 in the USA Today/NFCA DI Top 25 Coaches Poll
• No. 7 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25
• No. 8 in SoftballAmerica's NCAA Division I Softball Top 25
• No. 8 in D1Softball's Top 25
• No. 11 in NCAA DI Adjusted Rating Percentage Index

Oklahoma State From a Distance
Winners in 17 of its last 18 and 23 of its last 25, Oklahoma State is in the conversation to host an NCAA Regional and possibly host an NCAA Super Regional.

The Cowgirls already have top-25 wins over Northwestern (RPI No. 7), Arizona State (RPI No. 14) and Michigan (RPI No. 23) and their final nine games of the regular season will be played in three-game series against Texas (RPI No. 13), at Florida State (RPI No. 5) and at Oklahoma (RPI No. 1).

Starting pitching and defense are important parts of OSU's success. Left-hander Kelly Maxwell leads the Big 12 and ranks second nationally with 12.9 strikeouts per seven innings and ranks in the top 10 nationally in fewest hits allowed per game (fourth – 3.19) and shutouts (seventh – seven). 

Her 1.04 earned run average ranks 11th nationally and in her last start, she matched a school record with 18 strikeouts in a seven-inning game against Kansas. Right-hander Miranda Elish has won her last nine starts and has logged two no-hitters this season. Defensively, the Cowgirls lead the Big 12 and rank fourth nationally with a .982 fielding percentage.

Notable Streaks and Trends
• OSU has won 17 of its last 18 and 23 of its last 25.
• OSU has won eight of its last 18 via run-rule.
• OSU has outscored Big 12 opposition by a combined score of 89-19 through 12 games, including three shutouts and four run-rule victories in that stretch.
• OSU has out-hit its opponents in 34 of its 41 games this season.
• OSU has kept opponents to three runs or less in 22 of their last 23 and 35 of their last 41.
• The Cowgirls have been ranked in the NFCA poll in each of their last 182 games, dating back to the start of the 2019 season.
• Miranda Elish is batting .457, slugging .914 and leads all Cowgirls in home runs (five) and RBI (20) against Big 12 opponents.
• Sydney Pennington has started 248 consecutive games, which amounts to every game of her career.
• Sydney Pennington has at least one hit in 18 of her last 24 games and has driven in 29 runs in that stretch.
• Kelly Maxwell has tallied double digit strikeouts in 10 of her 16 starts this season.
• Kelly Maxwell is currently averaging 12.9 strikeouts per seven innings.
• Katelynn Carwile has reached base in 19 consecutive games, the team's longest active streak.
• Katelynn Carwile has at least one hit in 20 of her last 25 games.
• Katelynn Carwile leads all Cowgirls in multi-hit games this season with 13 (10 two-hit games, two three-hit games and one four-hit game).

Series History vs. This Week's Opponents
Including a 10-0 run rule victory in Stillwater on March 30, Oklahoma State holds the advantage in its series history with Tulsa, 34-22.

OSU won six of its seven meetings with Texas in 2021, including a regular season road sweep, an extra-innings walk off victory at the Big 12 Championship and a pair of wins in the Stillwater Super Regional that secured the Cowgirls' second-straight trip to the Women's College World Series.

Oklahoma State & Nike N7
OSU softball proudly wears turquoise uniforms for select games to honor Native American and Aboriginal heritage in partnership with Nike and its N7 project.

The color turquoise represents harmony, friendship and fellowship in the Native American culture. 

N7 is Nike's long-time commitment and mission to inspire and enable two million Native American and Aboriginal youth in North America to participate in sport and physical activity. 

The N7 philosophy embraces the native philosophy: "In every deliberation we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations."

Built For The Big 12
After grinding through a nonconference slate that featured 11 games against teams with a top-50 adjusted RPI, OSU has opened Big 12 play with four consecutive series wins over Texas Tech, Baylor, Iowa State and Kansas.

The Pokes' 11-1 record through its first dozen conference contests ties the 2021 Cowgirls' for the best start to Big 12 play in program history through as many games.

Oklahoma State has outscored conference opposition, 89-19, through 12 games, including three shutouts and four run-rule victories.         The Cowgirls are batting .309 against Big 12 pitching and the OSU pitchers have a combined ERA of 1.47 with 118 strikeouts against just 19 walks in 76.0 innings pitched against the Big 12. Conference opponents are batting just .170 against OSU.

To The Max
At 14-1 on the year, Kelly Maxwell's .933 win percentage ranks second in the Big 12 and fourth nationally.

The lefty set an Oklahoma State record when she fanned 18 batters in a seven-inning game against Kansas on April 15. That total ties for fifth in Cowgirl history with Lauren Bay's 10-inning performance against Northwestern in 2003.

In 20 appearances and 107.2 innings pitched this season, Maxwell ranks second nationally in strikeouts per seven innings (12.9), fourth in hits allowed per game (3.19), seventh in shutouts (seven) and 11th in ERA (1.04).

New Face In The Right Place
Sophomore Katelynn Carwile has at least one hit in 20 of her last 25 games and has tallied 13 multi-hit games on the season to lead the team.

Since earning her first career start on February 27, Carwile's batting average has risen 204 points from .214 to .418. She has reached base in 19 consecutive games dating back to March 16, the longest active streak on the team.

Sydney P
Oklahoma State softball's home run queen and career record holder in games played and games started has elevated her game since the start of Big 12 play.

Sydney Pennington owns top marks among all Cowgirls in batting average (.357), runs scored (nine), hits (10), home runs (four), RBI (14) and slugging percentage (.821) against conference foes.

The graduate senior with 248 consecutive starts for the Cowgirls has tallied nine multiple-RBI performances on the year, six of which came in conference play.