Scott WrightThe Oklahoman
As she walked off a college softball field for the final time, Oklahoma State's Lexi Kilfoyl stared down at the dirt that crunched beneath her cleats.
The Cowgirls' ace pitcher had done all she could do, and for one of the few times all season, it wasn’t going to be enough.
All that was left was to watch as eighth-seeded Stanford finished off an 8-0 run-rule win in six innings Friday night, eliminating fifth-seeded OSU (49-12) from the Women’s College World Series.
Simply put, it wasn’t Kilfoyl’s night. That honor went to Stanford star right-hander NiJaree Canady, who allowed three hits with three walks and seven strikeouts, clamping down on the Cowgirls to keep Stanford (49-16) alive.
Kilfoyl fought back her emotions as she exited in the fourth inning. Her slumped shoulders and hanging head were a warranted reaction for a player and a team that arrived Thursday with national championship dreams.
But Kilfoyl should stand tall for her effort that carried the Cowgirls this far.
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“Lexi is a leader like I haven't seen before,” OSU super-senior catcher Caroline Wang said. “I'm not sure that anyone watching the games from the outside could see it either, the person that she is to this team.
“Honestly, just a rock. She's steady. Even on her worst days, she's that.”
Kilfoyl was one of the top pitchers in the country essentially all year, earning one of three finalist spots for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year — an award that ultimately went to Canady.
Kilfoyl followed up the regular season with a wildly successful postseason, pitching OSU to all five victories in the regional and super regional.
And she was nearly untouchable in the WCWS opener, allowing two hits, one of which happened to be the decisive home run in Florida’s 1-0 win.
After she was relieved on Friday, Kilfoyl disappeared from the dugout and OSU coach Kenny Gajewski sought her out.
“I said, ‘Hey, your teammates need you out here,’” Gajewski said. “I wanted to reinforce to her how important she is to us.”
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While the ending wasn’t what Kilfoyl or any Cowgirl wanted, her two-year OSU career was magnificent, and when the pain of a winless WCWS fades, her time in Stillwater will be celebrated as such.
Even Friday, it took a team doing something no one in nearly two seasons had accomplished against Kilfoyl. The last team to hit two home runs off her in the same game was Virginia Tech on Feb. 17, 2023.
“I probably have never seen her be as emotional as I saw her tonight,” Gajewski said. “I could see it early on when she gave up the home run. I saw a look on her face. I was like, 'I don't like it.' I just was worried for her.
“I think it's just you feel things slipping away, even though it was early in the game. After last night, I knew it was going to be a tough one to come back from.”
Kilfoyl ends the season with a 1.33 ERA, striking out 152 batters in 180 ⅔ innings. She closes her college career with three WCWS trips, the last two with OSU after transferring from Alabama.
But her legacy is more than numbers. Far more.
“Everyone looks to her,” Wang said. “That's something I've admired about her from the start. There's really talented people, and Lexi obviously is that, but she has the best interest of the team in mind. She's the best teammate when she's not pitching, the same she is when she's on the field.”
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Wang and center fielder Jilyen Poullard both transferred to OSU this year, so they spent just one season with Kilfoyl and walk away in admiration of how their leader carried herself through the good and bad.
“I also have never seen someone who can lead with such poise, in a sense, just so effortlessly,” Poullard said. “She cares the absolute most, and there's no doubt about that. You can ask any girl on this team, Lexi's heart is always there, always in it, although she doesn't show a whole lot of emotion. If she does speak up, it's time to get it together.”
Kilfoyl was the No. 10 draft pick in the Athletes Unlimited professional softball league, so she hasn’t thrown her last pitch.
“I talk to a lot of kids, and they always tell me, ‘I want to be the ace’ — until it gets hard,” Gajewski said. “She never ran from hard. She just embraced hard.
“I just wanted to remind her that we appreciate that and it's not over yet, so you have to keep embracing the hard.”
