Kenny Gajewski called it a waste, but the Oklahoma State softball coach promptly backtracked to adjust his wording.

“We let an opportunity slip,” Gajewski said. “Maybe we didn't waste it. That's a harsh term for us. Not like we didn't give effort. One slipped away here.”

Gajewski and the fifth-seeded Cowgirls got virtually everything they wanted from All-American pitcher Lexi Kilfoyl, but fourth-seeded Florida got one big swing in an old-fashioned pitchers’ duel.

Katie Kistler crushed a solo home run down the right field line to lead off the fifth inning, and that was enough for Florida’s 1-0 win over the Cowgirls in the first round of the Women’s College World Series on Thursday night at Devon Park.

In a game seemingly plucked from a time capsule buried three decades ago, the two teams combined for four total hits — two apiece — and very little solid contact.

Florida freshman Keagan Rothrock allowed only a pair of ground ball singles through the infield, walking two and striking out three. Between her strong rise ball and her commitment to working the inside corner hard against OSU’s right-handed hitters, she induced 13 flyouts, eight of which were on the infield.

“They never actually threw away very often,” Gajewski said of the Gators’ attack plan. “If they did, it was very few times, which tells me they were loving what they were getting on the inner half.

We kept moving back off the plate. We kept getting blown up. I'm kind of curious to go home and watch this. Probably keep me up all night, but it is what it is. It's part of the growth, part of being here. It's the highest of highs and the lowest of lows.”

Kilfoyl was still dealing a no-hitter in the fifth inning when Kistler turned on a full-count pitch just above her knees that nibbled the inside corner.

“I just wanted to see ball, hit ball, as we say,” Kistler said. “Just have fun with it.”

While Florida gets a day off before facing top-seeded Texas at 6 p.m. Saturday, the Cowgirls turn their focus to an elimination game against eighth-seeded Stanford at 8:30 p.m. Friday.

Here are three takeaways from the OSU loss:

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Katie Kistler’s unexpected home run

Walton was working closely with the Gator hitters during moments in the dugout, making tiny adjustments in hopes of improving their fortunes against Kilfoyl.

After hitting a soft grounder to Kilfoyl, which turned into a double play in the second inning, Kistler changed bats for her next time up.

She worked the count full and launched the eighth pitch of the at-bat out of the park.

“Really cool to see some things in the dugout that you really work on, you really hope you can make small, little adjustments,” Walton said. “I can tell you, we made 19 other adjustments that didn't work, but that one did.”

In a lineup full of power hitters, Kistler isn’t one whose stats catch your attention. She entered the game with four home runs on the season — only one since March 16.

Her homer was the eighth allowed by Kilfoyl this season, but the first since April 14, spanning a dozen appearances.

“I felt like it was still a good pitch that she got a hold of,” said Kilfoyl (26-4), who allowed just two hits with three walks and five strikeouts, suffering her first loss since April 12 at Iowa State. “I think she may have been sitting on that pitch. Obviously, she was the one that came through with the hit.”

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Florida’s Falby robs Lexi McDonald

OSU hitters were making little hard contact against Rothrock, but No. 8 hitter Lexi McDonald was immune to that issue.

She got the Cowgirls’ first hit with a sharp single up the middle.

In the top of the fifth, she lifted a long fly ball toward the center field fence, where Florida outfielder Kendra Falby made a leaping catch just before crashing into the padded wall.

“At first, when that ball first came off her bat, I thought it had a chance,” Gajewski said. “The air felt weird tonight, felt real heavy. It just didn't have enough. She got the base hit. I thought she was really good all night, I really did. I think it shows her growth.”

Had Falby not pulled it in, McDonald likely would’ve had a double with one out in the inning.

Instead, the inning ended with a strikeout to the next hitter and Kistler gave Florida the lead to start the next frame.

Gajewski has been talking up McDonald in recent weeks as she continues to produce at the bottom of the order. The sophomore from Silo was batting .233 in early April, but Gajewski began playing her more regularly and she has boosted her average to .341.

“I'm just really just thankful to get an opportunity to do what I did tonight,” McDonald said. “I hit a ball hard. All I could ask is to have a good at-bat. She caught it. That's what happens. It is what it is.”

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Kilfoyl vs. Canady?

For the second straight year, OSU finds itself fighting for its life on Day 2 of the WCWS.

Last year, the Cowgirls were run-ruled by Florida State in the opener, and bounced back with an 8-0 run-rule win of their own against Utah to stay alive.

Gajewski sees the parallels.

“Same situation,” Gajewski said. “It was a Florida team. Now we're gonna play a Pac-12 team. Maybe we can keep it rolling like that.”

One major difference, Stanford has NiJaree Canady, who joined Kilfoyl among the three finalists for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year after her second electric season leading the Cardinal.

OSU can’t know for sure that Canady will throw again Friday after she suffered a 4-0 loss to top-seeded Texas, but Gajewski anticipates it.

“Their season is on the line,” he said.

Likewise, he seemed to lean toward going with his All-American again, even though it’ll be another rare occurrence of Kilfoyl pitching on back-to-back days. Not once during the regular season did she pitch more than four innings on consecutive days, but she’s done it all through the postseason.

Kilfoyl threw 19 innings over three days in the regional two weeks ago, then nine innings over two days in the super regional last week.

“She wants to put the team on her back and go,” Gajewski said. “If she doesn't look good, we've got some good options. I'm not worried about that. We gotta ride our horse.”

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State softball season on brink after loss to Florida in WCWS