Lexi Kilfoyl wiped her face as she walked out of the circle, stopping to hug her replacement, Oklahoma State relief pitcher Ivy Rosenberry.

Kilfoyl stared at the dirt of Devon Park as she walked off a college softball field for the final time.

The Cowgirl ace gave up a pair of home runs for the first time all season and eighth-seeded Stanford finished off an 8-0 run-rule win in six innings, eliminating fifth-seeded OSU (49-12) from the Women’s College World Series on Friday night.

It simply 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.

Here are three takeaways from OSU’s season-ending loss:

More: Despite WCWS sadness, Lexi Kilfoyl's Oklahoma State softball career should be celebrated

Sad ending to superb career for Lexi Kilfoyl

Kilfoyl was certainly sad as she exited in the fourth inning, so her slumped shoulders were a warranted reaction. But she should stand tall for her effort that carried the Cowgirls this far.

She 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 honor 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 unhittable in the WCWS opener, allowing two hits, one of which happened to be the decisive home run in Florida’s 1-0 win.

While the ending wasn’t what Kilfoyl wanted, her two-year OSU career was magnificent, and when the pain of a winless WCWS fades, it will be celebrated as such.

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Cowgirls' bats flat again at WCWS

When the glove of Stanford center fielder Emily Jones squeezed onto the would-have-been home run from Micaela Wark, it was clear the Cowgirls were not meant to score in this game.

As Wark’s long fly ball sailed to center field, it felt something might finally be going right for OSU, but Jones spoiled that party.

Instead, the Cowgirls were sent to a second straight shutout loss, their fifth in their last five WCWS appearances.

In fact, the most frequent trend in OSU’s failures in OKC are attached to the bats.

Over 15 WCWS games dating back to 2019, OSU is averaging 1.9 runs per game.

In 2022, the Cowgirls made their deepest run, but also had their most consistent offense in the tournament, posting 11 runs in four games. A year later, they had nine runs in three games, but that included an 8-0 win over Utah with one run in the other two losses.

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More from Lexi McDonald

Once again, a bright spot in a mostly dull OSU offense was right fielder Lexi McDonald.

The Cowgirl sophomore lined a double just out of reach of the Stanford left fielder, and Macy Graf, who pinch-ran for McDonald, reached third on Megan Bloodworth’s sacrifice bunt in the

But the top of the OSU order couldn’t capitalize on its best scoring opportunity of the night.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State softball ousted from WCWS in blowout loss vs Stanford