Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirl Softball Season Review: 2017
June 07, 2017 | Cowgirl Softball
The 2017 Oklahoma State softball season was another successful year as second-year head coach Kenny Gajewski led the Cowgirls back to the postseason for the second-straight year. OSU finished with an impressive 38-25 record along the way.
In the postseason, the Cowgirls finished with a 3-2 record, notably knocking off No. 1 Florida in Gainesville, marking just the third time in program history OSU has defeated the top-ranked team in the country.
Overall, three individual-season records were set as well as two team.
The 38 overall victories is the most for OSU since 2011 when the Cowgirls won 42, while the 12 conference wins were the most since Oklahoma State won 12 in 2010. This is just the 10th time since 1990 OSU has won 38 or more games and the 14th all-time.
"We had a successful year," Rylee Bayless said. "This program is on the rise for sure and it's exciting how fast we are growing. What I took out of this year was not to take our time together as a team for granted, the year we spend together flies by so fast and things can change just like that. It's so important to have fun and enjoy the time we have together on the field because time is limited."
Oklahoma State (38-25 overall, 12-6 Big 12) had another momentum building year as the program continues to improve under the leadership of Gajewski.
After starting the year with 18 nonconference wins, including a victory at No. 22 Ole Miss in the Ole Miss Classic, the Cowgirls came out full steam ahead in Big 12 play. OSU started an impressive 11-1 with back-to-back sweeps of Texas and Kansas and a sweep of Texas Tech following a series win over Iowa State in Ames.
The Cowgirls later defeated No. 13 Baylor in Waco to close out the series and give them their 12th conference-victory of the year. The 12 overall conference wins marked a six-game improvement from the 2016 campaign.
"I think a lot of our success in the Big 12 had to do with the mindset of the players and coaching staff," Taylor Lynch said. "When you have a winning mentality, as much as we do, it's hard to lose."
Notable nonconference wins included victories over McNeese State, No. 22 Ole Miss, Wichita State, Florida International and No. 1 Florida.
After reaching the postseason for the first time since 2011 last year, the Cowgirls returned this season poised to continue the success they had in the regular season. The postseason started with a trip to Oklahoma City for the Big 12 Tournament as the No. 3 seed.
The Cowgirls wasted no time in the conference tournament as they defeated No. 13 Baylor and Iowa State in the opening round to reach the championship game, where they ultimately lost a tightly-contested game to Oklahoma. For their efforts, three Cowgirls (Lynch, Maddi Holcomb and Brandi Needham) were named to the All-Tournament Team.
From there, OSU was shipped east for the Gainesville Regional in the NCAA Postseason Tournament. Oklahoma State finished the regional with a 3-2 record with wins over Florida International and the No. 1-ranked Gators. At the plate, Vanessa Shippy shined with a .417 batting average with two RBIs, including the game-winner over Florida. Needham, a senior, went out in style with a 2-1 mark capped off with a 1.22 ERA, including the victory over the Gators.
With all their success in 2017, the Cowgirls received plenty of recognition for their performance in the classroom and on the diamond. For the second-straight year, OSU set a program record on its way to leading the Big 12 with an incredible 12 Academic All-Big 12 selections. Kristin Reasnor and Shippy were also notably named to the Academic All-District Team, as well.
As for on the field, four Cowgirls (Neehdam, Shippy, Bayless and Madi Sue Montgomery) were named to All-Big 12 teams. The four overall selections were the most honorees for OSU since 2010. Along with those honors, four Cowgirls (Bayless, Shippy, Needham and Lynch) were named to the All-Midwest Region Team.
Shippy shined with individual honors, as she was named an Academic All-American and All-American for the second-straight season. With the honor this year, Shippy became just the sixth Cowgirl in program history to be named a two-time All-American. Just a junior, she has a chance in 2018 to join Jaime Foutch as the only other three-time All-American in school history.
A two-time Academic All-American, Shippy is just the third Cowgirl to do so and has a chance next season to become Oklahoma State's first three-time Academic All-American. She is the first Cowgirl in program history to be named a two-time Academic All-American and All-American.
Along with all the success as a team, a posse of Cowgirls re-wrote the record books for season records in 2017.
- Games played (63): Bayless, Shippy, Alex Edinger and Montgomery
- Games started (63): Bayless, Shippy and Montgomery
- Walks (71): Bayless
As a team the Cowgirls also broke a pair of season records.
- Games played (63)
- Walks (247)
In the conference, the team notably stood out in the Big 12 statistical standings.
- Batting average (3rd)
- On-base percentage (2nd)
- Runs (2nd)
- Walks (1st)
A trio of Cowgirls also had their name at the top of statistical leadings for the conference, as well.
- Batting average (3rd): Shippy
- ERA (9th): Needham
- Triples (2nd): Shippy
- Stolen Bases (2nd): Bayless
- Walks (1st) Bayless. Shippy was also notably second.
- Runs (3rd): Bayless
- On-base percentage (1st): Bayless. Shippy was also notably third.
- Slugging percentage (3rd): Shippy
- Wins (3rd): Needham
- Complete games (3rd): Needham
Bayless also notably led the nations in walks with 71, while Needham became the first Cowgirl pitcher since 2014 to win 20 or more games with her two postseason victories at the Gainesville Regional. Her 21 wins in 2017 was a 14-game improvement from 2016.With her 47 walks this year, Shippy is now just two away from breaking Tiffany Mikkelson's record of 122 for career walks at Oklahoma State.
Overall in his first two seasons, Gajewski has led the Cowgirls to:
- 70 wins
- Two postseason appearances with a 6-4 mark
- 18 conference victories
- 22 Academic All-Big 12 selections
- Seven All-Big 12 honorees
- Two Academic All-American and All-American honors
- One Big 12 Player of the Year
- Two All-Big 12 Freshmen Team selections
- 12 team and 10 individual single-season records
The 70 wins in his first two seasons puts Gajewski at No. 1 in Oklahoma State coaching history for most wins in the first two years.
After taking another step in the right direction in 2017, Shippy said the Cowgirls have their mind set on doing so once more in 2018.
"The next step is taking on the mentality that we should win every single game," she said. "Oklahoma State is once again a program that people respect and expect to win. Our team is excited for next season and all the expectations that come with it. We are going to take on every game knowing that no matter who is in the other dugout, we are going to take it to them. We don't want to just go to regionals, we want to host and expect that out of ourselves. Our focus is going to be on Oklahoma City and bringing home a title for our school and community."
With the conclusion of the 2017 season, Oklahoma State now says goodbye to its four seniors (Needham, Shea Coats, Kristin Reasnor and Darcy Taylor) and thanks them for all their contributions to the Cowgirl softball program.
The 2018 senior class will include: Holcomb, Lauren Mason, Shippy, Bayless, Taylor Pence, Edinger, Jamie Lowrie, Jessi Haffner and Randee O'Donnell. Overall the Cowgirls will also return Mackenzie Thomas, Lynch, Montgomery, Whitney Whitehorn, Mallory Goodman, Logan Simunek and Christina Biggerstaff.
Be sure to keep up with the Cowgirls during the offseason on okstate.com and social media.
