Oklahoma State University Athletics
Friday, February 9
Tempe, AZ
10 A.M. CT
Oklahoma State University
vs
Oregon State
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Photo by: OSU Athletics
Tournament Notes: Cowgirl Softball Opens 2018 Season in Tempe
February 07, 2018 | Cowgirl Softball
PDF Notes | Tournament Site
STILLWATER – The Oklahoma State softball team is set to open its 2018 season this weekend, as the Cowgirls travel to Tempe, Arizona, to take part in the Kajikawa Classic for the first time since 2011. OSU will face five of the nation's top teams this weekend, including an opening-night clash with No. 7/7 Arizona Friday night at Farrington Stadium. The squad will also take on Oregon State, Missouri, New Mexico and Western Michigan while competing in the American Southwest.
In the Rankings
Oklahoma State is ranked No. 21 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball 2018 Preseason Top 25 and No. 24 in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Preseason Poll, marking the first time that the Cowgirls will enter a season ranked since 2011. The No. 21 ranking is four spots higher than the Cowgirls' No. 25 finish in the ESPN.com/USA Softball rankings last season.
OSU's ranking could also be a good omen for this year's squad, as the previously mentioned 2011 team was the last group of Cowgirls to compete in the Women's College World Series. Overall, this is the third time since 2000 that the Pokes have been ranked to start the season.
OSU and the Kajikawa Classic
Oklahoma State has competed in the Kajikawa Classic three times throughout its history, doing so in 2008, 2009 and 2011. The Cowgirls found plenty of success in the desert, as they racked up an 11-3 record during their three trips to Arizona. Included in that success was a 3-2 win over No. 15 Washington in 2008 and a 1-0 victory over No. 11 Stanford in 2009. The comparisons to the 2011 OSU squad that advanced to the Women's College World Series continue with the Kajikawa Classic, as that year's group of Cowgirls and this year's squad both began, or will begin, the season in the American Southwest.
Oklahoma State From a Distance
Oklahoma State enters the 2018 season with a genuine buzz surrounding the program. Much of that has to do with a highly-successful first two years under head coach Kenny Gajewski, as well as a large crop of returning and new talent among the squad this season.
OSU was one of the best team's in the nation at getting on base last season, doing so at a .396 clip. That trend figures to remain a fixture of the team's success in 2018, as much of last year's core returns in this season's lineup. Senior Vanessa Shippy, who owns OSU's career on-base percentage record (.502), will lead the line once again as she looks to cement her place among the all-time great Cowgirls.
Along with Shippy, Oklahoma State's lineup will feature stars like Taylor Lynch, Madi Sue Montgomery, Randee O'Donnell and a host of other top-notch competitors. Among the 13 returners this year, OSU brings more than 75 percent of its total number of at-bats from a season ago (1,219-1,592 AB). That percentage grows when you look strictly at the number of hits that still reside in Stillwater from a season ago (77 pct./355-458 H).
The Cowgirl defense and pitching staff also looks to be improved in 2017. With seven of the eight every-day position starters returning to the field this year, along with a revamped pitching staff, OSU looks like a squad that will be able to keep the opposition's bats in check. This year's group of pitchers is made up of three transfers - Samantha Clakley, Emmie Robertson and Kendal Judge - as well as two returners - Logan Simunek and Whitney Whitehorn.
Gajewski Ahead of the Kajikawa Classic
On the upcoming season:
"I wish it was Friday, to be honest. This team has prepared very well throughout this whole spring camp, and I'm just ready for them to just go out and play and see how we match up with some of the best teams in the country. That's all that's on my mind right now."
On what he wants to see from Friday's doubleheader:
"Competitiveness. I want to see us fight and see the things that we talk about. I'm ready to see the growth from year one to year two to year three. I think that's what we're about - continuing to grow each year. These kids are ready and I can see it. This is as far as we've been along at this point - we're as far along to start a year as we've ever been - in my time here. I know it's not a lot of time, but it's our third year and they're ready to go. This is the first time I've felt like that. It's the first time I'm tired of watching us scrimmage against each other and to me that tells me that we're ready. I can see it in these kids' eyes and I can see it all week. The mentality has been even better than its been and I think that's just because it's game week and we're finally there."
On welcoming back Sandy Fischer at the team banquet:
"It was awesome to be honest. To see her emotion was probably the coolest thing. I had tears for her, but everyone was focused on her. I've meant what I said - we've missed the boat here on honoring her. I've tried since day one and we finally got her back. It was one of my main goals here - to have her back. But that had to be on her time and at her pace and she was ready. To uncover her name on that wall, that gave me chills. I had a hard time to give that talk because of the emotion. I think she knew that it was going to happen, but once the cover came off it just hit her hard."
Notable Streaks and Trends Entering the Tournament
- Oklahoma State has won 25 of its 44 neutral-site invitational games during Kenny Gajewski's two-year tenure as head coach.
- OSU is 28-16 in games decided by two runs or less since the start of the 2016 season.
- Vanessa Shippy has tallied 148 hits to only 40 strikeouts over the past two seasons.
- Rylee Bayless has drawn at least one walk in 13 of her last 17 games.
- Vanessa Shippy has recorded 14 hits over her last 14 games played.
- Vanessa Shippy enters the 2018 season having started 173 consecutive games. She has started every game through her junior season and is OSU's most experienced player on the field this year.
- Vanessa Shippy has reached base in seven straight games dating back to the Cowgirls' win over Iowa State on May 12, 2017 in the Big 12 Championship tournament.
- Madi Sue Montgomery has started 121 consecutive games entering this season. Like Shippy, she has started every possible contest during her OSU career. Last season, she was one of three Cowgirls to start a record-setting 63 games, doing so despite offseason knee surgery that forced her to miss the entire fall season.
- Rylee Bayless has started 63 consecutive games at Oklahoma State - the third-longest active streak among the Cowgirls to start the season.
- OSU has committed just 12 errors over its last 26 games dating back to April 7, 2017. The Cowgirls did not commit an error during the final six games of the season and only once during the 26-game stretch did they commit more than one error in a game.
- OSU has finished with a .500-or-above record in its first invitational tournament in nine of the past 11 seasons, dating back to 2007. That includes a 3-1 mark during the 2009 Kajikawa Classic and a 4-1 mark at the Arizona-based tournament in 2011.
STILLWATER – The Oklahoma State softball team is set to open its 2018 season this weekend, as the Cowgirls travel to Tempe, Arizona, to take part in the Kajikawa Classic for the first time since 2011. OSU will face five of the nation's top teams this weekend, including an opening-night clash with No. 7/7 Arizona Friday night at Farrington Stadium. The squad will also take on Oregon State, Missouri, New Mexico and Western Michigan while competing in the American Southwest.
In the Rankings
Oklahoma State is ranked No. 21 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball 2018 Preseason Top 25 and No. 24 in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Preseason Poll, marking the first time that the Cowgirls will enter a season ranked since 2011. The No. 21 ranking is four spots higher than the Cowgirls' No. 25 finish in the ESPN.com/USA Softball rankings last season.
OSU's ranking could also be a good omen for this year's squad, as the previously mentioned 2011 team was the last group of Cowgirls to compete in the Women's College World Series. Overall, this is the third time since 2000 that the Pokes have been ranked to start the season.
OSU and the Kajikawa Classic
Oklahoma State has competed in the Kajikawa Classic three times throughout its history, doing so in 2008, 2009 and 2011. The Cowgirls found plenty of success in the desert, as they racked up an 11-3 record during their three trips to Arizona. Included in that success was a 3-2 win over No. 15 Washington in 2008 and a 1-0 victory over No. 11 Stanford in 2009. The comparisons to the 2011 OSU squad that advanced to the Women's College World Series continue with the Kajikawa Classic, as that year's group of Cowgirls and this year's squad both began, or will begin, the season in the American Southwest.
Oklahoma State From a Distance
Oklahoma State enters the 2018 season with a genuine buzz surrounding the program. Much of that has to do with a highly-successful first two years under head coach Kenny Gajewski, as well as a large crop of returning and new talent among the squad this season.
OSU was one of the best team's in the nation at getting on base last season, doing so at a .396 clip. That trend figures to remain a fixture of the team's success in 2018, as much of last year's core returns in this season's lineup. Senior Vanessa Shippy, who owns OSU's career on-base percentage record (.502), will lead the line once again as she looks to cement her place among the all-time great Cowgirls.
Along with Shippy, Oklahoma State's lineup will feature stars like Taylor Lynch, Madi Sue Montgomery, Randee O'Donnell and a host of other top-notch competitors. Among the 13 returners this year, OSU brings more than 75 percent of its total number of at-bats from a season ago (1,219-1,592 AB). That percentage grows when you look strictly at the number of hits that still reside in Stillwater from a season ago (77 pct./355-458 H).
The Cowgirl defense and pitching staff also looks to be improved in 2017. With seven of the eight every-day position starters returning to the field this year, along with a revamped pitching staff, OSU looks like a squad that will be able to keep the opposition's bats in check. This year's group of pitchers is made up of three transfers - Samantha Clakley, Emmie Robertson and Kendal Judge - as well as two returners - Logan Simunek and Whitney Whitehorn.
Gajewski Ahead of the Kajikawa Classic
On the upcoming season:
"I wish it was Friday, to be honest. This team has prepared very well throughout this whole spring camp, and I'm just ready for them to just go out and play and see how we match up with some of the best teams in the country. That's all that's on my mind right now."
On what he wants to see from Friday's doubleheader:
"Competitiveness. I want to see us fight and see the things that we talk about. I'm ready to see the growth from year one to year two to year three. I think that's what we're about - continuing to grow each year. These kids are ready and I can see it. This is as far as we've been along at this point - we're as far along to start a year as we've ever been - in my time here. I know it's not a lot of time, but it's our third year and they're ready to go. This is the first time I've felt like that. It's the first time I'm tired of watching us scrimmage against each other and to me that tells me that we're ready. I can see it in these kids' eyes and I can see it all week. The mentality has been even better than its been and I think that's just because it's game week and we're finally there."
On welcoming back Sandy Fischer at the team banquet:
"It was awesome to be honest. To see her emotion was probably the coolest thing. I had tears for her, but everyone was focused on her. I've meant what I said - we've missed the boat here on honoring her. I've tried since day one and we finally got her back. It was one of my main goals here - to have her back. But that had to be on her time and at her pace and she was ready. To uncover her name on that wall, that gave me chills. I had a hard time to give that talk because of the emotion. I think she knew that it was going to happen, but once the cover came off it just hit her hard."
Notable Streaks and Trends Entering the Tournament
- Oklahoma State has won 25 of its 44 neutral-site invitational games during Kenny Gajewski's two-year tenure as head coach.
- OSU is 28-16 in games decided by two runs or less since the start of the 2016 season.
- Vanessa Shippy has tallied 148 hits to only 40 strikeouts over the past two seasons.
- Rylee Bayless has drawn at least one walk in 13 of her last 17 games.
- Vanessa Shippy has recorded 14 hits over her last 14 games played.
- Vanessa Shippy enters the 2018 season having started 173 consecutive games. She has started every game through her junior season and is OSU's most experienced player on the field this year.
- Vanessa Shippy has reached base in seven straight games dating back to the Cowgirls' win over Iowa State on May 12, 2017 in the Big 12 Championship tournament.
- Madi Sue Montgomery has started 121 consecutive games entering this season. Like Shippy, she has started every possible contest during her OSU career. Last season, she was one of three Cowgirls to start a record-setting 63 games, doing so despite offseason knee surgery that forced her to miss the entire fall season.
- Rylee Bayless has started 63 consecutive games at Oklahoma State - the third-longest active streak among the Cowgirls to start the season.
- OSU has committed just 12 errors over its last 26 games dating back to April 7, 2017. The Cowgirls did not commit an error during the final six games of the season and only once during the 26-game stretch did they commit more than one error in a game.
- OSU has finished with a .500-or-above record in its first invitational tournament in nine of the past 11 seasons, dating back to 2007. That includes a 3-1 mark during the 2009 Kajikawa Classic and a 4-1 mark at the Arizona-based tournament in 2011.
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