Series Notes: Cowgirls Set to Open Big 12 Play

Friday, March 22

Waco, TX

6:30 p.m. CT

Oklahoma State University

Baylor

March 21, 2019 | Cowgirl Softball

PDF Notes - Baylor

STILLWATER – The Oklahoma State softball team looks to snap its brief midseason slump this weekend, as the Cowgirls head south to open Big 12 play with a three-game series at Baylor. OSU swept the Bears for the first time in a three-game series last season in Stillwater, but BU got its revenge, knocking off the Cowgirls, 7-1, in the first round of pool play at the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship in May.

In the Rankings
Oklahoma State is ranked in both national polls this week, as the Cowgirls sit at No. 21 in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll and at No. 17 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25. The Cowgirls have been ranked in at least one of the national polls in 18 of the last 20 weeks, with a No. 14 ranking in ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 on March 12 marking the program's best standing since finishing the 2011 season at No. 8.

Oklahoma State From a Distance
Slowly, but surely, the Oklahoma State softball program has returned to the forefront of college softball under fourth-year head coach Kenny Gajewski, and in 2019, the Cowgirls will be hoping to reclaim their perch among the sport's elite teams.

Gajewski has assembled a roster of 22 star student-athletes that can go toe-to-toe with any team in the country on any given field and on any given night. Through grueling fall camp, winter workouts and beyond, the Cowgirls have seen and heard about the potential this year's team possesses, but now is their chance to show that Oklahoma State does more than talk the talk.

In Taylor Lynch and Madi Sue Montgomery, Oklahoma State fields two strong pillars to anchor the program. As the only players to be active on the roster through Gajewski's first four years in Stillwater, the Texas tandem stands as a driving force for whatever success lays ahead for OSU. Beside them, the Cowgirls boast talented names like returning senior Rylee Bayless, sophomore captain Sydney Pennington, rising pitcher Logan Simunek and a former Texas A&M two-way standout in Samantha Show.

For the first time under Gajewski, Oklahoma State has a lineup that incites fear in the opposition at every spot, and a pitching staff that contains five arms, each with a dynamic skillset to send opposing hitters back to the bench in a hurry. The Cowgirls, for all of the flash and hype that has been heaped upon the 2019 squad, have remained focused on their goal – Oklahoma City.

Notable Streaks and Trends
- OSU is 41-26 in games decided by two runs or less since the start of the 2016 season.
- Oklahoma State is 42-6 during Kenny Gajewski's tenure when hitting at least two home runs.
- Oklahoma State starting pitchers have gone at least five innings in 20 of the Cowgirls' last 28 games.
- Madi Sue Montgomery has started 211 consecutive games, giving her a chance to set the OSU records for most games played, most games started and most consecutive games started in 2019.
- Rylee Bayless has drawn at least one walk in 20 of 29 games so far in 2019.
- Rylee Bayless has drawn at least one walk in 33 of her last 49 games.
- Taylor Lynch has logged at least one hit in 69 of her last 89 games played, including in 23 of her last 31.
- Kiley Naomi has reached base safely in every game but four so far this season.
- Taylor Lynch has recorded a hit in 21 of 28 contests so far.
- Chyenne Factor has recorded a hit in 11 of the 14 games she has started this season, and in 13 of her last 16 games overall.
- Samantha Show has recorded a hit in 21 of 29 games this season and posted six multi-hit outings.
- Samantha Show has pitched at least six innings in seven of her 11 starts in 2019.
- Logan Simunek has starred against the best competition, allowing only four earned runs in 22.0 innings against top-10 ranked opposition since the start of the 2018 season.
- Samantha Clakley has walked more than two batters only four times in her last 45 appearances.
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Oklahoma State is proud to celebrate more than 40 years of rich softball tradition and its 20th season of play at Cowgirl Stadium this year. To purchase your tickets for the 2019 campaign, visit okstate.com/tickets or call the OSU ticket office at 877-ALL-4-OSU.