Oklahoma State University Athletics
Bases Loaded: Cowgirls Battling Back Into Form
March 25, 2019 | Cowgirl Softball
STILLWATER -Â It has been a long 11-day stretch for the Oklahoma State softball team.
While most of the country flees south or to the nearest beach for spring break, the Cowgirls instead found themselves on the road nonstop during the heart of a 13-game road swing. Over the last 11 days, OSU has played games in five different states - Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Texas - and only been back in Stillwater for roughly 48 hours during that stretch.
Wednesday night, the nearly three-week long road swing comes to an end when the Cowgirls face their regional rival, Wichita State. Before that though, we take a look back on a wild spring break for the Cowgirls:
First Base: A Tussle in Tulsa
Week seven didn't get off to the flying start that Oklahoma State had hoped, as the Cowgirls fell to Tulsa, 3-0, in a Wednesday matchup at the Collins Family Softball Complex.
It was a disappointing night for the Cowgirls, who were held to just one hit by their in-state foe. Wednesday's outing might be looked back upon in a different light at the season's end though, as it helped to create a surge of determination and grit for the Cowgirls heading into their three-game series at Baylor over the weekend.
Softball is a game of failure and outings like Wednesday in Tulsa happen to every team. It's a cruel game, where even a perfect pitch can be sent 30 feet beyond the outfield fence, or a hard-hit ball is laced straight at a defender.Â
Success in softball is all about how you respond to, and keep grinding through, struggles and adversity. Oklahoma State has been successful at that during Kenny Gajewski's four-year stint as head coach, and his team showed that resilient nature over the weekend against Baylor.
Second Base: Winning in Waco
It wasn't easy - nothing in conference play ever is - but the Cowgirls came out of Waco with two victories from a three-game set against Baylor to claim its first Big 12 series of the year.
OSU has won six of its last seven conference series, dating back to the start of Big 12 play last season. Most impressively, four of those series wins have come on the road, with the Pokes winning three-game sets at Texas, Texas Tech and Kansas a year ago before adding another to the list this past weekend in Central Texas.
It was a bounce-back weekend for the Cowgirls, who found themselves struggling during the team's long and winding road trip. All cylinders finally clicked Friday night though, as OSU tagged Baylor for 21 runs on 14 hits en route to a five-inning victory.
The 21-run outburst tied the program's single-game record. It was the fifth time it has been reached in OSU's 40-plus years of softball history, and the fourth time the Pokes have met that number during Gajewski's tenure as head coach.
Oklahoma State fell flat in its efforts to clinch the series Saturday, as Baylor scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth to even it at one game apiece. That disappointing performance sparked the Cowgirls back into gear Sunday, when the scored nine runs and picked up a second run-rule win to clinch the series.
The Cowgirls have bested BU in seven of the teams' last nine meetings. It's the first time since 2000 that OSU has been that dominant over its Texas-based rival.
Third Base: Bayless' Big Weekend
Winning in Waco is never easy, and the Cowgirls likely couldn't have done it without the bat of Rylee Bayless igniting out of the leadoff spot.Â
Bayless, after going hitless against Tulsa in the midweek matchup, logged a hit in all three games against the Lady Bears, including her first three-hit outing of the year in Sunday's series finale.Â
The left-handed hitter was scorching hot on Sunday, as she drove in a pair of runs, scored twice, stole a base and recorded a sacrifice fly. Bayless also flashed the leather in right field, as she tracked down a ball in foul territory with a bursting run that mirrored former OSU football star James Washington streaking down the sideline headed toward the endzone.
Take a look at the track-star effort from Bayless below:
Home Plate: Wichita State and Texas on Tap
Wichita State and Texas - two foes that Oklahoma State coaches, players and fans are very familiar with, and the two teams that await the Cowgirls this weekend.Â
The Shockers are the first on OSU's list this week, as the two teams collide in Wichita Wednesday night for the second half of a home-and-home midweek series. The Pokes blanked WSU, 3-0, in Stillwater on March 6, and hold an 80-12 advantage in the all-time series.Â
Wichita State has won four of the last five meetings, however, so Wednesday night will be a game to watch as two highly-competitive teams get after it north of the Oklahoma border.
After the midweek showdown in the Sunflower State, OSU will turn its attention toward the Longhorns, who have been a revitalized program under first-year head coach Mike White.
Oklahoma State has had unprecedented success against UT during the past two years, winning five of the six regular season matchups. It's the only time during the OSU-Texas rivalry that the Pokes have won five contests during any six-game stretch. Three of those victories came in Stillwater during the 2017 season, as OSU swept the Longhorns for the first time in program history.
This weekend's three-game set against Texas will be the Cowgirls' first home games since the previously mentioned March 6 outing against Wichita State. It comes after a three-week road trip, which saw the Cowgirls play 13 games against eight teams in seven different states.
There are no weekends off in conference play, and especially so this year, as the conference currently boasts four top-20 teams in Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas and Texas Tech. Baylor is a top-50 RPI school at the moment, and both Kansas and Iowa State present their own unique challenges to every team within the conference.
Every game matters a little bit more during this time of the year, and that's just the way Coach Gajewski and his team prefer it to be.
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While most of the country flees south or to the nearest beach for spring break, the Cowgirls instead found themselves on the road nonstop during the heart of a 13-game road swing. Over the last 11 days, OSU has played games in five different states - Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Texas - and only been back in Stillwater for roughly 48 hours during that stretch.
Wednesday night, the nearly three-week long road swing comes to an end when the Cowgirls face their regional rival, Wichita State. Before that though, we take a look back on a wild spring break for the Cowgirls:
First Base: A Tussle in Tulsa
Week seven didn't get off to the flying start that Oklahoma State had hoped, as the Cowgirls fell to Tulsa, 3-0, in a Wednesday matchup at the Collins Family Softball Complex.
It was a disappointing night for the Cowgirls, who were held to just one hit by their in-state foe. Wednesday's outing might be looked back upon in a different light at the season's end though, as it helped to create a surge of determination and grit for the Cowgirls heading into their three-game series at Baylor over the weekend.
Softball is a game of failure and outings like Wednesday in Tulsa happen to every team. It's a cruel game, where even a perfect pitch can be sent 30 feet beyond the outfield fence, or a hard-hit ball is laced straight at a defender.Â
Success in softball is all about how you respond to, and keep grinding through, struggles and adversity. Oklahoma State has been successful at that during Kenny Gajewski's four-year stint as head coach, and his team showed that resilient nature over the weekend against Baylor.
Second Base: Winning in Waco
It wasn't easy - nothing in conference play ever is - but the Cowgirls came out of Waco with two victories from a three-game set against Baylor to claim its first Big 12 series of the year.
OSU has won six of its last seven conference series, dating back to the start of Big 12 play last season. Most impressively, four of those series wins have come on the road, with the Pokes winning three-game sets at Texas, Texas Tech and Kansas a year ago before adding another to the list this past weekend in Central Texas.
It was a bounce-back weekend for the Cowgirls, who found themselves struggling during the team's long and winding road trip. All cylinders finally clicked Friday night though, as OSU tagged Baylor for 21 runs on 14 hits en route to a five-inning victory.
The 21-run outburst tied the program's single-game record. It was the fifth time it has been reached in OSU's 40-plus years of softball history, and the fourth time the Pokes have met that number during Gajewski's tenure as head coach.
Oklahoma State fell flat in its efforts to clinch the series Saturday, as Baylor scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth to even it at one game apiece. That disappointing performance sparked the Cowgirls back into gear Sunday, when the scored nine runs and picked up a second run-rule win to clinch the series.
The Cowgirls have bested BU in seven of the teams' last nine meetings. It's the first time since 2000 that OSU has been that dominant over its Texas-based rival.
Third Base: Bayless' Big Weekend
Winning in Waco is never easy, and the Cowgirls likely couldn't have done it without the bat of Rylee Bayless igniting out of the leadoff spot.Â
Bayless, after going hitless against Tulsa in the midweek matchup, logged a hit in all three games against the Lady Bears, including her first three-hit outing of the year in Sunday's series finale.Â
The left-handed hitter was scorching hot on Sunday, as she drove in a pair of runs, scored twice, stole a base and recorded a sacrifice fly. Bayless also flashed the leather in right field, as she tracked down a ball in foul territory with a bursting run that mirrored former OSU football star James Washington streaking down the sideline headed toward the endzone.
Take a look at the track-star effort from Bayless below:
E4 | @Ms_Bayless9 goes full-@JamesWashington and snags the third out of the frame while on the run! A great catch by the senior keeps this a 7-1 game in our favor. #okstate pic.twitter.com/SFM8pZ64BS
— Cowgirl Softball (@CowgirlSB) March 24, 2019
Home Plate: Wichita State and Texas on Tap
Wichita State and Texas - two foes that Oklahoma State coaches, players and fans are very familiar with, and the two teams that await the Cowgirls this weekend.Â
The Shockers are the first on OSU's list this week, as the two teams collide in Wichita Wednesday night for the second half of a home-and-home midweek series. The Pokes blanked WSU, 3-0, in Stillwater on March 6, and hold an 80-12 advantage in the all-time series.Â
Wichita State has won four of the last five meetings, however, so Wednesday night will be a game to watch as two highly-competitive teams get after it north of the Oklahoma border.
After the midweek showdown in the Sunflower State, OSU will turn its attention toward the Longhorns, who have been a revitalized program under first-year head coach Mike White.
Oklahoma State has had unprecedented success against UT during the past two years, winning five of the six regular season matchups. It's the only time during the OSU-Texas rivalry that the Pokes have won five contests during any six-game stretch. Three of those victories came in Stillwater during the 2017 season, as OSU swept the Longhorns for the first time in program history.
This weekend's three-game set against Texas will be the Cowgirls' first home games since the previously mentioned March 6 outing against Wichita State. It comes after a three-week road trip, which saw the Cowgirls play 13 games against eight teams in seven different states.
There are no weekends off in conference play, and especially so this year, as the conference currently boasts four top-20 teams in Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas and Texas Tech. Baylor is a top-50 RPI school at the moment, and both Kansas and Iowa State present their own unique challenges to every team within the conference.
Every game matters a little bit more during this time of the year, and that's just the way Coach Gajewski and his team prefer it to be.
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