Oklahoma State University Athletics
OSU Softball's Fifth-Year Seniors Leading The Way
April 26, 2022 | Cowgirl Softball
The Oklahoma State softball program saw incredible growth in recent years – but much of that growth can be attributed to three fifth-year seniors: Chelsea Alexander, Sydney Pennington and Michaela Richbourg.
When the trio began their collegiate careers in 2018, Cowgirl Softball was not the power that it is today.
It all started before they stepped foot on the field. For Richbourg, Stillwater immediately felt like the right place during the recruitment process.
"The people that I met and the people I've gotten to know from the beginning have just made it a journey that I won't forget," Richbourg said.
Alexander felt a similar way.
"I think right from when I got here, I felt at home," she said.
As freshmen, the three helped OSU rack up 39 wins, although wins back then did not come as easy as they often do now for the Cowgirls.
"Freshman year we had to work our butt off to just win games and to prove to people that we were good and that we were talented," Richbourg said.
Richbourg saw plenty of action in her freshman campaign, playing in 47 games and posting a .271 batting average with 13 runs batted in.
Despite the team having a winning record, the Women's College World Series seemed far away for Oklahoma State.
"Nobody said 'World Series' freshman year," Alexander said. "If you did, you sounded dumb."
OSU's season ended at the Fayetteville Regional that year but despite the early exit from the NCAA Tournament, the program seemed to have turned a corner.
Sure enough, in 2019, the Cowgirls posted a 45-17 record and navigated their way through the Stillwater Regional and the Tallahassee Super Regional to advance to their first WCWS since 2011.
"I just think that it [the 2019 postseason] made us believe that we could do whatever we wanted to do," Pennington said. "Like it was right there, we went to the World Series and we never thought that was even possible."
After experiencing what it was like to play on the game's biggest stage, the expectations of the team skyrocketed.
"It kind of changed our standard," Richbourg said.
'The standard' was something that anchored the team's culture as the Cowgirls began to set their sights on success beyond the regular season.
"You're raising that bar every year," Alexander said. "I think that was the first team that really set that as our standard and we continue to push that standard every year."
The 2020 season was cut short due to the COVID pandemic, but OSU returned to the WCWS stage in 2021.
Oklahoma State's current status as a national power can be attributed in part to the leadership of Alexander, Pennington and Richbourg, who have played important roles in the ascent of the program.
"That's why I feel like this team is growing every day, but I feel like it's because we have people like us who have been on the other side of things," Pennington said.
With "Moving Forward" as the team's slogan, this year's Cowgirl squad has again positioned itself as a WCWS contender, but things didn't go to plan when Oklahoma State had four losses in its first nine games to start the season.
"We had to take a few steps back this year to reiterate that message," Pennington said. The message being that success doesn't come without hard work and effort. "Because we weren't doing the small things right and it was showing on the field."
Richbourg echoed a similar sentiment.
"We may have taken for granted that we are so talented and sometimes we didn't put the work in that we should have," Richbourg said.
The veterans of this Oklahoma State club felt so much of their success can be attributed to the culture that has been built and the many people that contribute to making them better softball players and better people.
"I don't think I would've had so much growth if it weren't for the people here," Pennington said. "I just think we have a lot of role models and guides."
The extended time spent at Oklahoma State helped Sydney Pennington, Michaela Richbourg and Chelsea Alexander find who they really were.
"The platform that this place has given us, it has challenged me," Alexander said. "Early on, I went through a lot of struggles and just teaching me to grow through those and learn from them. I don't think I'd be near the woman or the person I am if I was anywhere else."
