Cowgirls Pick Their Favorite Uniform as the Season Starts Thursday
STILLWATER – There were plenty of questions as head coach Kenny Gajewski took the podium for media day with his Cowgirls softball team just three days away from opening the season in what is now rainy California for games with Cal-State Northridge, Portland State, Utah State, UC-Riverside, and wrapping up this weekend with UCLA. Gajewski is breaking in a new pitching coach in former player Carrie Eberle.. Another former player in Vanessa Shippy-Fletcher has the hitters as an assistant and is the recruiting coordinator. Newness abounds for Oklahoma State softball.
“It’s an exciting time for us and our program. It’s the start of a new journey, our ninth one,” Gajewski said with an opening statement. “It’s crazy to me to think that we’ve been here for nine years. It seems like it just keeps getting better as we go along. We’re just as excited about year nine as we have been about year one, and where this program has gone and where these kids have taken us. I’m looking forward to another exciting journey. I know it’s going to be a unique one, like they all have been.”
Traditions have developed like packed crowds at Cowgirl Stadium and the outfield decks that have become a party breaking out at a softball game. The homefield advantage in Stillwater is fierce.
“Coach G had me come visit here during the (NCAA) Super Regionals.” said transfer standout hitter and catcher Caroline Wang from Liberty University. “I’m looking at that crowd and atmosphere and I’m thinking ‘Holy cow that could be me playing out there in front of these crazy fans next season’. There was a reason he had me visit then. It was an easy decision to come here. It’s Oklahoma State. Everybody was so nice and were thanking me for coming. It was great.”
Another tradition is the uniforms, much like Mike Gundy’s football teams, the Cowgirls have choices on game day. There is the traditional white uniform with orange trim. Those can also be worn with orange pants. Then there are solid orange jerseys that can be worn with the white pants or go solid orange. There is a white uniform that is similar with black. Those can be worn with white pants or they have solid black pants too.
Pinstripes are not limited to the Yankees. The Cowgirls have white uniforms with orange pinstripes, which they were all wearing for the media day on Monday. Then much like Vanderbilt, the Cowgirls can go with black uniforms that have orange pinstripes and lettering.
Finally, there is the turquoise blue with orange and black trime jerseys that are worn with black pants. That is the N7 uniform dedicated to honor the first Americans and the first Oklahomans.
Okay, so who likes what in Cowgirls softball fashion?
“This one right here with orange pinstripes, orange trim, and orange stirups (socks),” sophomore Tallen Edwards from Moore, Okla. said. The D1 Freshman All-American last season hit .328 with three home runs, and 26 RBI. She also three bases and score 40 runs. “My second favorite is the black with orange pinstripes.”
Edwards gave me some background as well. The white uniforms with black trim and either white or black pants are called by the players “the Oreo uniforms’ or the “Storm Troopers uniform.”
“At first glance, I would say the black with the orange pinstripes is pretty cool,” Wang answered. It just happened that was the uniform that she modeled on the cover of the media guide. Wang is a three-time first-team All-Atlantic Sun Conference player and last season she was the ASUN Player of the Year.
Scotland David is a veteran on this team that has battled through injuries and is set to have a huge season as an outfielder.
“Storm Trooper top and the black pants, what I’m wearing on the cover of the media guide,” answered David on her favorite uni. “I like the black pants because they are the most comfortable.”
See that works because the OSU football players will say they are not as comfortable in the orange pants. Go figure.
Finally, the Cowgirls ace pitcher weighed in.
“Icy orange,” Lexi Kilfoyl said of her favorite uniform combination. “I think the white with the orange looks clean, always looks good. White with orange pants.”
The good thing is with 56 regular season games there is plenty of opportunities to wear them all.