Cowgirls Moving Toward Super Regional and Texas with Team Equality

STILLWATER – Texas head coach Mike White said his team was glad to be in Stillwater but he pointed out not so great to be there with a tornado watch and that some of the Longhorns players were a little concerned. The good news is the weather is supposed to clear out and be pretty nice, clear and warm over the three days of the Super Regional. Oklahoma State has a heavy mental advantage, at least you would think so after sweeping the regular season series in Austin and then winning the meeting in the Big 12 Tournament in Oklahoma City. That game was a 3-2 win in 10-innings where the Cowgirls scored the winner on a walk-off dropped third strike where Texas catcher Mary Iakopo threw the ball past first base into right field.

Oklahoma State Athletics

The game winner against Texas in the Big 12 Tournament.

“Iakopo has a really strong arm,” Oklahoma State head coach Kenny Gajewski said. “That’s what happens when she misses on a throw and that doesn’t happen often. She is a tremendous player.”

You still have to wonder if maybe the Cowgirls aren’t in Texas’ head just a little.

It’s better than being in their own heads. Earlier this season Gajewski mentioned that he thought something was off with his team. They weren’t in it for each other as much as they were in the closed down 2020 season or in the College World Series 2019 campaign. Every team is different. This Oklahoma State team has a lot of dominant personalities. You can start with pitcher Carrie Eberle and first baseman Alysen Febrey. Two definite “alpha” personalities in those two, but also in shortstop Kiley Naomi, new program home run record holder Sydney Pennington, and this season’s home run leader Hayley Busby.

They have come together now. I don’t know how much the recent Broken Bow lake retreat after the Big 12 Tournament had to do with it, but this team was a steam roller in the recent regional.

Oklahoma State Athletics

Pennington congratulated after setting the career home run record last Sunday.

“I don’t think that one of us tries to overpower any other,” Pennington said on the eve of game one of the Super Regional with Texas at 4 p.m. on May 28. I think we know that if we all work together that we can all help each other. We have different roles and I think everybody has figured out their roles. It took a while this year to figure it out, but I think once we did figure out our roles then we have been playing our best.”

They rolled over Campbell and Mississippi State in the regional outscoring the opponents 29-5 in three games. Gajewski said he wants all “alpha” type players, but he isn’t going to facilitate a single superstar in the program.

“I think that is the culture, the Cowgirl Way,” said Gajewski. “We don’t promote one person here, we promote good people. One thing I tell these players that transfer in here, ‘If you think you are going to come in here and take over then you are mistaken. You are going to have to come in here and earn there (team’s) trust.’ You can do that, and you can do it very fast, but we don’t hand anything over here.”

Texas toughed out their regional with Texas losing a game and having to come back very late in a game that ended at 1:20 a.m. to finish off White’s former team before he came to Texas in the Oregon Ducks.

Texas has had no success this season with the Cowgirls.

“They were clearly the second-best team in the conference this season and they swept us,” Texas head coach Mike White said. “I think we are building. We are getting better and we’ve been better each time we played them. The games have been better and the scores have been closer. That last match-up clearly could have gone either way. We have a lot in front of us.”

Bruce Waterfield/OSU Athletics

Gajewski has tough players and he wants his teams to play tough.

Gajewski doesn’t believe his team has a mental edge over Texas. If he does, he isn’t saying it. He believes his team is playing well, but this weekend comes down to who playes the best softball over the nest two-to-three days inside Cowgirls Stadium

“We may be hitting on more cylinders offensively right now than we have been,” Gajewski said. “We’ve been playing defense and pitching well all season. Maybe that’s it. I’ve watched all of Texas games and I respect these guys a lot. They’re good, their hitters are good, they can pitch, and they are athletic. It is all about playing good softball. I haven’t looked as much, but they’ve been playing good teams, regional caliber teams. I think it just comes down to who plays the best softball this weekend. That’s all that matters up to this point.”