Kenny Gajewski - Brand New Dad There for Doubleheader, Cowgirls Sweep SDSU
(Oklahoma State University athletic media relations contributed to this story.)
STILLWATER – Usually we would not split up coverage of a Cowgirls softball doubleheader, but this win was special. It was the first since the new arrival in the Oklahoma State softball family. It was a winning one over South Dakota State at 11-2 for Gray Gage Gajewski. Cowgirls head coach Kenny Gajewski just returned home with his team from a nine-day, 10-game road trip that saw the Cowgirls go 8-2 in Florida including a very impressive 7-0 shutout win over top-five ranked Washington. All the time in Florida Gajewski was hoping, praying that little Gray Gage would not come early and that Kenny would be there with wife Rachel for the arrival.
“I got lucky, and I don’t know how,” Gajewski said of the hope and prayers that he and his team would make it home and that little Gray Gage wouldn’t come early. “That was my wife being strong. It’s awesome.”
That’s a big name and lots of G’s with Gray Gage Gajewski. Kenny Gajewski has two older chilren in son Preston and daughter Logan. Gray Gage will help keep him thinking young, which is pretty good for a college softball coach that needs to stay thinking young to keep up with his players.
“We’ll call him Tripp as well,” Gajewski said of a youngster that needs to have a ball in his hand as soon as possible. “He doesn’t have one yet, but he will soon.”
As Gajewski was warming up his players before the opening win in the doubleheader with South Dakota State. He was thankful for his staff with Vanessa Shippy-Fletcher, Carrie Eberle, Stacy Pestrak, Katie Norris, and Madi Sue Simpson.
“It is unlike anything that I could ever plan for,” Gajewski said of the experience. “But I have a great staff here, and I was able to make it here just in time and feel like I haven’t been gone.”
The players did their part too. In the first game 11-2 run-rule victory Kyra Aycock pitched for the win and is now 3-0. She took a no-hitter into the sixth inning.
The Cowgirls took a 4-2 lead into the bottom of the sixth, when they plated seven runs to close out the run-rule victory. Karli Godwin, Caroline Wang,
Micaela Wark and Haidyn Sokoloski all homered in the contest. Wark and Wang hit lazer shots for their home runs. OSU scored four runs in three innings against SDSU starting pitcher Tori Kniesche, an outstanding right-hander who went 11-0 with an 0.00 ERA in conference play a season ago.
In game two, Lexi Kilfoyl and Kaite Kutz combined on a two-hit shutout. Kilfoyl (7-2) got the win after collecting three strikeouts and allowing two hits while Kutz kept the Jackrabbits without a hit and struck out two.
Leading the way offensively for the 15-2 and No. 3-ranked Oklahoma State Cowgirls was Wark with a first inning RBI single that plated Godwin and a single from Kilfoyl brought home Wark and Wang. In the bottom of the third, the Cowgirls erupted for six runs, highlighted by an RBI double from Wang and Jilyen Poullard stealing home on a double steal.
“I thought our kids were outstanding and I thought that we really swung the bats well,”Gajewski said. “It was good to be at home finally in front of our home fans.”
The Cowgirls return to action when they host Seattle and Drake at the Cowgirl Invitational Friday, March 1. The first game against Seattle is set for a first pitch at 3 p.m. and Drake will begin directly after at 5:30 p.m.