Oklahoma State pitcher Ruby Meylan picked up a big award this week as she was named the Big 12 (Co)Pitcher of the Week. But not everyone in Stillwater is excited about it.
Following the Cowgirls’ 7-0 win over Utah in the opening round of the Big 12 tournament, head coach Kenny Gajewski met with the media and didn’t mince words about the conference’s decision to give out Co honors with Texas Tech pitcher, NiJaree Canady.
“We received an email on Wednesday, or Tuesday I think it was,” Gajewski said. “It listed all the winners. Ruby was the outright pitcher. Then I got an email from my SID, Serg, that there’s now a co-pitcher. That’s not right. I don’t appreciate it. It’s not the way we should be doing our business here. When I asked [the Big 12] the question why, I got an answer ‘We looked at it holistically.’ You’re gonna have to explain to everybody out there what that means. It’s not right. ‘Holistically’ wasn’t on my voting sheet. It asked who the best pitcher was. I voted for NiJa because I can’t vote for (Meylan). And that’s why I said, ‘Make this public.’
“I have a lot of coaches in this league. I didn’t have to call them. They called me. They’re not happy. I’m not happy. It’s not right, and it’s nothing against NiJa or Texas Tech. It’s what the coaches voted for. So, make them public. I think we’re probably not wanting to do that, to be very honest.
“I don’t have any sour grapes about ‘co.’ I have sour grapes that my kid was told that she was outright and then we changed that, for whatever reason. You guys can write about that. But it’s not right. It’s not fair to her. It wouldn’t be fair if it was NiJa and then they changed that. A vote is a vote. Why did my staff spend an hour-and-a-half voting if our vote doesn’t matter? And that’s what I’m being told. Your vote doesn’t matter.”
Canady was good this year as she threw 140 innings for the Red Raiders with 200 strikeouts to 41 walks. She also had a 1.25 ERA in 33 appearances with a 22-4 overall record with 12 complete games and seven shutouts.
As for Meylan, she threw 220.2 innings for the Pokes with 204 strikeouts to 52 walks. She currently has a 1.97 ERA in 39 appearances with a 27-6 overall record with 20 complete games and eight shutouts.
