Cowgirls Take A Detour into NCAA Softball Regional

STILLWATER – Oklahoma State opens up the Stillwater NCAA Softball Regional on Friday, May 21 at 1 p.m. with the Campbell Camels. The Cowgirls are the number five seed in the entire NCAA Championships, so they are seeded to make it to Oklahoma City and the mecca of women’s softball, the Women’s College World Series. I bet this week was tons of time in the cage for the Oklahoma State hitters. I’m sure lots of time on the diamond taking infield and outfield, working on cut-offs. You can’t leave any stone unturned going into postseason.

There was some of that on Tuesday on, but last Sunday and Monday the Cowgirls were a couple of hundred miles away from their home stadium in cabin down at Broken Bow State Park. It was there the team saw the NCAA Selection Show and the players watched television, swam, even took hikes. Bonding time supplanted time in the batting cage.

Oklahoma State Cowgirls Softball

Cowgirls relaxed with some television.

“There is a little bit of risk there,” head coach Kenny Gajewski said. “People can form their own opinion about what is good and what is not. I think I know my team as well as anybody and I had a talk with them when they came to me and thought that would be a good thing. I was like … Okay you guys know what is at stake here at the end of the week. You guys can handle everything that comes with that, and they were ‘of course.’

“Once I hear from people like Chy (Chyenne Factor) that’s what they want to do then I can go with them,” continued Gajewski. “It’s their program, they run it, I’ll be here for a lot of years, I hope, and I have to make the best decisions.”

Honestly, watching that team play in Oklahoma City last weekend in the Big 12 Tournament, and remember, they finished as the runner-up losing to Oklahoma 10-2 in the championship game, but they looked a little off. They seemed a little tired, maybe slightly burned out. It is a long season and players can get in a funk.

This may have been the way out. The way to refresh.

“It was fun,” centerfielder Chyenne Factor said. “There was a lot of bonding. We spent a lot of time together at meals, watching television. There was a pool, a hot tub, some of us went on a hike, actually. I thought we needed it as I guess the most important part of the season is now. It was good and we’re ready to get going.”

Okay, maybe not the way Vince Lombardi or Bill Belichick would prepare for the postseason, but if it works. Mark that down and remember it, retreat before postseason.