Notebook: Cowgirls Find Themselves in Rhythm After 5-0 Weekend, No-Hitter

The Cowgirls punched back just like Kenny Gajewski knew they would. Oklahoma State’s softball team went 5-0 this weekend in the Mizuno Classic, improving to 14-6 on the young season.

Gajewski, OSU’s coach, was feeling good after his team won eight of its first 10 games. Then, a poor showing in Palm Springs, which has turned into an annual occurrence, had the Cowgirls staring at a 9-6 record.

He might’ve been joking, but Gajewski even said he thought about the possibility of not returning to that invitational for a season or two.

Regardless, the Cowgirls showed no signs of rust or fatigue this past weekend, as they steamrolled through their opponents. Only one game went the full seven innings. The Cowgirls run-ruled their opponents in four of the five games and averaged 12 runs per contest. Here’s what we learned after an extraordinary weekend in Cowgirl Stadium.

Game 1: Oklahoma State 8, Omaha 0 (5 inn.)
Game 2: Oklahoma State 19, Maine 1 (5 inn.)
Game 3: Oklahoma State 16, Omaha 3 (5 inn.)
Game 4: Oklahoma State 8, Maine 0 (5 inn.)
Game 5: Oklahoma State 9, St. Francis 3

The Cowgirls have enough offense to survive life after Rylee Bayless

Don’t get me wrong; the Cowgirls are much better off with Rylee Bayless in the lineup. However, they showed they’re more than capable of bringing runs across home plate in bunches without her.

They scored at least five runs in three innings and had an insane, 14-run fourth inning against Omaha on Saturday. Jessi Haffner hit three home runs in Saturday’s doubleheader and, as mentioned above, OSU averaged 12 runs per contest. They weren’t exactly facing premier competition, but they did exactly what good teams are supposed to do against weaker opponents.

"That's the craziest thing I've ever seen" – @OSUcoachG#OKState put up 14 runs before recording an out on Saturday vs. Omaha. Here's a look back to how each Cowgirl crossed the plate: pic.twitter.com/rXAI23nfKI

— Cowgirl Softball (@CowgirlSB) March 5, 2018

Logan Simunek finally gets a start, throws no-hitter

If it weren’t for a walk, we’d be talking about Simunek’s perfect game this week. She pitched a phenomenal game against Maine on Saturday, striking out four in five innings. The game was shortened because they Cowgirls won via run rule, but that shouldn’t take away from the performance Simunek had in the circle.

She earned another start Sunday, when she finally gave up her first run of the season. She holds a 0.29 ERA after allowing one run in 24.1 innings of work.

“She’s been as good as any of our kids and deserves time,” Gajewski said after Friday’s game.

Sydney Pennington being groomed as “the future at shortstop”

Randee O’Donnell is OSU’s shortstop of the present, but the next few years call for Sydney Pennington to take O’Donnell’s spot once she leaves.

“I gotta get her games there,” Gajewski said. “It’s kinda unfair to her at times. I play her in left, I played her in first. I toyed around with catching her. It’s tough on kids. The bottom line is these kids wanna play. But she’s a bonafide shortstop. I gotta get her work there.”

Pennington saw some time at shortstop this weekend, and it’s safe to assume she’ll be plugged into that position from time to time as the season progresses.