OSU Softball: Cowgirls Looking Forward to Rare Home Stand, Legendary Coach Gary Ward Providing Wisdom

STILLWATER — With one week left in the regular season, the Cowgirls have played in Cowgirl Stadium only 11 times in 2024.

That’s the fewest amount of home games among Big 12 teams. Oklahoma State enters Tuesday ranked 19th in the RPI, and the only team in the Top 50 of the RPI that has played fewer home games than the Cowgirls is Nevada (39th in RPI).

Weather-dependent, the Cowgirls could play four games at home this week starting with a game at 6 p.m. Wednesday against North Texas before hosting Utah in a three-game weekend series.

“I knew (the schedule) was soft on home games, but I couldn’t get people here,” OSU coach Kenny Gajewksi said Tuesday. “I actually took over the schedule late, too, so that was one thing that was kind of behind the eight ball. No fault of anyone, I just took back the schedule. So, I’m working on that now. I’m working on next year already. We’re all working on that and years to come, so I think we’re already in a better place on that.

“We’ll take a little bit more risks with some weather maybe early. But you know what, everybody’s doing it and they’re figuring out a way, so we’re gonna go ahead and go that route, too. But I still want to have the quality opponents here. I don’t want to just bring anyone in here to play.”

The Cowgirls’ experience on the road could prove handy because OSU might be on the outside looking in of a regional host spot, given the Cowgirls are 19th in the RPI and 29-17 this season.

OSU ranks 11th nationally in strength of schedule, according to Warren Nolan, which is the second-highest among non-SEC teams, trailing only Duke. OSU is 11-8 in true road games and 11-5 on neutral fields. A strong week and a strong Big 12 Tournament (May 7-10 in OKC), could still be enough to keep the Cowgirls home for the regional round, but if they do have to go on the road, they’ll be used to it.

“I’ll let you know (if playing on the road so much has provided benefits) because I think we’ve kind of let the hosting kind of slip away,” Gajewski said. “And that’s OK. Like I told our team, that’s our journey. I wanna host everything. Who wouldn’t want to be playing at home? But we are not phased on the road, so that won’t be anything new.”

Gary Ward in the Batting Cages

The Cowgirls had a legend in their batting cages on Tuesday in former OSU baseball coach Gary Ward.

Ward, who is 84, coached the Cowboys from 1978 to 1996, leading OSU to 16 straight conference titles and 10 trips to the College World Series.

Gajewski said he hopes he makes it to Ward’s age and that he hopes he is as sharp as Ward is at that age.

“He’s been around,” Gajewski said. “I’ve been asking Coach Ward to come around for many years. One of the most touching things I think he’s ever said to me is — his wife, Cathy, died a few years ago, and he took care of her. He’s taken care of her almost my whole time here. She’s been sick the whole time. He told me, he said, ‘Hey, I’m gonna be around as much as I can, but I have to take care of her. She’s taken care of me and this family forever.’ And I was like, ‘Gosh, that is a man.’

“He’s slowly starting to come around more. He’s sitting up there now, and we’re talking. We’re just talking. We’re watching, and he’s talking to me about things that he sees. He knows every one of our kids. It is crazy. And he knows the way their swings work, and it’s really kind of cool, which tells me he’s watching every time we’re playing. It amazes me, so it’s really cool. This game, he loves this game. He loves our kids, and he loves the bat and ball.”