When Oklahoma State takes to the dirt this weekend, Kenny Gajewski knows his squad has what it takes to make a postseason run.
The Cowgirl softball team is the No. 2 seed in the Big 12 Conference Championship in Oklahoma City, and despite coming off another season-ending sweep to rival and No. 1 seed Oklahoma, they're is ready to go.
The Cowgirls will take on Baylor and Texas Tech at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. respectively, at the ASA Hall of Fame Softball Complex for a chance at playing in the tournament championship Saturday.
Gajewksi feels confident in his team’s chances to win its first conference tournament since 1992, when OSU was in the Big 8, as his team has yet to peak all season, in his mind.
“I don’t think we have played our best softball yet or the most complete games yet,” Gajewski said. “I think most teams do throughout a year. You usually play at your level, below or above. I don’t think we have worked above yet. I am excited about what is to come and about the opportunity we have got.”
The Cowgirls (36-19 overall, 12-6 Big 12) are also playing with a chip on their shoulder that has been there since the beginning of the season. While they have made the NCAA Tournament every year since Gajewski arrived in the summer of 2015, OSU was picked to finish fourth in the conference at the beginning of the year.
The team went on to have its best season since the 2011 Women’s College World Series team with senior third baseman Vanessa Shippy earning the Big 12 Player of the Year for the second time in her career – the first Cowgirl to do it twice.
The underestimation, as well as OSU suffering its 20th-straight loss to the Sooners last Saturday, definitely has given the Cowgirls postseason motivation.
“We have a tough team, but they can get tougher,” Gajewski said. “It’s a team that has been through a lot and knows how to weather the storm. They know how to bounce back when they get knocked down. I anticipate or expect nothing less. This is a group that plays with a bit of a chip and that’s how we do it here. I think we will play well.”
The Cowgirls beat both of their Friday opponents in the regular season, including a sweep of the Bears at Cowgirl Stadium. Baylor (35-14, 12-6) won five-straight games to end the regular season, which included a sweep of Texas. OSU beat the Red Raiders in a three-game set despite dropping the middle game back in Lubbock, Texas, back in March.
Texas Tech (28-24, 5-13) finished the regular season on a seven-game winning streak. Although Gajewski and the Cowgirls are facing two of the hottest teams in the conference, the Cowgirls coach doesn’t feel fazed.
“I think these kids are ready and understand how difficult this is,” Gajewski said. “They know how good OU is or how good Baylor is. There are no surprises this time of year.”
Another possible round of Bedlam
Last season, the Big 12 Tournament came back for the first time in almost a decade and the championship didn’t fail to disappoint.
The Cowgirls upset Baylor before beating Iowa State to advance to the title game against the Sooners. OSU lost 2-0 in one of its closest matches recently against its in-state foe.
If OSU wins its pool Friday and OU beats Iowa State and Texas, then Bedlam would determine the tournament title yet again.
Despite losing by a score of 18-2 in the three game-series last weekend, the Cowgirls are ready for the possibility of ending the nearly eight-year losing streak.
“It is just another opportunity to go out there and prove that we’re supposed to be on the field with those guys and we’re good enough to beat them,” first baseman Jessi Haffner said.
Haffner, a senior from Wichita, Kansas, said for her and the rest of the Cowgirl seniors, this is the beginning of the end. Because of that, she will be laying it all out on the line as any game could be her last.
“This is the part where you can really let loose and play like you want to play and play with nothing to lose,” Haffner said. “… I played with a lot of these girls for four years. I just feel like I am never going to be on the field with these people again, so I might as well enjoy it while I’m here.”
While her senior class has never seen what it’s like to beat the Sooners, Haffner feels that if the team doesn’t do it Saturday, then it will be next year. She feels the Cowgirls are close.
“We have seen their pitchers and we have seen their batters so many times and it’s going to happen,” Haffner said. “Sooner or later, it is going to happen this year or this weekend or next year. Sooner rather than later, we’re going to beat them and finally cross that barrier. I feel like when we do that, we will be able to consistently beat those teams on a day-to-day basis.”
OU finished the regular season with an undefeated conference record – the first team to do so in Big 12 history – while only losing three nonconference contests all year. Gajewski is champing at the bit to get one more shot at the Sooners with this group of seniors.
“I think our experience helps us, but at the end of the day, it’s our girls that have got to play,” Gajewski said. “I think they can get us over that hump. I think we are poised to make a big run at some point in time here soon.”
Simunek could be key to conference title
Throughout the first half of the season, OSU right-hander Logan Simunek seemed like the best pitcher on the Cowgirls’ staff.
The sophomore from Piedmont had sub-one ERA and was undefeated in six games where she was the pitcher of record.
Three straight losses and a decrease in playing time put Simunek in a slump, but when Samantha Clakley gave up several runs in her first outing against the Sooners, Simunek came in and made it more competitive.
In games against No. 1 UCLA and the Sooners lately, Simunek has been phenomenal, especially in a five-inning stretch in relief against OU last Friday in which she allowed only one hit.
“She kind of hit a lull and now she has found it again,” Gajewski said. “She is really attacking the strike zone and when she does that, it’s really good. She has the best stuff on this team if you ask me. It’s electric at times.”
If the two Bedlam rivals do meet up again, Simunek might be the starter, thanks to her performances the past couple of outings. Gajewski feels she is getting better each time she goes out and has a bright future with the team.
“There is a learning curve and experience you have to get through, we have left her out there to sink or swim at times and she has done that,” Gajewski said. “She has worked extremely hard.”
Multiple records on the line
Many program records could be broken this weekend with some notable ones on deck for Shippy and Madi Sue Montgomery.
Montgomery, a junior second baseman from Burleson, Texas, needs just one more home run to tie the program record. Montgomery has 13 homers this season and has a chance to break the mark held by Courtney Totte and Kim Kaye.
“I just want to try to see the ball and hit the ball, keep it simple,” Montgomery said. “If I start thinking about that, I might not do to well.”
Shippy, a native of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, could set the Big 12 doubles record, as well as records for most games played, started and started consecutively this postseason as she has started every game in her career.
Also good news for the Cowgirls is sophomore catcher Mackenzie Thomas will be available to play after taking a nasty hit to her right leg on a slide at home plate against OU on Saturday.