COLUMN: High expectations for OSU softball don't falter, even in a transition year

Feb. 20—CLEARWATER, Fla. — When an athletic program eclipses a certain height, "rebuild" years are no longer acceptable.

Few programs qualify for this exclusive club, but the ones that do face the pressure of turning a typical rebuilding year into a reload-and-go year by any means necessary. With four straight trips to the Women's College World Series, Oklahoma State softball has climbed the ladder to fit in that group.

So, how is it reloading for another deep postseason run?

This year's Cowgirl roster is younger than any in coach Kenny Gajewski's time at Oklahoma State. Through this past week in Florida, there have been eight underclassmen sprinkled into the starting lineup, with five of them settling in as established everyday starters.

The Cowgirls felt the lack of experience when they played the Georgia Bulldogs and the LSU Tigers during the Clearwater Invitational. When a team doesn't have the experience benefit, it must find ways to lean on other things.

Of the 24 roster spots, just two of them are filled with Cowgirls for more than two years. That can be seen as a bad thing, but it can also be a really good thing.

Culture and cohesion is important within a program. The average viewer often overlooks it, but vibes can be as much of a factor as talent. An inclusive and relaxed environment can elevate a team to overachieve, while the opposite can be true in negative situations.

In the Cowgirls' instance, having everybody arrive generally at the same time has eliminated any chance at a cliquey, divisive dynamic. Everybody's in it together: building a culture and growing together in real time. Gajewski believes this team is the tightest-knit group he has ever coached.

After spending the past six days closely interacting with them, I can see where his sentiment is coming from.

During this extended trip, the efforts to build a family environment have been deliberate. Stops at the family houses of Kathryn Ogg, Lexi Kilfoyl and pitching coach Carrie Eberle have certainly helped, but the cohesiveness of this team is natural. You don't see anybody sitting alone at breakfast or cast aside as the odd one out. It's not a case of split groups within one big organization.

That's one important piece of the puzzle, but there's other pieces that are on the table, but still waiting to be placed in their exact spots.

New pitching and hitting coaches are settling in and establishing new philosophies. The Cowgirls offense tagged two All-American pitchers for 10 runs in five innings, but then were silenced for the combined nine innings to follow in those same two games.

The pitching staff blew late leads to Georgia and LSU, but on Tuesday night, Lexi Kilfoyl tossed a complete game shutout against one of the best offenses in the SEC on the road.

Cooperation and fully buying in from a players perspective is vital, especially when adapting a "pitch-by-committee" approach. Who wouldn't want to hold the title of being the team's ace pitcher? Turns out the Cowgirl pitchers are just fine with not having an ace pitcher.

During media day interviews in early February, Gajewski dreaded the idea of constructing a set batting lineup. Fast forward two weeks, and the lineup is beginning to take steady shape. Tallen Edwards, Claire Timm, Karli Godwin and Caroline Wang have batted in that order at the top since the UCLA game on Feb. 11.

Freshman Rosie Davis appears to have the second base job locked up at this point, and sophomore Michaela Wark has battled injuries but is a must-start when she is healthy like she is now.

Young teams find answers when it makes mistakes. It's almost a necessary component.

Against Georgia, a rushed throw home resulted in an error, giving several runs an opportunity to score later in the inning. That same inning, the entire infield botched a rundown that Gajewski later labeled as "the worst play he'd seen in nine years here." There have been stretches of subpar at bats, something very far from the expectation of scoring runs every inning with this team.

These things have all had impacts on games early in the season, but the entire point is to have them happen now rather than later. A process that the coaching staff and players embrace with open arms. Gajewski told his team that several of these games in Florida have been super regional or WCWS-caliber games. Another one is coming Thursday against a top five Washington Husky team.

Yes, there will be growing pains, some early losses and some youthful mistakes.

But this is a reload, not a rebuild. There is no down year in this team's eyes, so buckle up and be patient with this year's Cowgirls. They just might go further than you think.

Ryan Breeden is a sports reporter for The Stillwater News Press. He can be reached at rbreeden@stwnewspress.com.