Oklahoma State softball earns No. 5 seed for NCAA Tournament, will host regionals
STILLWATER — Oklahoma State softball coach Kenny Gajewski was strong in his belief that his team would be a top-five seed in the NCAA Tournament, and his confidence proved accurate.
The Cowgirls were announced as the No. 5 seed in the field on Sunday night, set to host the Stillwater Regional, a four-team, double-elimination tournament that will include Kentucky, Michigan and Northern Colorado.
OSU will open against Northern Colorado at 4:30 p.m. Friday at Cowgirl Stadium. Michigan and Kentucky will begin the action at 2 p.m. Friday.
“I know we have some losses that are head-scratchers to some people, but I know we had a team that not very many people — and for good reason — knew what we had,” Gajewski said via Zoom on Sunday night from the team’s mini-retreat in Broken Bow. “When we looked at the body of work, I feel like we were probably a top four seed until we lost the first (Big 12) Tournament game.
“I didn’t feel like we would fall too far. I feel like we’re right where we were gonna be.”
The Stillwater Regional aligns with the regional of the No. 12 seed, Arkansas. The regional winners will meet the following weekend in the super-regional round.
As the Cowgirls begin their pursuit of a fifth straight trip to the Women’s College World Series, they have earned a top-eight seed — thus locking in a super-regional host berth if they advance — for the fourth consecutive postseason.
OSU and OU are the only college programs to reach each of the last four WCWS fields.
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OSU has now reached the NCAA Tournament for the 26th time in all, and the eighth in a row — accounting for every postseason of the Gajewski era.
The Cowgirls drew one of the more challenging regional fields, with two strong Power Five programs in Kentucky from the Southeastern Conference and Michigan, the Big Ten Tournament champion.
“I had a feeling we’d get Kentucky as we were sitting in there and watching everything unfold,” Gajewski said. “Michigan was a wild card to see them pop in there. They’ve played really, really good softball as of late, winning the Big Ten Tournament.
“I know nothing about Northern Colorado tonight. By tomorrow, I’ll know a lot more. So we’ll dive in and go.”
The Cowgirls are coming off back-to-back losses, dropping the final game of the Bedlam series after winning the first two, then falling 7-2 to BYU in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament.
The latter loss knocked OSU from No. 8 to No. 10 in the RPI, though the team held the No. 3 spot in the season’s final coaches’ poll.
A year ago at this time, OSU came into its NCAA Regional having lost 11 of the previous 13 games, but reeled off five straight wins to advance to the WCWS. So the recent run consisting of 10 wins in the last 12 games has these Cowgirls in a much more positive spot.
“I feel like I learned a ton from last year, so that this year, I can maybe draw from those experiences,” Gajewski said. “We don’t have anything anybody wants. We’ve been saying that for years now. So let’s go win.
“Don’t hold onto anything, just hold onto each other — and this group has done that.”
More: Why Michigan softball was 'wild card' choice for Oklahoma State's NCAA Stillwater Regional
Stillwater Regional schedule
Double elimination from Friday-Sunday (May 17-19) at Cowgirl Stadium in Stillwater:
Friday's games
Game 1: Michigan vs. Kentucky, 2 p.m. CT (ESPN2)
Game 2: No. 5 Oklahoma State vs. Northern Colorado, 4:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Saturday's games
Game 3: Winner G1 vs. Winner G2, noon CT
Game 4: Loser G1 vs. Loser G2, 2:30 p.m. CT
Game 5: Winner G4 vs. Loser G3, 5 p.m. CT
Sunday's games
Game 6: Winner G3 vs. Winner G5, TBD
Game 7: Winner G6 vs. Loser G6, TBD, if necessary
*-if necessary
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State softball earns No. 5 seed for NCAA Tournament
