'We'll be back': OSU softball's season ends with loss to Tennessee in Women's College World Series
Jun. 4—OKLAHOMA CITY — Kenny Gajewski took his time walking from first base to home plate at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium. For as long as he possibly could, Oklahoma State softball's eighth-year coach wanted to delay what awaited him.
It was inevitable, though.
The No. 6 Cowgirls were merely moments removed from a 3-1 loss to No. 4 Tennessee in the Women's College World Series on Sunday evening. Gajewski had no choice but to finish the handshake line, take a step back, wipe his eyes and embrace each and every tear-filled player in front of him.
"I'm just so proud of what these kids have continued to do here at OSU. They've raised the bar again," Gajewski said in the aftermath of the season-ending defeat. "We fell short, and that part hurts."
The Cowgirls (46-17) ended their fourth consecutive trip to the WCWS one game shy of the National Semifinals, which is where they made it to a season ago. That's in large part due to Lady Volunteers ace Ashley Rogers.
Tennessee didn't use either of its top two pitchers in a run-rule loss to No. 1 Oklahoma only 24 hours before the elimination matchup, a divisive tactic that paid off. Rogers stifled the Cowgirls at the plate, going the distance for a 136-pitch complete game while allowing four hits.
"We knew that our game plan against Ashley Rogers was not to chase. I think that's kind of what we did a little bit tonight, was chasing that rise ball from the box," Cowgirls designated player Morgyn Wynne said. "That's kind of where we fell short, was chasing after those pitches that were intended for us to chase them."
They were few and far between, but the Cowgirls had their chances.
Wynne, who finished 1 for 3, put the Pokes on the board with a no-doubter of a solo home run to left field with two outs in the top of the sixth. That was the only sure thing OSU had at the plate. Nothing came easy, and that's why a squandered opportunity in the fourth hurt that much more.
Cowgirls first baseman Micaela Wark battled through an eight-pitch at-bat to safely reach base with a two-out single. Then freshman left fielder Tallen Edwards ripped a double to the wall in right. Gajewski initially signaled for Wark to head home before trying to hold her up at third.
Wark was tagged out at home, a ruling that was upheld after a review for obstruction.
"I caught her eyes coming around short. I was like, 'OK, I got her eyes. She's not the fastest runner on our team, but it looked like we may have a chance," Gajewski said. "So I kept sending her with the intention of I could shut her down if I had to, and I got my hands up. She had her head down. She kind of hesitated, I think. That's what I felt. So, she saw me, but it is what it is. We didn't get it done."
As prolific as Rogers was, OSU's pitching staff was up for the task, too. It marked only the eighth time this season that Tennessee was held to three hits or less.
Gajewski went with two-time All-American Kelly Maxwell in the circle to start, and she was two outs away from making it through three full innings when the Lady Vols (51-9) struck.
Maxwell fanned the first batter of the frame. That was followed by a walk, RBI double, another walk and an RBI single — a sequence that, on the brink of elimination, made Gajewski insert Lexi Kilfoyl.
Kilfoyl inherited runners on second and third and proceeded to retire the side with back-to-back ground balls hit right back at her. The Lady Vols' only other run came via a throwing error in the bottom of the fifth.
"I feel like my job in that moment is just to get out of the inning and try and go back with and stop runs from happening," said Kilfoyl, who didn't give up a hit in 3.2 innings. "In that moment, I was just trusting my defense because they're everywhere. They're always going to be everywhere."
This, of course, isn't where Gajewski and Co. wanted the campaign to end. The Cowgirls have been here before. They've hosted Regionals, swept Super Regionals and been a game away from the championship series.
That isn't what does it for them anymore.
Gajewski wants to win the last game of the season. Anything other than that doesn't meet the standard that the program has set for itself, the standard that the Cowgirls have worked to earn since the day Gajewski was hired.
And they'll have another crack at it again a year from now. They aren't planning on going anywhere.
"If you just keep kicking shins, they'll eventually break," Gajewski told the team. "That's what we're going to do. We're just going to keep kicking the shins of our opponents, and we'll eventually break this door down, and we'll look back to teams like this.
"We'll take some time and regroup to figure out how we can improve, and we'll be back. We'll be right back here next year and make another run."
Follow News Press sports reporter Jon Walker on Twitter @ByJonWalker for updates on Oklahoma State athletics and more.
