OK State's Regional Win Is Culmination Of Something Years In The Making

STILLWATER, Ok.-- In their final game at Cowgirl stadium, the Oklahoma State seniors left a legacy far beyond their regional win.

It took Oklahoma State softball coach Kenny Gajewski four years to host a regional as a head coach. He and his team took full advantage of it on Saturday when they beat Tulsa, 2-1 to advance to a Super Regional.

Gajewski’s team features eight seniors that have brought the OSU (42-14) program back to national prominence. As a group they have secured the programs first 40-win season since 2011, twice broken the program home run record, broken multiple other program records and led the Cowgirls to the program’s first super regional appearance since 2011.

In Saturday’s game it was the seniors that led OSU to it’s 42nd victory on the season.

Samantha Show, a senior-year transfer, has been the team’s leader in the circle all season and against Tulsa (37-20) it was no different. Show threw seven inning, giving up one run on four hits and after allowing the run in the first, allowed three base runners the rest of the way.

In the third inning senior Madi Sue Montgomery brought Show home for the first run of the day on a double to left field.

The lone non-senior to contribute to the scoring was Sydney Springfield. She hit an RBI-single up the middle of the infield to score the second, and later game-winning, run of the game.

With the lead in hand, two outs in the bottom of the seventh and Tulsa’s Celyna Shaw on third base, Montgomery clenched her glove around a pop-up to second base to complete dream four years in the making.

What ensued was nothing short of ecstasy on the part of the OSU players, coaches and a few fans that had made their way onto the field as they all celebrated their biggest win of the season.

Along with everyone celebrating the win were multiple former players. Some who had played under Gajewski during his tenure in Stillwater and some who were alumni happy to be back in Stillwater.

“To have those people back here, to have them cheering us on, the messages they continue to send us, I’m just happy that they get to share this,” Gajewski said. “This is what makes OSU great. This is a different atmosphere, a different mentality here at OSU. We’re blue-collar, we’re hard working people. I’m just happy that we could play well in front of them. It’s cool to go along (the left field fence) to shake hands and to see faces and tears.”

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