So, with star transfers Ruby Meylan from Washington and RyLee Crandall from Baylor, along with returnees Kyra Aycock — who Gajewski said is in “her Year 1” form after a down sophomore season last year — and Katie Kutz, OSU has options. Gajewski’s on record saying he believes Meylan could be the best pitcher OSU’s […]
So, with star transfers Ruby Meylan from Washington and RyLee Crandall from Baylor, along with returnees Kyra Aycock — who Gajewski said is in “her Year 1” form after a down sophomore season last year — and Katie Kutz, OSU has options. Gajewski’s on record saying he believes Meylan could be the best pitcher OSU’s ever had, and Monday at the team’s media day, among other times, he’s spoken highly of his other three arms, too.But with OSU on the cusp of a sixth-straight trip to Oklahoma City in June, the thirst for improvement isn’t surprising. Hence Gajewski’s strategy moving forward about whom to pitch against what teams is always going to be with OKC on his mind.Although Kenny Gajewski is planning to experiment further with analytics this season, he doesn’t want to lose it.It being the thing all coaches have — especially the great ones, like the Oklahoma State softball coach — a gut instinct. And a trustworthy one.“I still want to coach,” Gajewski said. “I don’t want to be a robot that’s just pressing a button because it says it’s time to press it.”“Showing up to practice and doing what I need to do to be my best whenever my number is called… that’s the thing I think about the most,” Crandall said.“I think it depends on who we play,” Gajewski said. “I think we’re at a point now where we’re looking at things on who we’re gonna play and who we could face later in the year.”Because as he and his staff continue to lean into trusting “the book,” he still wants to maintain a level of authentic, trust-your-gut coaching while putting his squad in the best position to succeed.Rosenberry, too, was an example of “the book” and analytics being wrong.For Gajewski, the focus on analytics boils down to one thing: trying to get better.sports.ed@ocolly.comWith this amount of talent in the bullpen, competition will be high. Ebbs and flows, ups and downs throughout the season will come. Crandall isn’t too focused on the numbers, though she believes the analytical aspect of softball is “interesting.”Gajewski entered the “newer age” of pitching analytics last season, as he and then-new pitching coach Carrie Eberle decided to operate on a pitch-by-committe basis. Although star pitcher Lexi Kilfoyl — a top-three finalist for 2024 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year — was undoubtedly the Cowgirls’ best pitcher last season, a pitcher like Ivy Rossenberry, who had a breakout final season, was able to throw more innings with this strategy.Gajewski said, analytically, Rosenberry was thought of as a “six-to-eight-out arm.” But as her career-best season went along, she became what he called a “15-to-18 out arm.”He wore the burden Monday for the Cowgirls’ underwhelming Women’s College World Series performance. He took that blame.
