Friday, February 18, 2022
Nolan McLean
Sydney Pennington
TITLE TALK
Still chasing
Unfinished business keeps Cowgirls fighting Softball
The time is now. With already consistent squads reloading rosters in the offseason, expectations have intensified at OSU this spring. A handful of teams rank in the top 10, and are primed for a postseason push. Optimism reigns across the sports landscape.
JoJo Roberson
championEquestrian ship trophy yet and that is what we’re still working toward so we need to not worry about what other people are doing to us and what they’re working toward which is usually beating us.” In the small sample of games this season, OSU has been the chased. On opening night, No. 21 Arizona State attempted to claw back into the game against the Cowgirls late. Utah built a lead and held a tie with OSU until Cowgirl center fielder Chyenne Factor hit a walk-off home run. No. 20 Duke, led by pitcher Peyton St. George who fanned nine batters and allowed three hits, handed the Cowgirls their first loss in shoutout fashion.
player Chelsea Alexander said. “We take our softball. We play softball and we take our game to them. We’re Dean Ruhl not going to sit there and let Sports Editor you chase us. We’re going to chase you down and we’re goThe perception of Cow- ing to defend what’s ours.” girl softball has changed. Numerous core pieces The shabby, basementfrom last season’s Women’s dwelling team coach Kenny College World Series team Gajewski inherited seven returned. Where talent was years ago is no more. Prelost, Gajewski methodiseason rankings continue cally maneuvered the transfer to rise year-by-year. Talent portal, yanking a handful of continues to ooze into OSU’s premier players with plugprogram. The national recog- and-play potential. Capped off nition of the Cowgirls’ brand with a formidable recruiting continues to grow – exponen- class, the recognition equaled tially. the hype. So does the number of The softball landscape team vying to beat them. But is trying to keep up. In most the team is adamant it isn’t coaches’ offices across the the standard. country, they’re chasing the The Cowgirls aren’t the Cowgirls. But OSU isn’t done chased. They’re still the chas- chasing. ers. “We don’t have that “We go to teams. We ring,” pitcher Tatum Clopton chase teams,” designated See Chasing on 2A said. “We don’t have that
Omaha aspirations
PRESEASON PROWESS Where OSU ranks in the polls No. 1: Equestrian No. 2: Women’s Golf No. 3: Men’s Golf No. 7: Baseball No. 7: Softball No. 17: Women’s Track No. 22: Women’s Tennis
Taylor Roe
Women’s Track
This issue
Alex Maier
Cover design: Sam Beebe Photographers: Chris Becker, Abby Cage, Abby Smith
Men’s Track
Isabella Fierro
Cowboys reload for title push
Luke Hammond
See Omaha on 3A
Men’s Tennis
tion Edi
Eugenio Chacarra Alana Wolfberg
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Women’s Tennis
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Men’s Golf
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due to consistency. “Especially in the preseason, when you’re ranking teams, you’re not Ben Hutchens always ranking upside as Staff Reporter much as your ranking who are the teams that I trust?” It is an important Rooney said. “And under yearly battle for Mike Josh Holliday, Oklahoma Rooney and the staff at D1 State’s been remarkably Baseball. consistent.” Get the preseason Holliday, entering rankings right. his 10th season as coach, Rankings trigger has led OSU to an NCAA vehement reactions from Regional every season. fanbases upset or thrilled Holliday has set a with the amount of respect high expectation, but the being showed to their team. expectation isn’t the only Poorly judged preseason reason the Cowboys are rankings can quickly be a favorite to compete for proven off-base and reflect a College World Series in poorly on the people makOmaha. ing the selections. “I think we were all Rooney is one of three really optimistic on Oklaprimary contributors to D1 homa State,” Rooney said. Baseball’s No. 7 preseason “They had a really good ranking given to OSU. The offseason. It’s a program outlet’s confidence in the that’s extremely well Cowboys is partially coached and then when
(Aaron Fitt) saw them in the fall he was blown away by the depth. That’s the thing one thing that stood out to me when we were talking, he was like, ‘I just can’t believe how deep their roster is.’” The Cowboys are deep. After losing five positional players with more than 37 starts and three of their seven most-used pitchers, there are few areas the Cowboys have an obvious weakness in. Holliday reloaded his roster with the transfer portal, bringing in sophomore pitcher Victor Mederos from Miami and slugger graduate student Griffin Doersching from Northern Kentucky. The Cowboys also enter 2022 with the No. 5 recruiting class according to Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.
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Baseball
Women’s Golf