Why fall season will be vital for Oklahoma State softball's pursuit of 6th straight WCWS
Scott Wright
The Oklahoman
STILLWATER — With the uptick in roster turnover that college softball programs have begun to see in recent years, the fall scrimmage season has become a key part of a team’s development.
At Oklahoma State, where coach Kenny Gajewski has shown
a mastery of the transfer portal, the fall has been highlighted even more.
Coming off their
fifth straight Women’s College World Series appearance, the Cowgirls are a few days away from opening their fall season with home games this week against the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma and Central Arkansas.
Here’s a look at five key storylines for the Cowgirls’ fall season:
Cowgirls welcome another strong transfer class
Softball America rated OSU’s class of transfer portal additions as the second-best group in the country, and most importantly, the newcomers filled important holes at pitcher, catcher and the heart of the batting order.
OSU made a big splash early in the transfer portal cycle with the addition of
former Washington pitcher Ruby Meylan, a 6-foot right-hander from Omaha, Nebraska, who led the Huskies to the 2023 WCWS in her freshman season.
Along with Meylan, OSU brought in former Baylor pitcher RyLee Crandall, who had a 3.13 ERA over two seasons with the Bears.
The class also included a power-hitting catcher, Amanda Hasler, who hit 27 home runs over two seasons at North Carolina State.
To round it out, the Cowgirls pulled in a couple of versatile hitters in Rachael Hathoot from New Mexico and Megan Delgadillo from Cal State Fullerton.
Expanding Oklahoma State's pitching rotation
The transfer portal additions give OSU some experience at the front of the pitching rotation, particularly with Meylan, who has flashed star power.
But the in-house arms can’t be forgotten.
Kyra Aycock hit some bumps in the road last season, but showed improvement late in the year, which should benefit her as she enters her junior campaign.
Katie Kutz is still a promising youngster who a year ago came in as a top-10 recruit.
Progression of young OSU Cowgirls hitters
Through the regular season last year, OSU benefited from the offensive emergence of some first-year starters like Karli Godwin, Rosie Davis, Claire Timm and Lexi McDonald.
All four are back, and the question the fall season brings is: What’s next?
Godwin hit 15 home runs with 51 runs batted in and a .340 average as a freshman last season, while Davis added eight homers and a .333 average in her rookie year.
As sophomores last year, Timm and McDonald became staples in the corner outfield spots, each posting a .578 slugging percentage.
Improved consistency is always a welcome sight from young hitters, but these players have all shown capability for even more than they produced last spring.
Another new Oklahoma State catcher
Oklahoma State has had a bit of a rotating door behind the plate the last few years with players like Reagan Wright, Julia Cottrill, Taylor Tuck and Caroline Wang each making an impact.
Perhaps Hasler slows down the turnover, considering she has two years of eligibility remaining. A native of Avon, Connecticut, the 5-foot-5 Hasler batted .351 with 18 homers and 45 RBIs last season.
And she’ll have some help from returning Cowgirls Audrey Schneidmiller and Logan Pickelsimer.
A couple Cowgirls' spots up for grabs
OSU has returning starters all around the infield, plus the corner outfield spots, with catcher and center field as the only clear vacancies in the lineup. And those were two critical spots last year thanks to the contributions of Wang behind the plate and Jilyen Poullard in the outfield.
While Hasler seems like the obvious choice behind the plate, center field could be a more competitive battle.
Among transfers, Delgadillo has played outfield, while Hathoot was a shortstop — though Gajewski has shown he isn’t afraid to convert an infielder to the outfield.
Of course, Gajewski has returners like Macy Graf, Tia Warsop, Taylor Anderson, Sophie Page and others who spent time in the outfield in limited roles last year.
Oklahoma State softball fall schedule
- Thursday: USAO at OSU, 6 p.m.
- Saturday: Central Arkansas at OSU, 1 p.m.
- Oct. 2: Seminole State at OSU, 6 p.m.
- Oct. 12: OSU vs. Arkansas at Tulsa, 3 p.m.
- Oct 12: OSU at Tulsa, 5:30 p.m.
- Oct. 13: West Texas A&M at OSU, 3 p.m.
- TBD: Orange and Black Series at Cowgirl Stadium
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