Oklahoma State softball needs to solve youthful inconsistency ahead of Texas series

STILLWATER — A couple of losses in the middle of a tricky road trip shouldn’t be reason for concern for the Oklahoma State softball team.

But if there’s anything about it that’s probably gnawing at coach Kenny Gajewski, it would be the vast difference in the style of losses.

One was an offensive failure and the other was a pitching collapse.

Of course, the Cowgirls have been strong enough in both phases to know they’ll bounce back. Yet with such a young team, inconsistencies and unexpected struggles are going to come.

With third-ranked Texas coming to town this week, the youngsters will get a hint of what postseason intensity will feel like.

Here’s a look at what we learned about the Cowgirls last week:

No. 4 Oklahoma State

• Overall record: 26-5
• Last week: 2-2 (Lost to Tulsa 3-0, beat BYU 3-2 and 10-2, lost to BYU 11-8)
• This week: vs. Missouri State, 6 p.m. Tuesday; vs. Texas (6 p.m. Thursday, 7 p.m. Friday, 1 p.m. Saturday)

Silenced in T-Town

Tulsa junior Maura Moore kept Cowgirl hitters off balance in a complete-game shutout, striking out four and allowing just four harmless singles.

This is where the inconsistencies of a young lineup can be tricky. The Cowgirls were 0 for 9 with two walks when they had runners on base. The OSU newcomers — though not all young — combined to go 0 for 10 overall.

Though OSU has been solid defensively this season, a fielding error in the sixth inning allowed two unearned runs to score, giving Tulsa some insurance in the final frame.

In search of pitching depth

While OSU has about as good a 1-2 punch as anyone at the front of its pitching rotation, the back end of the group has been less consistent.

That showed up in the Friday loss at BYU, when sophomore Kyra Aycock and freshman Katie Kutz combined to allow 11 runs, each giving up a grand slam before recording an out.

Aycock walked two, then gave up a single before the first-inning grand slam, and when Kutz entered in the third, she allowed a single and hit two batters before the big home run.

Ultimately, Kutz recorded just two outs, giving up five runs on four hits, two hit batters and a walk before handing the ball back to Aycock.

The sophomore settled down from there, allowing a run on three hits over the final 3 ⅓, but the damage was done.

While Gajewski will often lean heavily on two pitchers late in the season, the need for a strong No. 3 remains high. That will be a key development over the next month as the Cowgirls draw closer to postseason play, because whoever establishes themselves as the third option, that player will be needed in important situations.

It wasn’t all bad

Though the two losses raised some eyebrows, the Cowgirls had some meaningful bright spots throughout a week in which they played four road games in two locations over five days.

The offense bounced back from the Tulsa loss with a power punch. OSU hit four home runs in the 11-8 loss, and totaled 11 extra-base hits in the BYU series.

Freshman first baseman Karli Godwin had a home run, a double and four RBIs in the three-game set. Senior catcher Caroline Wang homered twice. And Tallen Edwards burst out of a brief slump with a 3-for-4 performance Saturday that included five RBIs. Prior to that, she had gone 0 for 12 with one walk in the previous four games.

Gajewski elevated Rosie Davis to the leadoff spot, sliding Edwards to No. 2 for the final two games of the series. Davis reached base five times in eight plate appearances, scoring four runs.