Oklahoma State softball earns No. 7 overall seed, will open vs. Fordham in NCAA Regional
A new friend of Kenny Gajewski recommended some nighttime reading for the Oklahoma State softball coach on Friday, the day before his Cowgirls would take on their top rival, Oklahoma, in the finals of the Big 12 Tournament.
The book was called “Read This Book Tonight to Help You Win Tomorrow.”
“Last night, I read the whole book,” Gajewski said Saturday evening while wearing a new hat proclaiming his team as Big 12 Tournament champions after a 4-3 victory over top-ranked OU.
“I actually listened to the whole book. It took me an hour and 15.”
A win over the Sooners on Saturday might not have been a necessity for OSU in its pursuit of a top-eight seed in the NCAA Championship field. They might’ve done enough otherwise to secure that designation, but Saturday’s win cemented the Cowgirls in the top eight, which guarantees them of homefield advantage for the NCAA Regionals and Super Regionals the next two weeks.
OSU (41-12) earned a No. 7 seed in the NCAA tournament, as announced by the NCAA on Sunday night.
Carlson: OU softball & Oklahoma State meeting again in WCWS for NCAA title would be epic
The Cowgirls will host a regional field that includes Nebraska, North Texas and Fordham. OSU will open against Fordham at 7:30 p.m. Friday night at Cowgirl Stadium. North Texas and Nebraska will open play at 5 p.m. Friday. Both games will be streamed on ESPN+.
Current OSU season ticket holders and Posse members will have first rights to purchase all-session tickets for the three-day regional. Remaining tickets will go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. Wednesday. Single-session tickets will go on sale one hour prior to each session/game at the stadium box office.
If it advances as the regional champion, OSU would be in line to face the winner of the Clemson Regional that includes 10th-seeded Clemson as well as Auburn, Louisiana and UNC-Wilmington.
A couple weeks ago, Gajewski reached out to Brian Cain, an author who is considered an authority on mental performance, particularly in the athletic realm.
“He’s been working with Florida State for a long time,” Gajewski said. “I’ve known about him from my mentors, but I’ve never really talked to him.
“He and I had some great talks over the last 10 days. He’s been sending me some things I’ve been having (the team) watch. I think it’s pretty cool. It just gets us into a good spot. You want to give these kids any edge they can have.”
Cain sent Gajewski the book, and the coach immediately dove in.
One particular excerpt from the book referencing releasing “the mental parking break” stuck with Gajewski. He shared the full book with his team via group text on Friday night, then at a team meeting on Saturday morning, the team read the individual excerpt.
Carlson: Racing for foul balls? How Oklahoma State softball has upped its competitiveness
“That term, mental parking break, really hit home with me,” Gajewski said. “So if it hit home with me, it’s probably gonna hit home with some of them. It’s just finding enough things that all of them can grab onto.”
For a Cowgirl team that has been through a rough patch with five straight losses before sweeping three games at the Big 12 Tournament, the mental boost was beneficial.
“I’m really glad that we’re starting to touch on the mental side of the game,” said OSU senior pitcher Morgan Day, who earned two victories and was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. “I think you can really tell that people kinda take a second to step back and think before their at-bats or before a pitch is thrown. Just having fun, playing softball, letting everything hang out.
“I think it helped us play a little bit more cohesively. We’ve been playing cohesively anyway, but I just think when you’re connected like that, it takes it to another level.”
Stillwater Regional
Friday's games at Cowgirl Stadium in Stillwater:
► North Texas (35-14) vs. Nebraska (40-14), 5 p.m. (ESPN+)
► No. 7 OSU (41-12) vs. Fordham (30-20), 7:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State softball earns No. 7 seed in NCAA Tournament
