Oklahoma State is refusing to panic amidst its five-game losing streak.
“There is a lot of softball ahead of us,” Cowgirl center fielder Chyenne Factor said on Monday. “It’s not that big of a deal.”
OSU is looking to bounce back this weekend after getting swept by Texas on Saturday.
The lack of production on offense has been a concern throughout the five game skid. The Cowgirls racked up 33 hits in the Texas series, but only converted those hits into four runs across three games.
Oklahoma State’s struggles didn’t start in Austin, as they scored one run in a midweek defeat to Wichita State and two runs while dropping the series finale to Iowa State to start the losing streak.
“I don’t think it’s physical, I think it’s mental to a certain extent,” OSU coach Kenny Gajewski said. “I think it’s more of a pressing thing. These guys are so elite that they think they can change it in their at-bat, instead of just having a good at-bat. That just puts more pressure and they don’t execute the way they want to.”
In total, the Cowgirls have left 41 runners on base during the losing streak.
“We are getting on base at an elite level, I think third in the country,” Gajewski said. “We just had some bad luck, and it all happened as a collective effort for the whole team at one time, which is kind of weird.”
OSU started out on fire at the start of the season on offense. Oklahoma State led the country in batting average early in the year. Even after the trip to Austin, the Cowgirls ranks seventh nationally in batting average, but they’ve been unable to produce in the biggest moments of late.
“It’s hitting, it’s up and down all season,” Factor said. “If we get a timely hit in those last five games, we win those games.”
One thing that has remained consistent is the pitching staff. OSU has given up only 15 runs in those five games.
“We just have to stay focused,” right-hander Kelly Maxwell said. “Being able to have their backs when they are not going good to try to keep it as close as we possibly can, but hopefully in return they can have our backs here soon and score some runs.”
The Cowgirl pitching staff has held opponents to a .195 batting average this year, which pales in comparison to the .331 average of the OSU offense.
“They are throwing at a high level,” Gajewski said. “I’m very happy with where our pitching and defense are.”
Oklahoma State has shown they can score at a high level, and Gajewski will continue to lean on the leaders in the dugout to get back on track before postseason begins.
“We’re just still trying to live the Cowgirl way,” Gajewski said. “We’re trying to be in the top eight when the Big 12 tournament is done.”
