Cowgirls Playing a Game of "Anything you can do, I can do better"

Oklahoma State softball hitters exploding and turns out playing a healthy team version of one upsmanship.

STILLWATER -- As the week begins for Oklahoma State softball, the now No. 11-ranked Cowgirls get ready for six games over the next five days starting on Wednesday, March 11 with Wichita State. Opponents and especially opposing pitchers beware, the Cowgirls don't care who you are they just want to hit the ball. 

"We are not looking at who the pitcher is, who they played the day before or even who the team is," said captain and third baseman Sydney Pennington. "We are not looking at the name on the jersey. It is just another softball team and I think that is helping us right now." 

Something else that is helping the 18-5 Cowgirls is they are pitching well. The team ERA is 1.26. They are playing defense. They have just 19 errors in the 23 games they've played and the fielding percentage is .971. Finally, they are crushing the softball. The team is hitting .303 with 30 home runs, and 145 runs scored, four run-rule shortened games last weekend alone. The top of the line-up, first five hitters (Kiley Naomi, Pennington, Alyson Febrey, Michaela Richbourg, and Hayley Busby) have 29 of the home runs and 95 runs batted in. 

"I think we kind of have a friendly competition going, like Kiley (Naomi) gets a hit and I start thinking, 'I need to get a hit right here,'" Pennington said. "I think Alysen (Febrey) thinks the same thing and I think it is kind of cool to play a game and see who will make the last out. I think it is kind of cool and different that we are doing that." 

Hot bats only getting hotter 🔥#Pitch2Pitch | #okstate pic.twitter.com/Us927GQHxP

— OSU Cowgirl Softball (@cowgirlsb) March 10, 2020

Pennington preaches that it is in a team concept, but it still reminds you of the Irving Berlin song from the musical "Annie Get Your Gun."  The name of the song is Anything You Can Do (I can do better) and the game is just that. Twice last weekend Naomi and Pennington hit back-to-back home runs in games.

Last weekend's winner had to be Febrey. She had four home runs on the weekend including a game turning home run against No.25 Utah in an 11-2 six-inning game. The home run she hit in the first inning on Sunday off Missouri State ace Steffany Dickerson. The line drive shot was barely over the wall, but it had plenty of rocket fuel on it. I joked that if it had hit the batter's eye in center field that it might have put a hole in it.

🎥: Febrey sent this one out in a hurry 😏#okstate #Pitch2Pitch pic.twitter.com/O4YAGoxfOq

— OSU Cowgirl Softball (@cowgirlsb) March 8, 2020

"I don't know but it is definitely cool to hit a home run in a clutch situation," Febrey said of comparing her homers from last weekend. "I'm just trying to score runs for my team."

Febrey has been a star in the SEC at her previous school, Georgia, but her season high previous to this for home runs was nine. She has 11 right now. The Oklahoma State school record is 20, hit by now first base coach Samantha Show last season. Just for comparison and dug up by ace statistician Chris Deal, Show hit her 11th on April 1, 2019. Febrey is way ahead of pace.

"I'm not going up there to hit a home run, and I really didn't even see that until, I'm pretty sure I saw it on Twitter the other day," Febrey said when asked. "I'm just trying to win. If I break it, it's cool, but I just want to win games."

It just so happens that hitting home runs can help that objective, you know, winning games.