Down 5-1 with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning against McNeese State, Rylee Bayless crushed her first home run as a Cowgirl: a grand slam on a 3-2 pitch.
Instantaneously, the gears in Kenny Gajewski's head started to spin.
In Gajewski's first season as Oklahoma State's softball coach, the Cowgirls repeatedly fought their way back into games only to give the lead right back. In his second season, though, he began to think things might be different.
"When Rylee hit that ball, my first thought was, 'OK. Now we get an early test here,'" Gajewski said.