Friday, May 26, 2023
OSU Unified finishes school year with Special Olympics Summer Games there is so much joy amidst a lot of friendly, but fierce competition. The difference this year is that our OSU Unified athletes and partners felt so connected because they’ve had the opportunity to compete all year long. OSU feels like home Stephanie Landaverde News and Lifestyle Editor and everyone loves to get to play big games on their home turf.” The OSU Unified delegation included 12, two-person bocce Last week, almost 4,000 teams (one Special Olympics Oklahoma athletes traveled to athlete and one partner), two 3v3 Stillwater for the 2023 Special basketball teams (each with three Olympics State Summer Games. athletes and one partner) and four Oklahoma State University has served as host for the event for coaches. In July, OSU became the a long time, but this year’s games Special Olympics Unified College featured something different: A Program in the state after broadteam of athletes and partners repening its partnership with Special resenting the university as OSU Olympics Oklahoma. A collaboUnified. ration between the OSU DepartJennifer Jones, director of the OSU Center for Developmen- ment of Wellness and the Center for Developmental Disabilities tal Disabilities, said for athletes and their families the competition launched unified intramural sports opportunities, allowing OSU stuin the State Summer Games was the climax of a journey that began dents, faculty and staff to compete alongside Special Olympics athabout a year ago. “Having done Special Olym- letes throughout the school year pics for 21 years, Summer Games in bowling, bocce and cornhole at OSU are my favorite three days tournaments, 6v6 volleyball, 5v5 flag football leagues and more. of the year to be on campus,” Jones said. “The air is lighter, See Olympics on 6
Carson Toulouse Just four days removed from a Bedlam series win, OSU lost to Oklahoma, 9-5, in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament on Wednesday night.
OSU gives up season-high walk total in loss to OU at Big 12 Tournament
Daniel Allen Staff Reporter
Courtesy of OSU Oklahoma State University has served as host for the event for a long time, but this year’s games featured something different: a team of athletes and partners representing the university as OSU Unified.
ARLINGTON, Texas -- A tale of discrepancies would be a proper analyzation of the last four Bedlam baseball contests. OSU coach Josh Holliday acknowledged it as he sat at the podium in the conference room of Globe Life Field after second-
seeded OSU’s 9-5 loss to seventh-seeded OU in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament on Wednesday evening. Through four regular season contests, the Cowboys outscored their in-state rival 43-16, producing a double-digit run total three times. This time, it was different. “They were a different team,” Holliday said. “Not much else to say.” Prior the Big 12 Tournament, the Sooners ranked 18th nationally in walks with 58. On Wednesday, OU produced 13. As a result,
an emulation of their team mantra ensued: “chaous” -- chaos with an ‘OU’ touch. “‘Chaous’ is about playing together as an offense and making it hard for (other teams) to get going,” OU coach Skip Johnson said. “I think Ted Williams said it best, ‘Get a good pitch to hit.’” The Sooners (31-24, 11-13 Big 12) did just that, extending 17 at-bats to three-ball counts and forcing four of OSU’s five utilized pitchers to 39 pitches or more. None extended beyond 2 1/3 innings of work. See Tournament on 3
‘She’s killing it; she deserves all the glory’
How former OSU pitcher helped Becker become a Cowgirl
Ashton Slaughter Assistant Sports Editor Rachel Becker went out on a limb and sent the email. Becker, who was in her fourth season at Purdue, entered the transfer portal in January 2022 and had been receiving emails from college coaches across the country that were interested in adding the All-American to their roster. What Becker had never done was send an email to a coach; usually they came flocking to her. Despite her nervousness, Becker’s Boilmaker teammate and former OSU pitcher Gabby Sprang pushed her to reach out. She knew firsthand the caliber of program her teammate could be walking into. “I think she was scared to reach out first,” Sprang said of Becker reaching out to OSU coach Kenny Gajewski. “But I was like, ‘The worst thing he’s gonna do is not reply to you; just reach out to him.’” Becker hit send, and Gajewski didn’t waste any time responding; he was interested. Now, over a year later, Becker has become a star on Gajewski’s team and is leading the Cowgirls heading into the Stillwater Super Regional against Oregon. It’s what Becker wanted—to be challenged, to play on the biggest stage—and she found it in Stillwater.
Luke Tolbert Rachel Becker’s seventh inning heroics helped earn the Cowgirls a spot in their fourth-consecutive NCAA Super Regional.
But she may not have ended up a Cowgirl if it weren’t for Sprang, who gave her all the inside information about Gajewski’s program. Sprang transferred to OSU after her freshman season at Tennessee, looking for a team and a program that felt like a family. During her recruitment in middle school and high school, Sprang got close with Gajewski, who at the time was an assistant coach at Florida, and knew when she entered the transfer portal that she wanted to play under him. “Honestly, it was just Coach G,” Sprang said on why she transferred to OSU. The whole atmosphere that he built, and he really makes you feel like
a softball player but also a human, I mean, I still text him... he still supports me, still writes letters of recommendation; he’s just the best guy.” Sprang played three seasons at OSU before transferring to Purdue. She had 14 circle appearances her sophomore season but missed her junior season entirely due to a left elbow injury, ultimately pushing her further down the Cowgirl pitching staff, leading to only two appearances her senior season. Following her third season as a Cowgirl, Sprang entered the transfer portal. It wasn’t because she was unhappy at OSU; she loved it there. It wasn’t even because of the injuries; it was just better for her education.
“I wanted to expand my education,” Sprang said. “I kind of wanted to try something new, go to school a little bit closer to home in the Big 10, and so I was able to get a master’s in one year at Purdue, which was not offered at most other schools, and it wasn’t offered at Oklahoma State.” On the field, Sprang also knew she could have an increased role as a Boilmaker. However, her fifth-year production was limited after she re-injured her left elbow. Despite her injury, Sprang thoroughly enjoyed her time as a Boilmaker, and loved being around her teammates, one of whom was her “locker buddy,” Becker. See Becker on 4