Wood grad Rosenberry made her final softball season at Oklahoma State a spectacular one

Pitching 104 innings over a three-year span for powerful programs like Virginia Tech and Oklahoma State? That’s something that the hundreds of thousands of girls who play high school softball each year might hope to do in college, but only a select few are capable of achieving.

That total averages out to just under 35 innings per year. That’s a solid average, but James Wood High School graduate Ivy Rosenberry — who pitched 37 innings as a junior in 2023 for Oklahoma State after transferring from Virginia Tech — knew she was capable of contributing so much more.

So when Cowgirls coach Kenny Gajewski posted the team depth chart in his office prior to the team’s fall season in 2023 and listed Rosenberry as the team’s No. 4 pitcher, it was like a matador waving a flag in front of a bull.

“I think he really did it to light a fire under my ass,” said Rosenberry, who lives in Ardmore, Oklahoma, in a phone interview last month.

Rosenberry already came into fall ball with a fiery mindset because of her summer league experience in 2023, and she blazed to the best year of her career.

As the team’s No. 2 pitcher, she helped Oklahoma State to its fifth straight appearance in the Women’s College World Series, a 49-12 record (the most wins in Gajewski’s nine seasons as coach) and a final No. 6 national ranking

Rosenberry had a 13-4 record (eighth in the Big 12 in wins), 2.09 ERA (sixth), struck out 97 batters (sixth in strikeouts per seven innings at 6.1) and had three shutouts, three saves and a .236 batting average against over 34 appearances and 17 starts. Rosenberry earned All-Conference honors for the first time with a selection to the Big 12 Second Team. She was also named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association First Team.

En route to pitching 110.2 innings as a senior — six and two-thirds more than the rest of her career combined — Rosenberry didn’t back down from any challenge in front of her. And there probably weren’t too many players in the country who excelled while being challenged like Rosenberry. For more than two months, the right-hander pitched with a broken rib on her right side that didn’t heal until eight weeks after the season ended.

“She was able to kind of push herself to a limit she’d never thought possible in terms of fighting through the pain and going through that,” said Carrie Eberle, whose was hired as OSU’s pitching coach in 2023, in a phone interview. “It was just really cool to be a part of her journey and see her finish on such a high note, when I know her college years were kind of difficult at times. Her [performing well] on the biggest stage, with less than ideal health situations, was pretty epic.”

• • •

Rosenberry learned some things that helped her grow as a player at Virginia Tech, but ultimately, she wasn’t happy. She’s glad she transferred. Overall, Rosenberry’s experience with OSU could not have gone any better, both from an athletic and social standpoint.

“The atmosphere was definitely different,” Rosenberry said. “It was a very competitive environment, but everyone wanted each other to do well. It was never, ‘I want your position, so I hope you do bad.’ It was definitely more of a team-like atmosphere. And there’s truly nothing more homey than Stillwater. People that visit kind of understand, but until you visit, you don’t really get it.”

Making Rosenberry’s experience in Stillwater even better was her mother’s decision to move to Oklahoma after she transferred. Kim Rosenberry is from Oklahoma and has relatives that live in and around Ardmore, about two and a half hours south of Stillwater. Those relatives were able to attend Rosenberry’s games, and Kim continued an impressive streak by relocating.

“My mom never missed a game in my career — ever,” said Rosenberry, who began playing softball at age 8. “The last two years, it was really special to have my family around. Before [from my Oklahoma relatives], it was just a text of, ‘Ivy, good job today. I saw Twitter.’ Now they’re in Stillwater enjoying it, and they saw me at the World Series two years in a row.”

Rosenberry had a solid junior year. In 2023, She went 5-2 with a 2.65 ERA, struck out 20 batters in 37 innings, and held opponents to a .263 batting average. She ranked fourth on the team as far as innings, game starts (seven) and appearances (14). Two of the pitchers ahead of her were All-Americans Kelly Maxwell (two-time First Team selection) and Lexi Kilfoyl (Third Team in 2023).

“It was mind-blowing to be in that sort of program environment,” Rosenberry said. “It was great to get to learn under [Maxwell and Kilfoyl] and try to do what they did, because I wanted to pitch just like they did. Whenever I went in, Lexi and Kelly were nothing but supportive, and that says a lot about the people that they are.”

• • •

In 2024, OSU had two proven pitchers returning from 2023 in Kilfoyl, who pitched 139.2 innings that season, and Kyra Aycock, who pitched 95.2 innings. Kilfoyl had a 1.70 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 130 strikeouts in 2023, while Aycock had a 2.51 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 65 strikeouts. Also, the Cowgirls added the No. 6 recruit in the high school class of 2023 according to Softball America, freshman Katie Kutz.

Simply put, Rosenberry would have a lot of competition for playing time her senior year. One of the things that helped her get ready for it was the experience she had in the summer of 2023, when she competed in the Music City Fastpitch Women’s Softball League. Rosenberry said the league is essentially made up of college players.

Rosenberry initially wasn’t thrilled about doing it when Gajewski recommended she participate. She’s glad she did. After a career of being behind several All-Americans on the depth chart, she came out of the experience ready to make a bigger contribution.

“It turned out to probably be one of the best things I ever did for my career,” she said. “It gave me confidence. I woke up each day, I went to go play, and I knew I was the best. I could walk onto the field and feel like, ‘Okay, I’m going to get all of these girls out. Nobody’s going to hit me. I’m going to do this. It’s my senior year, and it’s my turn. I want to be somebody.’”

The addition of Eberle also helped Rosenberry. Eberle also started her career at Virginia Tech — she graduated in three years — before transferring to OSU and achieving two All-American seasons. She was a student assistant at OSU in 2022 and coached at Lipscomb in 2023. Eberle was still a Cowboys graduate student coach when Rosenberry decided to transfer, and she said Eberle was the first person she called to see if OSU would be a good fit for her.

“Carrie and I, it was a loving relationship,” Rosenberry said. “It was a hard love. I’m forever grateful. She pushed me farther than I believed than I could ever be pushed.”

Eberle felt Rosenberry was a hard thrower with potential when she arrived, but knew she needed more experience. She provided that to Rosenberry in her bullpen sessions.

“We made those pretty tough for her,” Eberle said. “A lot of it was in-game scenarios. The pressure of ‘Hey, you’ve got to get this done.’ Or she’d go run a little bit, so she was tired when she was finishing a bullpen. So it was like she had thrown 100 pitches even though she actually hadn’t thrown 100 pitches. We were just trying to simulate stress and pressure through execution-type bullpens.”

• • •

While Kilfoyl — the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year and First Team All-American — was OSU’s unquestioned No. 1 starter in 2024, Rosenberry didn’t waste any time showing opponents she was capable of dominance as well. In her first 31 innings from Feb. 8 to March 6, she allowed only one earned run (0.22 ERA), had a 0.90 WHIP and struck out 37 batters.

Rosenberry continued to pitch at a high level after that, but it wasn’t easy. Rosenberry develop rib pain in March. At first, OSU thought it was an intercostal muscle strain. With the help the school’s training staff, Rosenberry pitched through it. But after giving up three runs (two earned), two hits and two walks against Kansas on April 26, Rosenberry knew her rib area needed further examination.

“It was really painful,” Rosenberry said. “I think everyone finally believed me that it was pretty bad.”

After that performance, Rosenberry had an MRI that revealed a broken rib. In order for it to heal, she would need to sit out eight weeks, which would mean the end of her college softball career.

There was no way Rosenberry was going to spend her remaining time at Oklahoma State as a spectator.

“I only have so many days left in my entire career, ever,” Rosenberry said. “At the end of the day, it was obviously all worth it. I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

After Rosenberry’s two-inning stint against Kansas, she had a bullpen session in which she played catch with Eberle. It did not go well, but Eberle kept her spirits up.

“I didn’t take any medication that day — no Advil, no Aleve, nothing,” Rosenberry said. “I was in tears just playing catch. It was awful. But she kept telling me, ‘Ivy, whenever you think you don’t have any more, you have one more. One more pitch, one more inning. Keep going. There’s always one more.’”

Rosenberry’s next appearance against three-time defending national champion Oklahoma — which would go on to win a fourth straight national title later in the season — in their annual Bedlam series at Devon Park in Oklahoma City. The Cowgirls took the first game of the three-game series on May 3, and were looking to take the series on May 4 with Rosenberry starting in the circle.

After three shutout innings, Rosenberry said she remembers being in a lot of pain when she went out to the circle in the fourth inning. She threw one warm-up pitch, which she said, “took my breath away.”

Eberle mouthed “Are you OK?. Rosenberry nodded, threw another warm-up pitch, then thought about Eberle’s ‘one more’ message. That helped her believe she was going to be OK. Rosenberry would pitch that fourth inning and ultimately ease Kilfoyl’s workload in relief. Rosenberry allowed a run and left the game with the Sooners up 1-0, but OSU rallied for a 6-2 win thanks to her gutsy performance. In four total innings, she allowed one run (earned), three hits and two walks and struck out four batters while throwing 82 pitches.

Rosenberry’s Bedlam series contribution wasn’t done. She wasn’t supposed to start the series finale on May 5, but her coaches told her if she pitched 4.1 innings, she would reach 100 innings and be eligible for All-American status.

“I never would have ever dreamed about that before,” Rosenberry said. “My rib hurts. I can’t even roll over in bed at night. I have to sleep with a heating bad. Obviously, I didn’t make All-American this year, but I think the reality of being in the running for the first time was so much of an accomplishment.”

Rosenberry would pitch those 4.1 innings against Oklahoma, and pitch well. She allowed two runs (both earned), seven hits and one walk while striking out two batters in an 8-2 loss.

Rosenberry won’t forget what happened when she left the game.

“I walked off the field, and even OU fans stood up and clapped,” Rosenberry said. “Reporters had talked about my rib, so people knew about it. It was a wild feeling to have that much support around me.”

Rosenberry then contributed to the Cowgirls’ NCAA Regional championship in Stillwater and their Super Regional win at home against Arizona.

Rosenberry got to experience the eight-team Women’s College World Series in 2023, but in 2024, she got to pitch in it in at Devon Park. Down 4-0 to Stanford and in a lot of pain, she came on in relief in the fourth inning and gave up four runs (three earned), six hits and four walks and struck out three batters in 2.1 innings in an 8-0 loss.

It wasn’t her best performance, but Rosenberry did something only a very small percentage of softball players ever get to do.

“It’s something that I wish every person in college softball could experience,” said Rosenberry, whose Virginia Tech teams finished one win short of making the World Series in 2021 and 2022. “I came to OSU because I told Coach G that I wanted to go to the World Series. Just having the feeling of being in that stadium is wild. There’s [13,000] that fit in that stadium, and the fans are really cheering for everyone.

“When I came in from the bullpen, Coach G just looked at me and goes, ‘You deserve this. Take it and run with it.’ It was a really cool experience to get to pitch in front of all those people and just kind of soak it in.”

Eberle can’t say enough about how much it meant to see Rosenberry’s development this year, and how much she meant to the program.

“It was really cool to see her go out there and fight for her teammates at such a high level,” she said. “You could tell it was really, really tough for her, but she mentally pushed through it and got the best out of herself physically that she could. She wanted to do it for her teammates. She wanted to do it for Oklahoma State. She wanted to do it for this program. I think that says a lot about her. We talk about the ‘Cowgirl Way’ a lot around here. She embodied that every day.

“This past year, it was cool to see her grow into being able to play with more passion and fire. She was a really great source of energy any time we needed it.”

• • •

Rosenberry’s rib finally healed in late July/early August. Since then, she has been able to resume her softball career in a different form.

Rosenberry gives private softball lessons to 40 girls, and is a part-time coach in her mother’s home town of Ringling, which is 30 minutes west of Ardmore. She helps out Ringling high school and junior high school teams (the Oklahoma high school season runs from August to October).

“I’m not sure it’s a forever thing, but I’m enjoying my time right now,” Rosenberry said.

Rosenberry might not be done playing softball. She had an offer to play with the Texas Smoke of the Women’s Professional Fastpitch this summer but had to decline because of her rib injury. No matter what the future holds, Rosenberry has appreciated her entire softball journey, and she’s grateful for the people who have helped make it special.

“I’m thankful for all the ups and downs,” Rosenberry said. “Little Ivy never would have dreamed she would be where she is today. Pitching against Sherando [in high school], nobody would have ever believed me if I said I was going to pitch at OSU one day.

“I’m thankful for my family. My mom and dad have done a lot. My mom has done the world for me, and my dad did a lot for me in my early years of softball. There’s a lot of sacrifices your family has to make, financially, physically. I’m just thankful for it, overall.”

— Contact Robert Niedzwiecki at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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