Few things are more certain to happen than Kenny Gajewski shedding a few tears during an interview at the Women’s College World Series.

Unafraid of showing his emotions, the Oklahoma State softball coach set a new personal record, choking up while answering the first question he was asked at WCWS media day on Wednesday — still about 30 hours before his team plays a game.

“I don’t wanna cry,” Gajewski mumbled to himself as he tried to answer a question about his long friendship with Florida coach Tim Walton.

Making their fifth consecutive WCWS trip, the fifth-seeded Cowgirls face Walton’s fourth-seeded Gators at 8:30 p.m. Thursday at Devon Park in the first round of the eight-team, double-elimination tournament for the NCAA title.

Walton and Gajewski met at 17 years old, played junior-college baseball together in California and came to OU where they won a college baseball national championship. Later, Walton, as the Florida head coach, hired Gajewski as his assistant, which was Gajewski’s first softball coaching job.

“He's like a brother to me,” Walton said. “I sent him a picture yesterday morning and told him good morning. It was a picture of our old coach in a Gator hat.”

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If not for Walton giving Gajewski an opportunity at Florida, OSU softball could be in a very different situation right now.

He's loyal,” Gajewski said of Walton as he began to tear up. “I mean, he gave me a shot to get back in. I'm just thankful. He's just a great friend.

“Just thankful for the doors that he opened. I'm thankful to be out of his tree. I mean, it's really cool. It really makes me proud.”

This will be the third meeting between the teams at the WCWS, also squaring off in 2019 and 2022, both of which were won by OSU.

“I'm excited to be back and looking forward to tomorrow night,” Gajewski said. “Just wish it wasn't against my best friend.”

More: How Oklahoma State softball's Jilyen Poullard overcame her 'mental warfare' to ignite team

Lexi Kilfoyl's Florida connections

While it’s not a certainty, it seems likely Gajewski will start ace Lexi Kilfoyl in the circle against Florida on Thursday. She threw a three-hit shutout in a 3-0 win over the Gators when they met in February.

As a Florida native, Kilfoyl is a familiar face to some of the Gator players.

“Lexi's mom is actually my sister's godmother, so we go way back,” Florida’s Kendra Falby said. “I've faced her since the days that I started playing softball. We're excited to take her on tomorrow night.”

Rosenberry ramping up activity

If Gajewski chooses to give Florida a different look at pitcher, his top option would be senior right-hander Ivy Rosenberry, who has pitched just five innings in the NCAA Tournament after dealing with a rib injury.

Gajewski said Roseberry had been limited in her practice work, but has increased her activity this week to be ready.

“Ivy threw what I would call a live bullpen, which we haven't been doing the whole last three to four weeks,” Gajewski said. “Her bullpens have been scarce. We've been trying to manage the pain and manage her rib.

“She had some timing issues a week ago from not pitching enough. If you ever create the kind of arm speed these guys do, you graze your rib cage with your elbow when you come through, you have a broken rib, that was starting to happen because her timing was off. I think getting her this extra work again has been really good.”

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Poullard, Wang embracing OKC moment

Oklahoma State’s Jilyen Poullard transferred from McNeese and Caroline Wang came from Liberty, so the pair of super-seniors are making their first WCWS trip.

Though they’ve yet to play a game at Devon Park, they got to experience the environment and see the stadium complex on Wednesday.

Here’s what they had to say about their early impressions:

Poullard: “Oh my God, it has been amazing. I think anyone who talks to me, I think I put a lot of emphasis on, ‘Hey man, I'm living the dream.’ A lot of times I say, ‘I just feel like I'm dreaming still.’ I come from somewhere that I played for four years. This was only a dream. It just felt so far out of reach. For this to be my fifth year and finally being able to experience it for myself, not just watch it, it's awesome. It's everything that I could have imagined.”

Wang: “I definitely feel the same. I talked to Coach G., I think yesterday. He asked, ‘How are you feeling?; I was like, ‘It feels like it's so exciting, but I don't think it's really set in.’ It almost doesn't feel like it's real yet for me.”

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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State's Kenny Gajewski, Florida's Tim Walton reunited at WCWS