Oklahoma State University Athletics
Softball Hosts Cowgirl Classic
March 16, 2000 | Cowgirl Softball
March 16, 2000
Friday-Saturday -- March 17-18, 2000 -- All Day
Little Couch Park -- Stillwater, Okla.
OSU HOSTS COWGIRL CLASSIC -- Oklahoma State's 18th-ranked softball team will host the annual Cowgirl Classic this weekend, Friday-Saturday, March 17-18, at Little Couch Park in Stillwater. Other teams competing in the tournament are Creighton, Southwest Missouri State, Tulsa and Wichit State. A schedule of the tournament follows ...
Friday, March 17
9 am Southwest Missouri State vs. Wichita State
11 am Tulsa vs. Wichita State
1 pm Oklahoma State vs. Southwest Missouri State
3 pm Oklahoma State vs. Creighton
5 pm Tulsa vs. Creighton
Saturday, March 18
9 am Wichita State vs. Creighton
11 am Southwest Missouri State vs. Creighton
1 pm Southwest Missouri State vs. Tulsa
3 pm Oklahoma State vs. Wichita State
5 pm Oklahoma State vs. Tulsa
COMING UP -- On Tuesday, March 21, the Cowgirls will host the Oklahoma City Stars in a single game at 3 p.m. at Little Couch Park. The OCU Stars are ranked second nationally in the NAIA softball poll. On Thursday, March 23, the Cowgirls will travel to Tulsa, Okla., for a single game vs. Tulsa at 3:15 p.m. and a game vs. Arkansas at 5 p.m. Oklahoma State will then travel to Lubbock, Texas, the following weekend (March 25-26) to open Big 12 Conference action with the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
LAST TIME OUT -- OSU's 17th-ranked softball team took advantage of nine UTSA errors as the Cowgirls defeated Texas-San Antonio, 3-2 and 7-4, Tuesday in doubleheader action at Little Couch Park. Oklahoma State trailed 1-0 and 2-1 before scoring two in the bottom of the sixth for a 3-2 victory in game one. The Cowgirls took the lead for good in the bottom of the sixth, when pinch runner Wendy Vaught scored from third on a base hit by Lezli Leathers. A double steal scored Shelly Graham with the winning run. Pitcher Lauren Bay struck out eight batters, including three in the final inning, picking up her eighth win of the season. In the second game, OSU took an early 1-0 lead when Graham scored on a base hit by catcher Liz Silva. The Cowgirls added four runs in the second, all unearned, including two on a bases-loaded double by Kirsty Jennings. The Roadrunners scored one in the fourth on back-to-back doubles. OSU put the game away for good in the bottom of the inning, leading off with back-to-back walks, two errors on the same play, and a sacrifice bunt. UTSA did make it interesting in the top of the fifth when Michelle McElyea hit a three-run homer to cut the lead to three. But, Bay came on in relief of Karla Rivera, and got the final eight outs for her third save of the season.
COWGIRLS IN THE NATIONAL POLL -- Oklahoma State is currently ranked 18th nationally, according to the NFCA Coaches Poll, released weekly on Wednesday mornings. The Cowgirls reached No. 17 last week, their highest ranking since a No. 15 ranking in the 1999 preseason poll. Here is a look at where OSU has been ranked each week during the course of the season ...
Preseason Not Ranked
Feb. 23rd tied for 25th
March 1st 21st
March 8th 17th
March 15th 18th
FISCHER REACHES 800TH VICTORY -- With a 6-2 win over Drake on Feb. 20, Head Coach Sandy Fischer became just the fifth softball coach in NCAA history to reach the 800-victory plateau. She is currently 814-321-3 (.717) in her 22nd season at Oklahoma State. She is just the third active coach to reach that milestone, as Fresno State's Margie Wright and Bill Galloway of Louisiana Tech did so two seasons ago. Fischer's all-time NFCA record, which includes games played during the falls of 1979-81, is 862-337-3 (.718). Also, the game vs. Virginia Tech in the Speedline Invitational was Coach Fischer's 1,200th career game at OSU. She is just the second coach in OSU history to coach in at least 1,200 contests, following baseball's Gary Ward, who coached in 1,265 games.
SOPHOMORE SHORTSTOP SHOWING STUFF -- Oklahoma State sophomore shortstop Casey O'Neill has improved dramatically at the plate this season, batting a team-leading .373 in 83 at-bats. She has scored 16 runs this season, second-highest on the team, and leads the team with 31 hits. She has already exceeded her hit total of last season (25), when she batted .240 for the season.
FRESHMAN HURLERS TAKING CHARGE -- With the loss of senior pitcher Sarah Knife Chief, two star freshmen have taken over the pitching duties for Oklahoma State. Karla Rivera, from Whittier, Calif., has a record of 9-2 and a 1.73 earned run average. She has given up just 72 hits in 81 innings pitched. Lauren Bay, from Trail, British Columbia, is 8-5 this season with a 2.00 ERA and 102 strikeouts in 87-2/3 innings, 8.14 Ks per game.
NINE-HOLE HITTING WELL -- As a whole, the nine-hole hitters this season are batting .405, with 30 hits in 74 at-bats. That crew has 14 runs scored, 15 RBIs, and a .453 on-base percentage. The last spot in the lineup is led by sophomore Casey O'Neill, who is batting .432 (19-for-44) in the nine-hole, while sophomore Jenny Kipp is batting .400 (8-for-20) in the last spot.
SUBS SHOWING OFF -- In 69 plate appearances this season as a pinch hitter, the Oklahoma State bench is batting .340, has scored 25 runs and has 15 RBIs. The bench crew is led by sophomore Courtney Pinion, who is batting .857 in pinch-hit situations, going 6-for-7. She also has four RBIs and a 1.000 slugging percentage. On the mound, freshman Lauren Bay is 2-1 with three saves as a reliever, and has a 0.47 ERA with 42 strikeouts in 30 innings, while giving up a .125 batting average to opponent hitters.
MISCELLANEOUS STATISTICS -- Here is a look at some miscellaneous statistics concerning the Cowgirl softball program ...
- The Cowgirls are batting .341 vs. left-handed pitchers, .293 vs. right-handed pitchers.
- OSU is batting just .264 with the bases empty, but .327 with runners on base, including a .424 average by Jenny Kipp in 33 at-bats.
- The Cowgirls are batting .400 with the bases loaded, led by Kirsty Jennings .600 average.
- Oklahoma State has 49 two-out RBIs, led by Kirsty Jennings and Christina Shaddox, who each have seven.
- The Cowgirls have been successful 62.3 percent of the time of scoring a runner when on third base with less than two outs.
- Cowgirls leading off an inning are batting .405, including three regulars that are batting at least .400 -- Casey O'Neill (.424), Jenny Kipp (.455) and Kirsty Jennings (.405).
- Freshman LHP Lauren Bay has forced 116 groundouts and just 37 flyouts, a ratio of 3.14-to-1.
- Sophomore Jenny Kipp leads the team in both sacrifice bunts (9) and sacrifice flies (2).
- Bay has three saves this season, and needs just one more to tie the school single-season record of four, set by Lori Whitehouse in 1986.
- Of Bay's 102 strikeouts, 31 have been strikeouts looking.
- With 12 home runs this season, the Cowgirls have already doubled their home-run total of last season, six.
