Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirl Softball To Play Tulsa, Arkansas
March 22, 2000 | Cowgirl Softball
March 22, 2000
Oklahoma State Cowgirls (23-10)
at Tulsa Golden Hurricane (9-19)
vs. Arkansas Lady 'Backs (18-16)
Thursday - March 23, 2000 - 3:15 p.m.
Broken Arrow High School - Broken Arrow, Okla.
STILLWATER, Okla. -- Oklahoma State's 18th-ranked softball team will play a pair of games Thursday afternoon, the first vs. the Tulsa Golden Hurricane at 3:15 p.m., followed by OSU vs. Arkansas at 5:15 p.m. Both games will be played at Broken Arrow High School.
The Cowgirls are 23-10 this season and coming off a 3-1 loss to NAIA second-ranked Oklahoma City on Tuesday afternoon. This weekend, Oklahoma State will travel to Lubbock, Texas, for the Big 12 Conference opener with Texas Tech.
Tulsa is 9-19 this season, and coming off a 1-3 performance vs. Loyola Marymount last week. Arkansas is 18-16 this season, and went 1-3 vs. Alabama last weekend in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
The Cowgirls are led by sophomore shortstop Casey O'Neill, who is batting .381, sophomore third-baseman Jenny Kipp, who is batting .356, and senior outfielder Shelly Graham, who is batting .352. Kipp and Graham have combined for 17 of OSU's 28 stolen bases this season. Freshman Kirsty Jennings is batting .349, with eight doubles, two home runs and 28 runs batted in.
On the mound, OSU will go with a pair of freshmen. Karla Rivera, from Whittier, Calif., is 9-2 this season with a 1.73 earned run average. Lauren Bay, from Trail, British Columbia, is 8-6 this year with a 2.07 ERA and 112 strikeouts in 94-2/3 innings.
OSU Probable Starting Lineup
## Name Pos BAvg Miscellaneous Stats 11 Shelly Graham CF .352 17 runs, 1 3B, 9-12 SB 14 Jenny Kipp 3B .356 14 runs, 26 hits, 1 3B, 8-8 SB 20 Amanda Hayes LF .247 24 hits, 5 2B, 10 RBI 9 Kirsty Jennings DP .349 30 hits, 8 2B, 2 HR, 28 RBI 7 Christina Shaddox 1B .203 16 hits, 3 2B, 3 HR, 13 RBI 23 Stephanie Hodges RF .281 9 runs, 9 hits, 1 HR, 6 RBI 16 Paula Garman C .222 17 runs, 3 HR, 15 RBI 27 Lezli Leathers 2B .271 13 runs, 16 hits, 6 2B, 6 RBI 22 Casey O'Neill SS .381 32 hits, 16 runs, 3 2B, 13 RBI
OSU Pitching Rotation
## Name Record ERA Miscellaneous Stats
25 Annie Gunderson, RHP 0-0 0.00 -----
35 Lauren Bay, LHP 8-6 2.07 94.2 IP, 112 Ks
45 Karla Rivera, RHP 9-2 1.73 81.0 IP, 59 Ks
OSU TRAVELS TO TULSA FOR TWO GAMES - Oklahoma State's 18th-ranked softball team travels to Broken Arrow, Okla., for a pair of games Thursday afternoon. At 3:15 p.m., the Cowgirls will play the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, followed by a 5 p.m. contest with the Arkansas Lady 'Backs.
COMING UP - Oklahoma State opens Big 12 Conference action this weekend as the Cowgirls will travel to Lubbock, Texas, March 25-26, for two games with the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Texas Tech is 11-24 this season. Next Wednesday, the Cowgirls will travel to Wichita, Kan., for a doubleheader with the Wichita State Shockers (7-15).
LAST TIME OUT - OSU fell to the NAIA second-ranked Oklahoma City Stars Tuesday afternoon, 3-1. It was OCU?s sixth win in 45 tries vs. the Cowgirls all-time. The Stars scored all the runs they would need in the top of the third, when Tiffany Kissee hit a two-run double to right centerfield, scoring both Stacey Polonich and Christi Liu. OSU cut the lead in half in the bottom of the fifth when, with two outs, Shelly Graham hit a bullet down the first-base line, scoring Paula Garman from second. Jenny Kipp walked to load the bases, but Amanda Hayes hit a deep fly to centerfield for the final out of the inning. The Stars added an insurance run in the sixth when Kami Brokaw scored from second on a blooper off the bat of Stephanie Grange. OSU rightfielder Stephanie Hodges made a dive at the ball, but came up short. Cowgirl hurler Lauren Bay and OCU pitcher Lindsey Voss combined for 21 strikeouts and seven walks in the game. Voss improved her season record to 14-1, while Bay fell to 8-6. OSU?s Graham went 2-for-4 with an RBI, and shortstop Casey O?Neill went 1-for-1 with two walks.
COWGIRLS IN THE NATIONAL POLL - For a second-straight week, Oklahoma State is ranked 18th nationally, according to the NFCA Coaches Poll, released weekly on Wednesday mornings. The Cowgirls reached No. 17 two weeks ago, 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
March 22nd 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 814-322-3 (.716) 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 862-338-3 (.717). 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 .381 in 84 at-bats. She has scored 16 runs this season, second-highest on the team, and leads the team with 32 hits. She has already exceeded her hit total of last season (25), when she batted .240 for the 1999 year.
FRESHMAN HURLERS TAKING CHARGE - With the loss of senior pitcher Sarah Knife Chief to shoulder surgery, 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 8-6 this season with a 2.07 ERA and 112 strikeouts in 94-2/3 innings, 8.28 Ks per game.
NINE-HOLE HITTING WELL - As a whole, the nine-hole hitters this season are batting .413, with 31 hits in 75 at-bats. That crew has 14 runs scored, 15 RBIs, and a .472 on-base percentage. The last spot in the lineup is led by sophomore Casey O'Neill, who is batting .444 (20-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 NOTES & STATISTICS - Here is a look at some miscellaneous notes and statistics concerning the Cowgirl softball program ...
- The Cowgirls are batting .341 vs. left-handed pitchers, .288 vs. right-handed pitchers.
- OSU is batting just .261 with the bases empty, but .322 with runners on base, including a .400 average by Jenny Kipp in 35 at-bats.
- The Cowgirls are batting .413 with the bases loaded, led by Kirsty Jennings .600 average.
- Oklahoma State has 50 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 .396, including six regulars that are batting at least .400 - Kirsty Jennings (.455), Lezli Leathers (.438), Shelly Graham (.429), Casey O'Neill (.421), Amanda Hayes (.400) and Jenny Kipp (.400).
- Freshman LHP Lauren Bay has forced 121 groundouts and just 42 flyouts, a ratio of of nearly 3-to-1.
- Sophomore Jenny Kipp leads the team in both sacrifice bunts (10) and sacrifice flies (2).
- Lauren 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 112 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.
