Oklahoma State University Athletics
No. 18 Softball Squad Heads To Wichita State
March 28, 2000 | Cowgirl Softball
March 28, 2000
Oklahoma State Cowgirls (24-11)
at
Wichita State Shockers (9-15)
Wednesday, March 29, 2000 - 4 p.m.
Wilkins Stadium, Wichita, Kan.
OSU TRAVELS TO WICHITA - Oklahoma State's 18th-ranked softball team travels to Wichita, Kan., this Wednesday for a doubleheader matchup with the Wichita State Shockers. Game time is set for 4 p.m. OSU is 24-11 and coming off a split of a doubleheader with Texas Tech in Lubbock (0-5, 6-5). WSU is 9-15 this season and coming off a sweep of St. Louis (8-0, 12-2).
COMING UP - On Friday, March 31, Oklahoma State will host the Iowa State Cyclones (12-9, 1-1) in a doubleheader starting at 3 p.m. The site of those games is yet to be determined. The Cowgirls will host Baylor (18-18, 1-1) on Saturday and Sunday. Both games are set to start at 1 p.m.
OSU Probable Starting Lineup
## Name Pos BAvg Miscellaneous Stats 11 Shelly Graham CF .326 17 runs, 1 3B, 9-12 SB 14 Jenny Kipp 3B .359 15 runs, 28 hits, 1 3B, 9-9 SB 16 Paula Garman RF .231 18 runs, 3 HR, 15 RBI 9 Kirsty Jennings DP .344 31 hits, 8 2B, 2 HR, 28 RBI 33 Ryan Realmuto C .230 17 hits, 11 runs, 5 2B, 13 RBI 20 Amanda Hayes LF .262 27 hits, 6 2B, 10 RBI 7 Christina Shaddox 1B .198 16 hits, 3 2B, 3 HR, 13 RBI 27 Lezli Leathers 2B .279 14 runs, 17 hits, 6 2B, 8 RBI 22 Casey O'Neill SS .375 33 hits, 16 runs, 3 2B, 13 RBI
OSU Pitching Rotation
## Name Record ERA Miscellaneous Stats 25 Annie Gunderson, RHP 0-0 5.25 1.1 IP, 1 K 35 Lauren Bay, LHP 9-7 2.25 102.2 IP, 122 Ks, 3 saves 45 Karla Rivera, RHP 9-2 1.90 84.2 IP, 60 Ks, 1 save
LAST TIME OUT - OSU came out on top of a see-saw battle with Texas Tech, defeating the Red Raiders, 6-5, Sunday afternoon. The two teams split the series, 1-1. The Cowgirls took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second when junior Lezli Leathers hit a two-run home run, her first in a Cowgirl uniform. TTU cut the lead in half on a Tech solo homer. The Red Raiders took a 3-2 lead in the fourth on a pair of RBI singles. OSU regained the lead the next inning on a two-run dinger by Stephanie Hodges, her second home run of the season. With OSU ahead, 4-3, Tech's tied the game in the fifth, and took a 5-4 lead entering the final inning. Cowgirl Jenny Kipp, who led off with a walk, scored from third on a wild pitch. With a runner on second, Ryan Realmuto got a hit up the middle, scoring Nikki Quiroz with the eventual winning run. Lauren Bay, who came on in relief of Rivera in the fourth, struck out the first two batters in the bottom of the seventh and got the final out on a slow roller back to the mound.
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 threeweeks 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 815-323-3 (.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 863-339-3 (.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 .375 in 88 at-bats. She has scored 16 runs this season, third-highest on the team, and leads the team with 33 hits. She has already exceeded her hit total of last season (25), when she batted .240 for the 1999 season.
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 1.90 earned run average. She has given up just 75 hits in 84-2/3 innings pitched. Lauren Bay, >from Trail, British Columbia, is 9-7 this season with a 2.25 ERA and 122 strikeouts in 102-2/3 innings, 8.32 Ks per game.
NINE-HOLE HITTING WELL - As a whole, the nine-hole hitters this season are batting .405, with 32 hits in 79 at-bats. That crew has 14 runs scored, 15 RBIs, and a .468 on-base percentage. The last spot in the lineup is led by sophomore Casey O'Neill, who is batting .429 (21-for-49) in the nine-hole, while sophomore Jenny Kipp is batting .400 (8-for-20) in the last spot.
SUBS SHOWING OFF - In 72 plate appearances this season as a pinch hitter, the Oklahoma State bench is batting .339, has scored 27 runs and has 17 RBIs. The bench crew is led by sophomore Courtney Pinion, who is batting .750 in pinch-hit situations, going 6-for-8. She also has four RBIs and a .875 slugging percentage. On the mound, freshman Lauren Bay is 3-1 with three saves as a reliever, and has a 0.84 ERA with 47 strikeouts in 33-1/3 innings, while giving up a .160 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, .286 vs. right-handed pitchers.
- OSU is batting just .260 with the bases empty, but .318 with runners on base, including a .407 average by Kirsty Jennings in 59 at-bats.
- The Cowgirls are batting .404 with the bases loaded, led by Kirsty Jennings .600 average.
- Oklahoma State has 52 two-out RBIs, led by Kirsty Jennings and Christina Shaddox, who each have seven.
- The Cowgirls have been successful 61.5 percent of the time of scoring a runner when on third base with less than two outs.
- Cowgirls leading off an inning are batting .407, including seven regulars that are batting at least .400 - Jenny Kipp (.500), Ryan Realmuto (.500), Lezli Leathers (.438), Casey O'Neill (.421), Shelly Graham (.419), Kirsty Jennings (.417), and Amanda Hayes (.410).
- Freshman LHP Lauren Bay has forced 129 groundouts and just 47 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 122 strikeouts, 37 have been called strikeouts.
- With 14 home runs this season, the Cowgirls have already more than doubled their home-run total of last season, six.
SERIES WITH WICHITA STATE - Oklahoma State leads the all-time series with Wichita State, 56-1, including a 55-game win streak. OSU records show the Cowgirls were 2-1 prior to 1981 vs. the Shockers. WSU's only win in the series came in 1978, one year prior to Coach Sandy Fischer's arrival at OSU. In fact, only two Cowgirl seniors (Liz Silva and Wendy Vaught) were born before the game was played. OSU is 26-0 all-time in Wichita, including a narrow 4-3 victory last year at the new Wilkins Stadium. Nineteen games have been played in Stillwater, and 11 others have been played on neutral fields (four in Norman, Okla.). There have been 34 shutouts in the series, 12 one-run games, 11 two-run games, 10 three-run games, six four-run games and 17 five-plus run games.
