Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirls Prepare For Sooners
April 03, 2001 | Cowgirl Softball
April 3, 2001
Oklahoma State (18-14, 3-3)
at
Oklahoma (29-7, 4-2)
QUICK FACTS
Wednesday, April 4 (6:30 p.m.)
OU Softball Complex
Norman, Okla.
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COWGIRLS FACE NO. 5 SOONERS
Oklahoma State (18-14 overall, 3-3 Big 12) will travel to Norman, Okla., this Wednesday for the first edition of bedlam softball with the Oklahoma Sooners (29-7, 4-2). Game time is set for 6:30 p.m. OSU is coming off a pair of extra-inning losses at the hands of the 19th-ranked Baylor Bears. Both games were 1-0. OU is fresh off a sweep of the Iowa State Cyclones, 11-2 and 13-3. This will be the 113th meeting between the two schools on the diamond. Oklahoma State leads the all-time series, 67-45. The game will be televised by Learfield Sports Properties, which coincides with both Cowboy Sports Properties and Sooner Sports Properties.
COMING UP
Oklahoma State will host the Missouri Tigers this weekend. On Saturday, April 7, the game will be at 2 p.m. and on Sunday, April 8, the game will start at 1 p.m. On Wednesday, April 11, the Cowgirls will host the 'Border War' with Tulsa and Arkansas coming to Stillwater. Games are set for 3, 5 and 7 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT
Following Saturday's 14-inning marathon that ended in a 1-0 Baylor win, Oklahoma State failed to score once again, falling to the Bears, 1-0, in eight innings in Big 12 softball action Sunday afternoon in Waco, Texas. Both teams were held scoreless through seven innings of regulation, sending the game into extra innings. Cowgirl hurler Tiffany Paper gave up just four hits while striking out eight through the first seven stanzas, but gave up her fourth walk of the game to lead off the bottom of the eighth. After a sacrifice bunt and a groundout advanced Naomi Fitzgerald to third, Kortny Westerfeld hit a single down the rightfield line to score Fitzgerald with the winning run. Baylor pitcher Joni Miller added 6-1/3 scoreless innings to her 14 pitched Saturday. Miller was replaced by Jill Smith in the sixth, but re-entered the game and pitched the final 1-1/3 innings. Cowgirl senior Amanda Hayes had her second-consecutive multiple-hit game, going 2-for-3, as did catcher Ryan Realmuto. OSU had an opportunity to score in the fourth when, with one out, Hayes hit her eighth double of the season, and was followed by a Realmuto single to left field. However, both runners were stranded when Stephanie Hodges struck out and Angela Veronesi grounded out to end the threat.
SCOUTING REPORT ON OKLAHOMA
Oklahoma is 29-7 overall this season and 4-2 in Big 12 Conference action. the Sooners are the sixth-ranked team in the country, according to the NFCA Coaches' Poll. OU swept Texas A&M and Iowa State, but lost both games to Nebraska in league play. The Sooners are led by senior first baseman Lisa Carey, who is batting .407 with 10 doubles, five home runs and 28 runs batted in. Sophomore second baseman Kelli Braitsch is tied with Carey for the team lead in hitting, batting .407. Catcher Ashli Barrett is batting .368, and leads the team in home runs (10), RBIs (35) and slugging percentage (.747). On the mound, OU is led by Jennifer Stewart, who has a 19-3 record and a 1.61 earned run average. She has 16 complete games and four shutouts. Also pitching for OU is Adrianne Ratliff, who is 10-3 with a 2.60 ERA in 78 innings.
SERIES WITH OKLAHOMA
Oklahoma State leads the all-time series with Oklahoma, 67-45, although the Sooners lead the series in Norman, 19-17. There have been 54 shutouts in the series, with OSU holding a 35-19 edge in those games. OU has won the last eight games in the series, dating back to 1998. In that span, five of the games were decided by two runs or less.
HEAD COACH SANDY FISCHER
Sandy Fischer is in her 23rd season at the helm of the Oklahoma State Cowgirls, and enters Wednesday's game with a career record of 890-364-3. Her NCAA record is 842-348-3, making her the third-winningest active coach among NCAA coaches. She needs just six more victories to move into fourth place on the all-time victories list, past UCLA's Sharon Backus, who had 847 wins in her career. Coach Fischer has led OSU to nine conference championships, eight regional championships and nine Women's College World Series appearances. Under her guidance, 62 players have been named first-team all-conference, while 28 have gone on to earn All-America status.
ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH MARGARET REBENAR
In her 22nd year as the top assistant coach for Oklahoma State is Margaret Rebenar. Since her naming as the Associate Head Coach for the Cowgirls, Rebenar has accumulated a 322-156 record at Oklahoma State. Last season, she was inducted into the NFCA/Easton ?300-win? club. Rebenar guided the Cowgirls to a regional championship and a College World Series appearance in 1998.
COWGIRL SOFTBALL ON THE AIR
Beginning with the Kansas series, the remainder of Oklahoma State's home games, as well as the OU game in Norman, will be broadcast live on Stillwater Radio. Bill VanNess will provide the play-by-play for the third-consecutive season. Most games will be broadcast on 780 AM, with a few exceptions. Both OU games will be on 105.5 FM, as will the Tulsa game on April 11. All postseason games will also be aired on Stillwater Radio.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
Oklahoma State has failed to plate a run in 31 innings, dating back to the Texas Tech game on March 25 ... Sophomore Lauren Bay leads the team in two-out RBIs with 10, followed by freshman Jade Lindly and senior Amanda Hayes, who have eight ... Oklahoma State has scored 20 of its 94 runs this season in the first inning ... OSU has 44 multiple-hit games this season as a team, including a 4-for-4 performance by junior Angela Veronesi vs. Utah in the Red Desert Classic ... Freshman Jade Lindly leads the Cowgirls in pinch-hitting, going 2-for-3 this season ... The Cowgirls have 70 called strikeouts, or 38.2 percent of their total strikeouts ... Sophomore catcher Ryan Realmuto has thrown out 14-of-48 attempted base stealers, or 29.2 percent.
WHO'S HOT
Lauren Bay -
The lefthanded hurler has not given up an earned run in 43 consecutive innings, dating back to the Oklahoma City game on March 16. Since the first inning of that game, she has given up just two runs, both unearned. Excluding the fifth inning of OSU's 5-3 loss to Utah on March 10, Bay has given up just three earned runs in her last 101-2/3 innings pitched, or a 0.21 ERA.
Amanda Hayes -
In the last four games, the senior leftfielder has gone 7-for-15 (.467 average), with two doubles in the last two games. She has three two-hit games in that span.
Ryan Realmuto -
The sophomore catcher has gone 6-for-17 (.353 average) in her last six games, including three doubles and a home run, leading to a .706 slugging percentage. She has also gone 91 fielding chances without an error.
BIG 12 RANKINGS
Oklahoma State's pitching staff is second in the league in earned run average at 1.47, just 8/100th of a point behind Texas Tech, which leads the league with a 1.39 ERA. Cowgirl sophomore Lauren Bay leads the Big 12 in ERA, both overall (0.66) and conference-games only (0.00). She is second in the league in saves with two, and fourth with 118 strikeouts. Freshman Danielle Thomas is fifth in the league in walks with 16.
