Oklahoma State University Athletics
Let The Big 12 Tournament Begin
May 08, 2001 | Cowgirl Softball
May 8, 2001
| No. 5 Oklahoma State (25-21, 8-8) vs. No. 4 Kansas (31-25, 10-8) |
QUICK FACTS
Thursday
May 10, 11 a.m.
First Round
Big 12 Tournament
Hall of Fame Stadium
Oklahoma City, Okla.
Radio - KSPI 780 AM
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
COWGIRLS FACE JAYHAWKS IN FIRST ROUND
Oklahoma State (25-21 overall, 8-8 in Big 12) will enter the 2001 Big 12 Tournament this week as the No. 5 seed, and face the fourth-seeded Kansas Jayhawks (31-25, 10-8) in the first round of the tournament on Thursday, May 10, at 11 a.m. at Don E. Porter/ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City. The Cowgirls swept KU, 1-0 and 2-1, in the first conference games of the season.
COMING UP
The winner of the OSU-KU contest will play the winner of the Nebraska vs. Missouri/Texas game that will be played Wednesday night. That game will be at 5 p.m. on Thursday night. The loser of the OSU-KU game will play at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday afternoon on Field 2. Should OSU win at least one game on Thursday, the Cowgirls will be guaranteed at least one game on Friday. A complete bracket can be found elsewhere in this release.
LAST TIME OUT
Oklahoma State scored three runs in both the third and sixth innings, propelling the Cowgirl softball team to a 7-1 victory over the Wichita State Shockers last Wednesday night in the final regular-season game for OSU. The Cowgirls scored one run in the second when Teresa Ritchie walked with two outs and was followed by an RBI double by Jade Lindly. OSU added three in the third on three hits, including back-to-back RBI singles by senior Amanda Hayes and sophomore Ryan Realmuto. Cowgirl starter Tiffany Paper faced the minimum through four innings before Ande Kleckner walked to lead off the fifth. Lisa Clary broke up the no-hitter two batters later, and later scored on a base hit down the leftfield line by Courtney Crumbliss just past the outstretched glove of third baseman Jenny Kipp. Ritchie led off the sixth with a home run, her first of the season, that hit the leftfield poll about three-quarters from the top. Shortstop Casey O?Neill, who went 2-for-3 in the game, singled and later scored on a bases-loaded walk by Kipp. With two outs, WSU second baseman Nicki Mooers committed an error, her second of the game, allowing Danielle Thomas to score >from third. Paper threw five innings, giving up just one run on two hits while striking out five. Freshman Kara Wentworth threw the final two innings, giving up just one run.
SCOUTING REPORT ON KANSAS
Kansas is 31-25 overall this season and 10-8 in Big 12 Conference action. The Jayhawks earned the No. 4 seed in the Big 12 Tournament, losing the tiebreaker to Texas Tech. After a recent 10-game winning streak, the Jayhawks have lost five of their last six, including three-of-four to sixth-ranked Oklahoma and 10th-ranked Nebraska. KU is led by Leah Tabb, who leads the team in runs scored (36), home runs (12) and RBIs (37). She also has a .594 slugging percentage to lead the squad. On the mound, Kara Pierce is 21-10 with a 1.89 earned run average in 196 innings. Kirsten Milhoan is 8-12 with a 2.87 ERA in 112-1/3 innings pitched. Pierce is 13-3 since taking two losses at the hands of the Cowgirls this year, and the team is 19-10 since that series.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
After losing 9-of-11 games through a three-week span, the Cowgirls have won five of their last six, including a sweep of then-23rd ranked Texas A&M ... OSU is 1-5 this season in extra-inning games, with the lone with coming against Texas, 4-3 ... Oklahoma State averaged 300 fans at home this season, a 60-percent increase from a year ago, when OSU had career numbers in attendance ... Sophomore Lauren Bay leads the team in two-out RBIs with 11, followed by freshman Jade Lindly with nine and senior Amanda Hayes, with eight ... OSU has 55 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 91 called strikeouts, or 33.3 percent of their total strikeouts ... Sophomore catcher Ryan Realmuto has thrown out 18-of-68 attempted base stealers, or 26.5 percent.
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 897-371-3. Her NCAA record is 849-355-3, making her the sixth-winningest active coach among NCAA coaches. She just moved into seventh place on the all-time victories list, surpassing UCLA?s Sharon Backus, who had 840 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 329-163 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
All of Oklahoma State?s postseason games will be broadcast live on Stillwater Radio. Bill VanNess will provide the play-by-play for the third-consecutive season. The Cowgirls? first-round game with Kansas will be broadcast on KSPI 780 AM, as will any game starting prior to 7 p.m. Any game starting at 7 p.m. or later will be broadcast on Y105.5 FM.
