Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirl Softball Prepares For Border War
April 19, 2003 | Cowgirl Softball
All three teams enter the event riding a three-game losing streak. Oklahoma State dropped two to Texas A&M over the weekend, falling to the Aggies 7-5 and 3-0. Sunday's shutout by A&M marked the first time this year the Cowgirls have failed to score in a contest. The third loss came against Oklahoma earlier in the week.
Arkansas dropped three games at Tennessee in SEC action and were shutout in two of the contests. Tulsa lost a pair of one-run extra inning battles at Louisiana Tech on the opening weekend of WAC play. The third loss came at the hands of Southwest Missouri State.
SERIES WITH ARKANSAS Arkansas leads the overall series with Oklahoma State 2-0. The Cowgirls have been shutout 3-0 in both contests but have yet to meet the Ladybacks on a neutral field. Both meetings have been part of the annual Border War.
SERIES WITH TULSA Oklahoma State leads the series with Tulsa 17-3. The Cowgirls hold a 3-1 margin in Tulsa, but were blanked 3-0 in the last meeting hosted by the Golden Hurricane. Earlier this year it took the Cowgirls 11 innings to put away TU in Stillwater.
SCOUTING REPORT ON ARKANSAS Arkansas enters the Border War with a 19-28 record overall. Two Ladybacks; Kim Eiben and Ruth Atkins, are batting over .300. Eiben leads the squad with a .328 batting average and 10 doubles. Atkins is batting .302 and has drawn a team-high 13 walks. Julie Young leads Arkansas in the long ball race, sending four over the fence this season. Leading the way with stolen bases are Blaire Underwood (nine), Candice Swan (eight) and Mindy O'Malley (eight). A pair of Ladybacks; Heather Schlichtm and Valanna Lyons, have each started 20 games and recorded eight wins on the season. Schlichtm has thrown 136.1 innings with a 2.67 ERA and Lyons has a 3.37 ERA in 133 innings.
SCOUTING REPORT ON TULSA Tulsa enters Tuesday's game at 25-17 overall. Since the Cowgirls met the Golden Hurricane earlier this year, Tulsa is 4-4. Brandi McGuire leads the Golden Hurricane with a .345 batting average on 11 doubles and and four home runs. Crissy Strimple is the power-hitter on the team, connecting for nine home runs and a team-leading 31 RBI while batting .308. Tulsa is averaging just under one stolen base per game with five runners stealing six or more bases. The duo of Ami Day and Maren Genow lead the Golden Hurricane with each making 24 appearances. Day is 10-8 with a 1.19 ERA and five shutouts. Genow sits at 11-4 on a 2.04 ERA and three shutouts.
