Oklahoma State University Athletics
Softball Prepares For Final Conference Road Trip
April 19, 2003 | Cowgirl Softball
The Cowgirls took a break from Big 12 action for a mid-week game against Tulsa on Wednesday, defeating the Golden Hurricane 8-2 in 10 innings. Nebraska and Iowa State also faced non-conference opponents in mid-week contests. Nebraska defeated Creighton 4-2 while Iowa State knocked off No. 24 Iowa 4-3 in 12 innings.
Gametracker stats for all four games will be available online at www.okstate.com, the official website of Oklahoma State Athletics.
HEAD COACH MARGARET REBENAR
Margaret Rebenar is in her 24th season season as a softball coach at Oklahoma State and second as a head coach. She brings a 59-32 record as a head coach into the weekend. She was inducted into the NFCA/Easton “300 win” club in 2000 and guided the Cowgirls to a regional championship and a College World Series appearance in 1998. Under her guidance, 22 players have earned All-American status 28 times, including Olympians Michele Smith and Melanie Roche.
SERIES WITH NEBRASKA
Oklahoma State leads the all-time series with Nebraska 39-32 but has dropped seven of the last 10 contests. Overall the Huskers hold a slim 10-9 advantage in Lincoln with OSU’s most recent win coming in 1999. Last year the Cowgirls fell in a pair of one-run decisions in Stillwater, taking the Huskers to extra innings in the first meeting.
SCOUTING NEBRASKA
Nebraska enters the series at 32-9 overall and 8-4 in the conference. The Huskers are riding an eight-game winning streak, dating back to a 2-1 loss against Southern Illinois on March 31. Nebraska leads the league in batting with a .296 average in all games and a .257 mark in Big 12 contests. The Huskes have five players batting over .300 and are led by Lisa Wangler at .349. Close behind is Anne Steffan batting .341 with one double,her only extra base hit of the year. Rounding out the leaders are Kim Ogee, Jessica Yoachim and Amanda Buchholz. Ogee has a team-high 12 doubles and shares the lead for stolen bases (13) with Nicole Trimboli. The duo of Peaches James and Summer Tobias split time in the circle for the Huskers. James is 18-7 on the year with a 1.51 ERA and has thrown 19 complete games in 23 starts. Tobias has a 1.34 ERA on a 13-2 record and three shutouts.
SERIES WITH IOWA STATE
Oklahoma State leads the overall series with Iowa State 39-12 and has lost just three contests since 1988. The Cowgirls and Cyclones have not met in Ames since 1997 as the previous two meetings have been cancelled due to weather. Overall Oklahoma State holds an 8-2 advantage on Iowa State’s home field. The Cowgirls swept ISU in Stillwater last year, but it took nine innings to put the Cyclones away in the second contest.
SCOUTING IOWA STATE
Iowa State enters the weekend at 17-22 overall and 4-7 in league games. The Cyclones have won three straight after sweeping Baylor at home and edging Iowa on the road. Julia Lindsey leads the Cyclones at the plate, batting .315. Lindsey has connected for two of ISU’s three triples and is second on the squad with nine stolen bases, trailing Adi Blackmon (12). Kelly Wardein paces the Cyclones with six doubles and is second with a .267 batting average. Leading ISU from the mound is Erica Martinez. Martinez has thrown 11 complete games in 14 starts en route to a 10-7 record and 1.96 ERA. She has picked up a pair of saves and averages 7.0 Ks per game. In the backup roles are Kristen Karanzias (4-7, 3.71 ERA), Lindsey Herrin (3-4, 3.23 ERA) and Jen Bice (0-4, 5.97 ERA).
