Oklahoma State University Athletics
Softball Travels To Lone Star State
April 19, 2003 | Cowgirl Softball
Oklahoma State will look to get back on the winning track this weekend in a two-game series against Texas A&M in College Station, Texas. The Cowgirls and Aggies take the field for a 2 p.m. contest on Saturday and wrap up the series at 1 p.m. on Sunday. Oklahoma State has four road games on tap before returning to Stillwater to host Missouri on April 12.
The Cowgirls had their 15-game winning streak snapped at OU on Wednesday. Lauren Bay fanned 13 Sooners, hit in the go-ahead run in the top of the seventh and threw a no-hitter through six innings, but it was not enough as the Cowgirls fell to Oklahoma 2-1.
Texas A&M is also coming off a 2-1 loss on Wednesday, falling to Baylor in Waco. In other conference games this year, A&M swept Nebraska and split with Missouri and Texas Tech.
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 56-30 record as a head coach into Saturday's game. 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 TEXAS A&M
Texas A&M leads the overall series with Oklahoma State 21-29 but the Cowgirls hold a slim 8-6 advantage in College Station. The two teams split last year in Stillwater with both teams taking a one-run victory. Nearly half of the contests, (22) have been decided by one run.
SCOUTING REPORT ON TEXAS A&M
Texas A&M enters the weekend series at 26-13 overall and 4-3 in the Big 12. The Aggies are 14-1 at home, with the lone loss coming against BYU in February. The Aggies are led in nearly every offensive category by 2002 Big 12 Player of the Year, Selena Collins. Collins who is batting .300 is the only Aggie to top the .300 mark. Collins has 10 home runs and eight doubles plus a team-leading 33 walks. Crystal Martin leads the squad in stolen bases, going 10-for-12. Also chipping in with speed is Adrian Gregory with eight stolen bases. Lindsay Wilhelmson and Jessica Slataper have both thrown over 100 innings for the Aggies. Wilhelmson has amassed a 12-4 record and 1.78 ERA on 18 starts and eight complete games. Slataper stands at 8-9 with a 1.88 earned run average after taking the loss at Baylor. Slataper has recorded A&M's last four decisions in the circle.
OKLAHOMA STATE IN THE POLLS
The Cowgirls are currently ranked in both the NFCA Coaches and the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 polls. The Cowgirls entered the NFCA poll for the first time the week of March 11th ranked 23rd after defeating Northwestern and Stanford to capture the title at the Speedline Invitational. The Cowgirls climbed to 16 after starting out conference play 6-0. Oklahoma State is currently ranked 15th in the ESPN.com poll, after debuting at 23 in the inaugural listing earlier this spring.
