Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirls Host Bedlam Softball
April 23, 2003 | Cowgirl Softball
Oklahoma State enters the final week of Big 12 play tied for second in the conference standings after a big weekend on the road where it swept fifth-ranked Nebraska and Iowa State.
Oklahoma was also successful away from home, taking two from Texas Tech in Lubbock and defeating Tulsa on Tuesday.
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 63-32 record as a head coach into Thursday’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 OKLAHOMA
Oklahoma State leads the overall series with Oklahoma 67-52 but the Sooners have won the last 14 meetings dating back to 1998. The Cowgirls have come close to snapping the streak in the past three meetings, losing all three battles by one run. Each game has been decided in the final inning. Last year in Stillwater, OSU gave up five runs in the seventh inning to give the Sooners a 6-5 win. Round two took place in Norman and it took OU 10 innings to put away the Cowgirls 5-4. Earlier this year OU scored two in the bottom of the seventh for the come-from-behind win.
SCOUTING OKLAHOMA
Oklahoma enters Thursday’s contest at 36-8 overall and 10-5 in the Big 12, good for fourth in the conference standings. The Sooners rank second in the league with a .288 batting average in all games and fourth in Big 12 games at .241. OU’s pitching staff is third in earned run average, boasting a 1.38 ERA in all games and a 1.28 ERA in Big 12 contests. Individually OU is paced by Leah Gulla who also leads the conference with a .417 batting average, up from .393 the last time the Cowgirls and Sooners met. The senior has a team-high 10 doubles and 45 runs batted in. Erin Evans is second with a .336 batting average and leads the Sooners with 12 stolen bases. Kelli Braitsch leads the home run race with 10, followed by Gulla with eight. At 25-4 Kami Keiter has seen the bulk of the time in the circle for the Sooners, having recorded 13 of OU’s last 15 decisions. The sophomore has a 0.76 ERA and is averaging 6.2 strikeouts per game. Keiter leads the league in wins (25), innings pitched (194.2) and appearances (36).
