Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirl Softball Set For Big Weekend
February 19, 2004 | Cowgirl Softball
After defeating Oklahoma City, 8-3, in its home opener on Tuesday, Oklahoma State is set to host the North Carolina Tar Heels at 4 p.m. on Thursday in the second meeting all-time between the two squads. UNC and OSU met in 1995 at the South Florida Classic with the Tar Heels claiming the 4-2 win.
Following Thursday's game, the Cowgirls will leave immediately for Denton, Texas, to compete in the North Texas Betlin Round-Up. Two of Oklahoma State's opponents this weekend also appear on the schedule later in the season. North Texas comes to Stillwater for a doubleheader on March 2 and the Cowgirls have the annual home-and-home series with the Shockers in mid-March. The Cowgirls will also face Creighton, Texas-Arlington, Southwest Missouri State and New Mexico in the Betlin Round-Up. OSU's complete schedule for the tournament can be found on page two of this release.
HEAD COACH MARGARET REBENAR
Margaret Rebenar is in her 25th season season as a softball coach at Oklahoma State and third as a head coach. She brings a 71-41 record as a head coach into Thursday's contest. Rebenar led the 2003 Cowgirls to a second place finish in the Big 12 regular season race and their first NCAA Regional appearance in five years. Under her guidance, 23 players have earned All-American status 29 times, including Olympians Michele Smith, Melanie Roche and Lauren Bay.
SCOUTING NORTH CAROLINA
North Carolina comes to Stillwater sporting a 3-2 record and riding a three-game winning streak. The Tar Heels opened the season with a pair of losses to 22nd-ranked South Carolina. UNC then rebounded with wins against Elon, James Madison and Radford. The Tar Heels have won with small ball play thus far, collecting 31 hits but sending only four far enough for extra bases. Emily Price leads the Tar Heels at the plate with a .467 batting average. Price also has two of the team's three home runs and nearly half (7-of-15) of the Tar Heels RBIs. Dionne Streete also provides some power at the plate with a .400 batting average. Crystal Cox (2-1) leads North Carolina from the mound, throwing 21.1 innings, two complete games and one shutout. Cox is averaging 6.2 Ks per game and has a 1.33 ERA. Backing up Cox is Alison Yin (1-1). Yin combined with Cox for one shutout and has a 2.84 ERA in 12.2 innings.
OKLAHOMA STATE'S TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE Friday, Feb. 20 3 p.m. Oklahoma State vs. Wichita State 5:30 p.m. Oklahoma State vs. Creighton
Saturday, Feb. 21 10 a.m. UT-Arlington vs. Oklahoma State 12:30 p.m. North Texas vs. Oklahoma State
Sunday, Feb. 22 10 a.m. Southwest Missouri State vs. Oklahoma State 3 p.m. New Mexico vs. Oklahoma State
THE BETLIN ROUND-UP FIELD
Creighton
Oklahoma State leads the overall series with Creighton 7-5. The Cowgirls won the most recent meeting, 4-2 and 5-2, a doubleheader in 2002. Before that date, the Cowgirls and Bluejays had not met on the field since 1991. Creighton opens the season this weekend but returns six of its seven top hitters from a team that finished 26-24 in 2003. Leading the offensive attack will be Stacey Rybar and Abby Johnson. Rybar had six doubles and 11 home runs for a .259 batting average. Johnson also had six doubles and led the squad with 12 home runs for a .254 batting average. Tammy Nielson will lead the Bluejays from the circle. Nielson posted a 20-7 record last year and threw seven shutouts in 201.2 innings. She also averaged 9.1 strikeouts per game.
Wichita State
The Cowgirls lead the all-time series with Wichita State 62-2. OSU's only two losses in the series came in 1978 at the Sooner Invitational in Norman, Okla., and in 2001 in Wichita, Kan. The Shockers are 2-3 on the year and are led by Lindsey Abbott with a .353 batting average and a team-high four doubles. Two pitchers, Lindsay Craig and Lindsey Lang, have seen the bulk of the time on the mound. Craig is 2-1 with a 2.95 ERA in 19 innings of work. Lang has given up 10 earned runs for a 5.83 ERA in 12 innings en route to a 0-2 start.
Texas-Arlington
OSU leads the overall series with UTA 17-8 but the Mavericks have won two of the last three meetings. The Cowgirls snapped a two-game losing streak against UTA with a 3-1 win at the UTA Classic in Arlington, Texas, two years ago. UTA is 2-5-1 on the year posting shutouts in both wins. The Mavericks are a perfect six-for-six on stolen base attempts this season while limiting their opponents to three steals on six attempts. Offensively, UTA is led by Falon Kwasnick with a .308 batting average. Kwasnick leads the team with six walks and has one double and one home run. Autumn Petrino ranks second with a .280 batting average and has a team-leading four doubles. Jill Garro is the Mavericks top pitcher with a 2-2 record, four complete games and two shutouts. Garro averages 5.8 Ks per game and has a 1.21 ERA. Backing up Garro are Kwasnick (0-1, 2.76 ERA, 12.2 IP) and Hebert (0-1, 6.42 ERA, 12.0 IP).
North Texas
Oklahoma State holds a 2-0 advantage in the series with North Texas. UNT is reinstating softball this spring after dropping the program 15 years ago. The Cowgirls came away with an 8-0 win in 1988, the Mean Green's final season. North Texas is 2-10 in 2004. Heather Bostic leads North Texas with two doubles, one home run and a .296 batting average. Brittiny Chapman is 5-for-6 on stolen base attempts to lead the squad. Mandy Hacker (1-3) and Katy Maxey (1-7) split time on the mound for UNT. Hacker has a 5.40 ERA in seven starts and 35 innings of work. Maxey has thrown 41.1 innings and made seven starts en route to a 5.42 ERA.
Southwest Missouri State
Oklahoma State leads the all-time series with Southwest Missouri State 18-4. The Bears won four of the first six meetings but OSU has not lost to the Bears since 1981. SMS is off to a 3-2 start and is paced offensively by Charity Head. Head has a .500 batting average and leads the team with two doubles and an .857 slugging percentage. Lindsey Major is the primary pitcher for the Bears with a 1.05 ERA in 20.0 innings of work. Major (3-1) has thrown three complete games and posted one shutout.
New Mexico
Oklahoma State leads the overall series with New Mexico 16-4. The Cowgirls have lost just one in the last 16 meetings, a 6-1 setback at the Wildcat Worth Invitational in Tucson, Ariz., last year. The Lobos are 4-4 on the year and are led by Stephanie Kennedy, the Mountain West Conference Player of the Week. Kennedy is the only Lobo hitting over .300, coming in at .304. Two pitchers, Ashley Perkins and Iraine Ogas, carry the load for New Mexico. Perkins is 2-0 on the year with a 3.78 ERA in 16.2 innings. Ogas has seen more time on the mound, 25.1 innings, but has a 4.14 ERA and a 1-2 record.
LOOKING AHEAD
Oklahoma State returns to the friendly confines of Cowgirl Stadium to host Panhandle State at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 24, before heading to Arizona for its third tournament of the year. The Cowgirls will face No. 8 Stanford, South Florida, Boston and second-ranked Arizona in the Wildcat Worth Invitational in Tucson, Ariz. OSU won the tournament last year.
COWGIRL SOFTBALL ON THE AIR
Oklahoma State's home conference games, as well as the OU game in Norman, the TU game in Tulsa and all postseason contests will be broadcast live on Stillwater Radio. Bill VanNess will provide the play-by-play for the sixth consecutive season. Any game starting prior to 6 p.m. will air on KSPI 780 AM. Any game starting at 6 p.m. or later will be broadcast on KGFY 105.5 FM.
COWGIRL SOFTBALL ON THE WEB
For the latest information on 2004 Cowgirl Softball visit the official web site of Oklahoma State Athletics at www.okstate.com. Live stats will be available online for all home events and select home games will have a live video feed on the web site as part of the MVP package.
