Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirl Softball Prepares To Face Nationally Ranked Teams In Arizona
February 25, 2004 | Cowgirl Softball
Oklahoma State heads to Arizona to face a pair of Top 10 teams in the Wildcat Worth Invitational this weekend, Feb. 27-29. The Cowgirls will face No. 7 Stanford, No. 22 South Florida, Boston and second-ranked Arizona in the event. OSU won the Invitational last year, defeating Arizona, New Mexico, Virginia and Drake to claim the title.
The Cowgirls have won seven of their last eight contests and posted two shutouts in that span. Oklahoma State went 5-1 at the North Texas Betlin Round-up over the weekend to claim the title. In eight games last week, OSU outscored its opponents 37-18.
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 77-42 record as a head coach into the weekend. 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.
WILDCAT WORTH INVITATIONAL FIELD
Stanford
The all-time series between Oklahoma State and Stanford is tied 3-3. The Cowgirls won the most recent matchup, a 3-1 decision last season in the finals of the Speedline Invitational in Tampa, Fla. The Cardinals are ranked seventh in the most recent NFCA poll and are riding a three-game winning streak. Leading the offensive attack will be Jackie Rinehart with a .450 batting average. Rinehart has three doubles and leads the team with 11 runs scored. Also chipping in is Catalina Morris. Morris owns a .361 batting average and leads Stanford with three triples, nine runs batted in and a .778 slugging percentage. Three pitchers have seen time in the circle for the Cardinals. Dana Sorenson leads the way with a 6-2 record in 51.1 innings with two combined shutouts. Sorenson has thrown four complete games, averages 7.3 Ks per game and has a 0.95 ERA. Laura Severson has a lower ERA, 0.64, but has thrown significantly fewer innings, 22.0. Severson owns a 3-0 record and has combined for two shutouts. Rounding out the pitchers is Danika Dukes with a 1.56 ERA and four combined shutouts in 17.0 innings of work.
South Florida
The Cowgirls lead the all-time series with South Florida 8-1. Oklahoma State won the last meeting, posting a 5-1 win at last year's Speedline Invitational hosted by South Florida. The Bulls bring a 15-2 record into the weekend and entered the polls for the first time this week at No. 22 after winning seven straight. South Florida has five players hitting over .300 and three topping the .400 mark. Kattrina Dowd leads the way with a .441 batting average on three doubles and two home runs. Holly Groves is hitting .434 at the plate and leads the Bulls with seven doubles, three home runs and 25 runs batted in. Rounding out the top three is Samantha Ray, hitting at a .405 clip. Ray has 17 hits but none have gone for extra bases. Leigh Ann Ellis leads USF's pitching staff with a 1.54 ERA in 63.2 innings. Ellis is 10-1 on the year and has posted four shutouts. She also has two saves and eight complete games under her belt. Danielle Urbanik and Kasey Cash have also seen time in the circle. Urbanik is 4-0 on the year with a 2.52 ERA in 33.1 innings. Cash is 1-1 in 12.2 innings with a 3.32 ERA. The staff is averaging 5.3 Ks per game.
Boston
OSU and Boston have met just once, last year at the NCAA Regional in Fullerton, Calif., when the Cowgirls emerged victorious, 1-0. Boston is 4-6 on the year and has lost six of its last seven after opening the season with three wins. The Terriers are paced by Jamie Haas with a .444 batting average and .500 on-base percentage. Liz Alley has connected for just six hits so far this season but three of those have been home runs. Three pitchers have seen the bulk of the time in the circle. Ashlee Freeman leads the way with a 2.12 ERA in 36.1 innings and has thrown a complete game in each of her five starts. Freeman is 3-3 on the year and has tossed two shutouts. Brittany Detwiler (0-1) has the lowest ERA on staff, 1.20, in 11.2 innings of work. DeKenya Williams has thrown 14.0 innings and amassed a 1-2 record and 6.00 ERA .
Arizona
Arizona leads the all-time series with Oklahoma State 12-11. The Wildcats had beaten the Cowgirls eight consecutive times before the OSU ended the streak with a 1-0 blanking of Arizona one year ago at the Worth Invitational. Arizona is a perfect 11-0 on the year and ranked second in the NFCA poll released on Wednesday. The Wildcats have won by at least five runs 10 times this season. Arizona has seven players batting over .400 and four over .500. Autumn Champion leads the way with a .625 batting average. Champion has 20 hits, none of which have gone for extra bases. Jackie Coburn is batting .400 and leads the home run race, going yard five times this year for a team-leading 1.040 slugging percentage. The Wildcats have 31 stolen bases and two players, Champion and Caitlin Lowe, have nine each. Alicia Hollowell leads Arizona from the mound, averaging an impressive 14.4 strikeouts per game. Hollowell is 7-0 and has a 0.00 ERA in 42.1 innings. Wendy Allen and Leslie Wolfe split time in relief. Allen is 2-0 on the year with a 0.58 ERA in 12.0 innings. Wolfe has thrown 13.2 innings for a 1.54 ERA and 2-0 start.
LOOKING AHEAD
Oklahoma State returns to the friendly confines of Cowgirl Stadium to host North Texas for a doubleheader beginning at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, March 2, before heading to California for the Cal State Fullerton Invitational. The Cowgirls will face No. 7 Stanford, Cal State Northridge, Portland State and No. 24 Cal State Fullerton. The Cowgirls closed out the 2003 season in Fullerton, Calif., participating in the NCAA Regional hosted by CSF.
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 5 p.m. will air on KSPI 780 AM. Any game starting at 5 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.
