Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirl Softball Prepares For Final Tournament
March 17, 2004 | Cowgirl Softball
Oklahoma State heads to Florida for its final tournament of the season this weekend, March 19-21. The Cowgirls open the tournament against Kent State and Florida Atlantic on Friday. OSU faces Florida International and Akron on Saturday before closing out the weekend with the championship round on Sunday. Oklahoma State will be facing some unfamilar opponents at the tournament. In 29 years of softball the Cowgirls are 3-1 against the opposition.
OSU's FAU Tournament Schedule (CST)
Friday, March 19
Oklahoma State vs. Kent State, 1 p.m.
Oklahoma State vs. Florida Atlantic, 8 p.m.
Saturday, March 20
Oklahoma State vs. Florida International, 1 p.m.
Oklahoma State vs. Akron, 3 p.m.
Sunday, March 21
No. 4 seed vs. No. 5 seed, 8 a.m.
No. 3 seed vs. Winner No.4/No. 5 seed, 10 a.m.
No. 1 seed vs. No. 2 seed, noon
Gametracker will be available for all games at www.okstate.com.
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 82-50 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.
FAU TOURNAMENT FIELD
Kent State
Kent State is 7-4 on the year. Weather has gotten in the way for the Golden Flashes as they have had seven games cancelled, including an entire tournament. Friday's contest will be just the second all-time meeting between OSU and KSU. The Cowgirls defeated the Golden Flashes 1-0 in 1991 to hold a 1-0 lead in the series. Kent State is led by Jodi Stevens with six RBIs and a .438 batting average. Marci Ridenbaugh is second with a .359 average and has a team-leading seven stolen bases. As a team Kent State has four home runs but three of those have come from Carrie Eniex. Three pitchers have shared time in the circle. Brittney Robinson has the lowest ERA (1.29) of the group. Robinson is 2-2 on the year in 21.2 innings. Kate Leary has seen the most action, tossing 31.2 innings en route to a 3-2 record and 1.77 ERA. Tracie Logar rounds out the group with a perfect 2-0 record and 1.67 ERA in 21.0 innings.
Florida Atlantic
The Owls are 26-11 on the year and have won 11 of their 13 outings in the month of March. The all-time series between Florida Atlantic and Oklahoma State is tied 1-1 after the Cowgirls fell to the Owls at the Speedline Invitational last year. Pam Mazzarella leads Florida Atlantic with a .375 batting average and seven doubles. Jessica Sachs comes in second, hitting .270 and the is the only Owl to start every contest. Two pitchers, Candice Freel and Amanda Morin, see the bulk of the time on the mound. Freel is 10-6 on the year with a 0.98 ERA in 100.1 innings. She holds opponents to a .181 average at the plate and is averaging 7.4 Ks per game. Morin has seen slightly more action, tossing 112.2 innings for an 11-5 record and 1.55 ERA. Ashley Greene rounds out the staff with a 5-0 record and 0.75 ERA in 37.1 innings.
Florida International
Florida International enters the weekend with an 11-15 overall record and has won six of its last seven. Saturday's contest marks the second all-time meeting between the Golden Panthers and the Cowgirls. OSU won the lone meeting 3-0 at the Speedline Invitational in 2001. FIU is led by Jennifer Owens with a .308 batting average and team-high eight walks. Five Golden Panthers have four or more stolen bases and Jacque Vetters leads the team with nine. FIU has three pitchers on staff. Kendra Laminack leads the trio in wins and earned run average. Laminack is 6-6 on the year with a 1.12 ERA in 56.1 innings. Amanda Nealer has a 3-4 record and 1.41 ERA in 69.1 innings. Nicole Barrett rounds out the group with a 2-5 record and 1.36 ERA in 46.1 innings.
Akron
The Zips are 11-5 on the year and will take on the Cowgirls for the first time on Sunday. Akron has two batters hitting over .400, Becky Stern comes in at a .464 clip and Kelly Quigley averages .453. Six others are averaging over .300 at the plate. Quigley has an impressive 24 RBIs off four doubles, two triples and five home runs. The Zips have stolen 20 bases, but 18 of those come from Stern and Sara Zilles who have nine each. Four pitchers have seen time in the circle for Akron but Megan MacKenzie and Tina McCauley have carried the team. MacKenzie is 3-2 with a 2.27 ERA in 37-0 innings. McCauley has a 2.86 ERA and 6-2 record in 49.0 innings.
LOOKING AHEAD
A doubleheader with UMKC awaits the Cowgirls upon their return to Oklahoma. The Cowgirls host the Kangaroos at 3 p.m. on Tuesday. OSU travels to Tulsa for a 6:30 p.m. matchup on Wednesday.
