Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirl Softball Travels To Kansas
April 16, 2004 | Cowgirl Softball
Oklahoma State heads to Kansas to take on the Jayhawks for a two-game series this weekend. The Cowgirls and Jayhawks take the field at 2 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday.
The Cowgirls are riding a four-game winning streak, their longest since winning seven straight during a seven day stretch in mid-February.
Oklahoma State is 4-5 in Big 12 action and sixth in the standings. Kansas is two games behind OSU, coming in with a 2-7 record. Both of the Jayhawks conference wins came against Texas Tech.
Last year the Cowgirls swept Kansas 2-1 and 5-2 in Stillwater. The Cowgirls are 55-36 all-time against Kansas and have won six of the last seven meetings. Oklahoma State is 12-7 overall in Lawrence.
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. Rebenar joined the Cowgirl softball program in 1980 after serving as a pitching coach at UCLA for one season. After filling the assistant coach role for 22 seasons, Rebenar was named the head coach in 2001. 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. Rebenar brings a 92-59 record as a head coach into the Kansas series.
SCOUTING KANSAS
Kansas is 24-21-1 on the year and has lost five of its last six contests.The Jayhawks are hitting .203 as a team, led by Destiny Frankenstein with a .275 average and 16 stolen bases. Nicole Washburn comes in second with a .260 batting average and team-high nine doubles. Serena Settlemier is hitting .212 but leads the squad with 11 home runs, 19 RBI and 22 walks. The Jayhawks have used two pitchers for the majority of the season. Senior Kara Pierce leads the duo with 164.2 innings pitched. Pierce is 13-10 on the year with a 1.96 ERA and has tossed three shutouts. Freshman Kassie Humphreys is 11-7 on the year with a 1.79 ERA in 133.1 innings.
Series snapshot
longest winning streak: 8 by OSU, twice
largest margin: OSU won 11-3 in 1996; Kansas won 11-3 in 1979
1-run games: OSU leads 26-24
2-run games: OSU leads 6-4
5+run games: OSU leads 11-3
IN THE POLLS
The Cowgirls were ranked 21st in the preseason NFCA Coaches poll and 22nd in the preseason ESPN/USA Today Softball poll. It marked the first time since 1999 that the Cowgirls were ranked to start the season. The Cowgirls fell out of both polls following a 2-3 start to the season at the San Diego State Tournament. Oklahoma State will face seven opponents ranked in the NFCA preseason Top 25; Arizona, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Texas, Cal State Fullerton, Stanford and Texas A&M. Four of those, UA, OU, NU and UT were ranked in the Top 10. In the most recently released poll, seven OSU opponents made the cut.
LOOKING AHEAD
After four games on the road, Oklahoma State returns to Cowgirl Stadium to host Texas A&M for a doubleheader next Wednesday. The Cowgirls hit the road once again next weekend for a two-game series at Texas. Sunday's game in Austin will be televised by CSTV.
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 selected contests will be broadcast via a live video feed as part of the MVP portion of the web site.
