Oklahoma State University Athletics
Softball Set For Final Series Of The Regular Season
April 30, 2004 | Cowgirl Softball
Oklahoma State hosts Baylor this weekend to close out the regular season. The Cowgirls and Bears take the field at 2 p.m. on Saturday and wrap up the series with a 1 p.m. contest on Sunday. OSU will honor its four seniors; Alliya Anderson, Calli Behmer, Crystal Lee and Jade Lindly, prior to Sunday's game.
The Cowgirls lead the all-time series 19-8 and hold a 9-2 advantage in Stillwater. OSU swept Baylor in three meetings last year, posting a pair of shutouts in the regular season and besting the Bears 8-0 in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament.
Oklahoma State lost its midweek battle against in-state rival Oklahoma on Wednesday, falling to the Sooners, 5-1, in Norman. Baylor picked up a pair of wins against North Texas in non-conference action on Wednesday. In their last conference action the Bears defeated Iowa State, 6-2.
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 94-63 record as a head coach into the Baylor series.
SCOUTING BAYLOR
Baylor is 42-12 overall and enters the series riding a five-game winning streak. The Bears rank third with a .277 batting average and lead the league with an ERA of 1.15. Two of the league's top three pitchers make up the Bears pitching staff. Christin Vitek has a 0.87 ERA and 26-6 record in 192.2 innings. Lisa Ferguson is 15-4 on the year with a 0.98 ERA in 163.2 innings of work. Vitek is a three-time Pitcher of the Week honoree and Ferguson has snagged the honor once. Baylor set a new Big 12 single-season stolen base record against North Texas, bumping its total to 128. Harmony Schwethelm leads Baylor at the plate with a .392 batting average and has sent just four of her 56 hits for extra bases this year. Carrie Leerberg ranks second on the team with a .372 average including a team-leading five triples. The top two hitters also lead the team in stolen bases. Schwethelm has been successful on 26 attempts and Leerberg on 25.
Series snapshot
longest winning streak: 6 by OSU, snapped in 1997
largest margin: OSU won 13-0 in1987; BU won 7-0 in 2002
1-run games: series tied 4-4
2-run games: OSU leads 3-0
5+run games: series tied 6-0
LOOKING AHEAD
Oklahoma State has some time off before heading to the Big 12 Tournament May 12-15 at Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City.
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 games will be broadcast via a live video feed on the web site as part of the MVP package.
GAMEDAY PROMOTIONS
Saturday
*First 150 fans get an OSU Whiffle bats *10 pairs of 2004 NCAA WCWS tickets will be given to contest winners *Postgame autograph session with the OSU Softball team
Sunday
*First 150 fans get an OSU Whiffle bats *10 pairs of 2004 NCAA WCWS tickets will be given to contest winners * Grand Prize featuring a pair of all session tickets to the Big 12 Softball Tournament, hotel accommodations and Big 12 Tournament apparel will be given to one lucky fan.
