Oklahoma State University Athletics
Softball Travels To Texas For Three Games
March 31, 2005 | Cowgirl Softball
Friday, April 1 • 5 p.m.
Denton, Texas • Denia Park
at Baylor
Saturday, April 2 • 2 p.m.
Sunday, April 1 • 1 p.m.
Waco, Texas • Getterman Stadium
live stats: www.okstate.com
ON TAP
Oklahoma State heads south to Texas for three road games, taking on North Texas on Friday before resuming conference play with a two-game set at Baylor on Saturday and Sunday.
The Cowgirls are 1-1 against North Texas this season, falling 4-3 at the Tulsa Invitational but winning 2-0 in Stillwater on March 18. OSU leads the all-time series 4-2 and own a 1-0 record in Denton following a 8-2 win at the North Texas Betlin Roundup last spring.
OSU and Baylor nearly met earlier this season in the championship contest at the Speedline Invitational but the games was cancelled due to travel conflicts. The Cowgirls and Bears split the series in Stillwater last year and OSU leads the overall series 20-9.
The Cowgirls won two midweek games at the Border War and although both games resulted in wins, OSU took a different route to earn each one. OSU blew past Tulsa, 7-0, in the first game but had to rally for the 4-3 win against Arkansas, scoring four runs in the final two innings.
HEAD COACH MARGARET REBENAR
Margaret Rebenar is in her 26th season season as a softball coach at Oklahoma State and fourth 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 121-76 record as a head coach into the North Texas contest. Hitting the century mark was an exciting game for Rebenar as the Cowgirls staged a come-from-behind victory at UNLV, scoring four runs in the top of the seventh to earn a 4-1 win.
SCOUTING NORTH TEXAS
The Mean Green are 7-19 on the year with their most recent outing resulting in a 9-1 loss to Oklahoma in Denton. North Texas has played just four games at home this year, posting a 1-3 record. Mandy Hacker leads the team with a .293 batting average. Kristina Fowler leads the Mean Green in the circle with a 3.02 ERA and 5-8 record in 85.2 innings. Mandy Hacker (1-4, 2.90 ERA, 38.2 IP) and Katy Maxey (1-6, 4.20 ERA, 43.1 IP) also see time on the mound. The Cowgirls faced Fowler in both contests this year, going 1-1 against the freshman.
SCOUTING BAYLOR
The Lady Bears are 34-6 overall and 3-1 in conference play coming off a 2-0 win against fifth-ranked Texas on Wednesday in Waco. In other conference games Baylor lost to Texas A&M and swept Texas Tech. Chelsi Lake leads the team with a .422 batting average and 12 home runs and ranks second in the conference with 43 RBI. Three Baylor players have 20 or more stolen bases. Kelly Osburn and Harmony Schwethel lead the team with 21 followed by Kim Wilmoth with 20. Lisa Ferguson and Cristin Vitek lead the Bears in the circle. Ferguson is 11-1 with a 1.39 ERA and tossed the shutout against Texas. Vitek is 11-3 with a 2.05 ERA.
IN THE POLLS
Oklahoma State will face nine opponents ranked in the NFCA preseason Top 25, including three of the top four. In the most recently released poll, six of the Cowgirls opponents are ranked in the top 10. In addition, six Big 12 schools, Texas, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Baylor, Missouri and Nebraska, are ranked.
LOOKING AHEAD
Oklahoma State wraps up a six-game road swing with the first installment of Bedlam next week. The Cowgirls visit Norman for a 7 p.m. contest on Wednesday, April 6 before returning home to host Kansas on April 9 and 10. The OU game will be televised by the Sooner Sports Network.
COWGIRL SOFTBALL ON THE AIR
Oklahoma State's home conference games, as well as the OU game in Norman, the Border War in Fayetteville, Ark., and all postseason contests will be broadcast live on Stillwater Radio. Bill VanNess will provide the play-by-play for the seventh 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 2005 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 away games. The games listed below will be broadcast via a live video feed on the web site as part of the MVP package.
