Oklahoma State University Athletics
Softball Travels To Nebraska For Final Road Series
April 22, 2005 | Cowgirl Softball
Oklahoma State heads north to Nebraska for its final road trip of the season this weekend. The series starts at 2 p.m. on Saturday and concludes at noon on Sunday. Sunday's game will be televised on CSTV, available to DirectTV customers. This series is especially important as the Cowgirls will face a team that trails them by two one-hundreths of a percentage point in the conference standings. If the the Big 12 Tournament were held today, the Cowgirls would receive the sixth-seed and Nebraska the seventh.
Nebraska leads the series 40-26 and holds a slim 13-11 advantage in Lincoln. The last time the Cowgirls visited Lincoln OSU swept the series 2-1 and 3-2 (12).
The Cowgirls stretched their win streak to three following a sweep of Texas Tech on Tuesday. OSU controlled game one from the start and went on to win 8-0 in five innings behind a 12 strikeout performance from Marjorie Johnson. Game two was a different story as the Cowgirls were forced to stage a gutsy comeback from seven runs down to win 9-8. The series was the first sweep for the Cowgirls in conference play.
ABOUT NEBRASKA
Nebraska is 29-16 overall and 5-6 in league play. Kansas defeated Nebraska 2-0 in midweek action, holding the Huskers to just three hits in the contest.
Nebraska is led by Anne Steffan with a .435 batting average. Much like the Cowgirls leadoff hitter Shanel Scott, Steffan likes to play small ball. Steffan leads the team with 70 hits but only five of those, all doubles, have gone for extra bases. Jessica Yoachim, hitting .360 overall, leads the Huskers with a .333 average in league play. As a team the Huskers tend to keep it in the park, hitting a league-low 15 home runs this season. Sheena Lawrick leads the team with six followed by Jamie Waldecker with five.
A pair of Huskers, Anne Steffan and Jessica Yoachim, are active on the bases and provide a challenging 1-2 punch in the Nebraska lineup. Steffan is fourth on the season charts with 29 steals while Yoachim has 23 to her credit this year.
Reigning Big 12 Pitcher of the Week Ashley DeBuhr leads the Huskers in the circle. The sophomore is 17-14 on the year with a 1.55 ERA. DeBuhr has tossed 21 complete games and a total of 198.2 innings. Jordan Keen is the No. 2 pitcher on staff, compiling a 9-2 record and 1.67 ERA in 84.0 innings.
2004 FLASHBACK
Oklahoma State's softball team had a rough outing on Saturday, falling to Nebraska, 10-2, in its conference opener at Cowgirl Stadium. Nebraska touched OSU starter Jessica Hoppock for four hits and left a runner in scoring position in the first three innings before exploding for 10 runs on eight hits in the top of the fourth.
The Huskers took control of the game in the fourth after plating their highest one-inning run total of the year. The inning was sparked by back-to-back home runs to lead off the frame. Sheena Lawrick bumped Nebraska's lead to 7-0 with a grand slam that cleared the scoreboard in right field.
Hoppock gave way to Kristen Neil following the grand slam. Neil gave up three runs off a pair of base hits and three walks. Hoppock then returned to the circle two batters into the fifth inning.
Oklahoma State's offense came alive in the bottom half of the fourth, connecting for its only two hits of the game and scoring two runs to avoid the shutout. The bases were loaded after a walk, base hit and fielder's choice when Jade Lindly came through with the two-RBI double to right center.
Oklahoma State's softball team managed just one hit on Sunday, dropping the second game of the series to Nebraska, 5-0, as the Huskers earned the series sweep at Cowgirl Stadium. Peaches James provided offense and defense for the Huskers. The senior one-hit the Cowgirls and hit two solo home runs, one in the second and sixth innings to lift Nebraska to victory.
The Huskers added two runs in the fifth on a two-RBI single in the fifth and closed out the scoring with a double steal in the sixth.
Oklahoma State's offense struggled in the contest and its lone hit of the game came in the third, a single to left field from Shanel Scott. OSU's biggest surge of the game came in the fifth inning and was the result of a throwing error by James. The errant throw went deep down the right field line and allowed Stephanie Nicholson to reach third. The rally was short-lived as James recovered and retired the next two batters to end the inning.
Jessica Hoppock (15-12) was saddled with her third straight loss, giving up five runs, three earned, on eight hits, five walks and five strikeouts.
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 126-82 record as a head coach into the Nebraska series. 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.
DDS AND ENDS
*The Cowgirls 2-1 win against No. 3 UCLA on Feb. 26, 2005 was the highest ranked opponent the Cowgirls have beaten since defeating second-ranked Arizona 1-0 on Feb. 21, 2003.
*Nicholson had a hand in two of the Cowgirls three wins in Palm Springs. The senior scored the winning run against Utah (3-2) and then plated Shianne Cruce with a sacrifice fly agianst UNLV (3-2).
*OSU is 5-0 in extra innings and has outscored its opponents 9-2 in those frames. Three of those wins have come in conference play (Missouri, Baylor, Kansas).
*For the second straight year the Cowgirls first conference game with Missouri went into extras. The Tigers won 3-2 (14) last year but the Cowgirls emerged victorious the second time around (6-5).
*Oklahoma State has been dominant in the first inning, outscoring their opponents 38-9.
*The Cowgirls are 21-3 when leading after four innings
*Sophomore Courtney Totte is no stranger to clutch hits, currently second on the team 12 two-out RBI. Totte's most recent was a solo home run in a 8-0 win against Texas Tech. Tara Jeffery leads all hitters with 13, including the game-winner in game two against Tech.
* Courtney Totte leads the team with eight game-winning hits. Tara Jeffery is second with six followed by Megan Carey with five.
* Shanel Scott is the only Cowgirl that has been in the same spot of the hitting lineup all year, getting the Cowgirls started in all 47 games. Stephanie Nicholson has been the No. 2 hitter in all 44 games that she has played in.
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, 10 of the Cowgirls opponents are ranked in the top 10. In addition, five Big 12 schools, Texas, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Baylor and Missouri are ranked.
LOOKING AHEAD
Oklahoma State returns to Cowgirl Stadium for three games next week. The Cowgirls host Oklahoma for a Bedlam rematch at 7 p.m. on Wednesday. The Sooners run-ruled OSU 9-0 in the previous meeting this year. The regular season concludes when the Cowgirls host Texas for a two-game set on Saturday, April 30 and Sunday May 1. Senior day festivities will take place prior to Sunday's contest.
