Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirl Softball Hosts Texas To Close Out Regular Season
April 29, 2005 | Cowgirl Softball
Sunday, May 1 • 1 p.m. • Senior Day
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Oklahoma State closes out the regular season this weekend, hosting sixth-ranked Texas for a two-game set at Cowgirl Stadium. The series kicks off at 2 p.m. on Saturday and concludes at 1 p.m. on Sunday. The Cowgirls will recognize their three seniors, Megan Carey, Stephanie Nicholson and Dominique Van Nortwick, prior to Sunday's game.
The Cowgirls are in a must-win situation if they want to avoid the play-in game at the Big 12 Tournament. The 7-10 seeds at the tournament meet in a single elimination game before advancing to double elimination play. With two weekends left for teams in the north, the final seeding cannot be determined. Currently, the Cowgirls are seventh in the standings and can finish anywhere from fifth to eighth.
Texas leads the all-time series 11-5 and holds a 4-2 advantage in Stillwater. Texas swept the 2003 series at Cowgirl Stadium 1-0 and 9-3 to win the Big 12 regular season title. Last year the teams split in Austin with Texas taking the first contest 9-4 and OSU winning game two 7-4.
The Cowgirls lost the second round of Bedlam in a closely contested contest on Wednesday. After the Cowgirls tied the game in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Sooners plated the winning run in the ninth inning to earn a 3-2 win.
ABOUT TEXAS
Texas (35-11, 9-6) enters the weekend having lost three of its last five games. The Longhorns have been busy this past week and the visit to Stillwater will wrap up a stretch of seven games in eight days. Texas split with Iowa State and Texas Tech, then dropped a midweek contest against Texas A&M on Wednesday.
The Longhorns rank ninth in the conference with a .243 batting average led by Chez Sievers with a .327 average. Desiree Williams is third on the squad with a .274 average and has a team-high eight doubles and five home runs. The Horns only have 14 long balls as a team, with Jaclyn Daniels and Alexis Garcia being the only others to hit more than one on the season.
Texas is dominant on the mound behind junior phenom Cat Osterman. Osterman leads the league with a 0.40 ERA and has tossed 14 shutouts this spring. The southpaw is 20-6 on the year and averages 15.5 Ks per game. Freshman Meagan Denny has been a solid No. 2 pitcher, earning a 7-2 record and 0.80 ERA in 78.0 innings.
FLASHBACK ... APRIL 24-25, 2004
Texas exploded for five runs in the fifth inning en route to a 9-4 win against Oklahoma State's on Saturday at McCombs Field. Texas broke the scoreless standstill in the bottom of the third, touching Jessica Hoppock for back-to-back RBI doubles.
It would not last long as the Cowgirls took care of business in the fourth and chased Texas' Christina Gwyn from the game with four runs. OSU loaded the bases with a walk from Megan Carey and base hits by Crystal Lee and Stephanie Nicholson to set up the play. A pair of line outs followed but Jade Lindly came through for the Cowgirls, sending a shot sailing over the wall in right center for the bases-clearing grand slam.
Texas made a comeback of its own, scoring five unanswered runs for the 9-4 win. Randi Cook came on in relief for Hoppock after Texas tied the game in the fifth. Cook did not fare much better surrendering four runs off a two-RBI double and two-run home run. Kristen Neil entered the game in the sixth and gave up one run. Hoppock gave up five earned runs and took the loss for the Cowgirls, falling to 20-17 on the year.
The Cowgirls got off to a quick start in game two behind leadoff hitter Shanel Scott. Scott touched Texas' Gwyn for a triple, her second of the year, and came home on a sacrifice fly from Carey. Oklahoma State extended its lead in the top of the third with a pair of unearned runs. Lauren Kitchens reached on a walk and made it home on an error by Texas' left fielder that allowed both she and Scott to take three bases. Courtney Totte then followed with a shot up the middle to plate Scott for the 3-0 advantage.
Texas avoided the shutout with a bases loaded walk in the bottom of the frame but the Cowgirls gained a three-run cushion once again with a RBI double from Alliya Anderson that scored Stephanie Nicholson.
The Cowgirls kept coming in the fifth, scoring three runs off four hits. Totte started the rally with a triple, Carey followed with a RBI single and Nicholson closed out the inning with a two-RBI double. Texas came charging back with three runs of its own in the bottom of the frame thanks to four extra-base hits.
The Longhorns scored all three runs with two outs but the Cowgirls held strong during the final two innings to take a 7-4 win and earn a split in the series. Hoppock picked up the win in the circle, improving to 21-17 on the year. Hoppock gave up four runs on eight hits, seven walks and six strikeouts. Â
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 127-84 record as a head coach into the Texas 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 seventh to earn a 4-1 win.
LOOKING AHEAD
Oklahoma State returns to action at the Big 12 Tournament May 11-14 at Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City. The Cowgirls will not know their seed or opponent until the conference season concludes on May 8.
BIG 12 TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
The 10th annual Big 12 Tournament will be held May 11-14 at Don E. Porter ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City. Tickets can be purchased by contacting the Oklahoma City All Sports Association at (405) 236-5000 or by downloading the ticket application on the Big 12 web site, www.big12sports.com. All-session general admission tickets are $50. Single session tickets for games 1-10 (Wed-Thu.) are $8 for adults and $5 for senior citizen and children 12 and under. Tickets for sessions 11-17 (Fri.-Sat.) are $10 for adults and $7 for senior citizens and children 12 and under.
