Oklahoma State University Athletics
Softball Set to Begin Rich Wieligman Era
February 06, 2007 | Cowgirl Softball
Wieligman knows the talent is in place for the Cowgirls to win their fair share of games, but a rugged non-conference schedule will not make it easy. Oklahoma State is scheduled to play seven of the eight Women's College World Series teams from a year ago, including NCAA runner-up Northwestern. The only team not on the schedule is defending national champion Arizona.
Backed by speedster Shanel Scott and workhorse Jessica Hoppock, the Cowgirls need to build confidence heading into the conference season. Scott has already set the career steals mark at OSU and could challenge Cyndi Smith's single season mark of 28. Scott should also surpass Jaime Foutch's career record of 122 runs scored.
Hoppock will set every career record for pitcher durability there is. She currently ranks second or third in starts, appearances, complete games and innings pitched. She finally has some significant help in her senior season with a healthy Chelsey Barclay and freshman Anna Whiddon. Senior Randi Cook is also available out of the bullpen.
“We need to keep Jessica as fresh as we can all year,” Wieligman said. “Of course she is going to be the ace and will get the majority of the innings. Anna Whiddon, Chelsey Barclay and Randi Cook will all help share the workload to keep Hoppock fresh throughout the season.”
The Cowgirls have the potential to score a lot of runs in support of Hoppock. Scott should be a good table setter for the middle of the order. The Cowgirls are also returning Kim Kaye, who led the team last year with nine home runs and 42 RBIs. Kaye spent the summer playing with the British National Team in the World Cup of Softball and the World Softball Championships.
Senior catcher Courtney Totte is moving up the career doubles list and should have the opportunity to drive in more runs. Lauren Kitchens returns after having an all-conference season in 2006 by leading the team with a .336 batting average.
The biggest key that coach Wieligman has stressed throughout the fall and into the spring is consistency. The Cowgirls need to bring the same mentality into every game, and they will beat the teams they are supposed to.
“I think this is a team that can beat just about anybody in the nation,” Wieligman said. “It is a matter of bringing that to the field every time. We definitely have some team speed, we have some good offense. When Jess is on the mound throwing well, there are not many teams that can beat her. It is just a matter if we can keep putting that out on the field every game.
“We have not sat down yet to discuss team goals. I do not think it is out of the realm of possibility for us to definitely go to a regional. We talk a lot to our kids about beating the teams that we are supposed to beat. If we do that and show up in conference and compete in our conference the way we are capable of, I believe we will be in a regional.”
The Cowgirls will know just how good they really are when they faceAlabama at the Texas State Tournament the opening weekend of the season.
The Cowgirls showed glimpses of what they were capable of in 2006 with a win over Texas at the Big 12 Championship. OSU also defeated Kansas, who went on to win the conference tournament and had World Series-qualifier Oregon State down until its final at bat.
In order for the Cowgirls to step up to the level of competition, they must first improve on the mound. The Cowgirl pitching staff yielded program highs in nine statistical categories in 2006. The biggest culprit was the 191 walks issued by the Cowgirls.
“I think this fall we really stressed to the pitchers to get ahead,” Wieligman said. “Lets get ahead first and make the hitters adjust from there. We had a lot of walks last year so we are going to try and cut down on the walks and make the hitters hit earlier in the count, then we can make adjustments from there.
“If they never have to hit early in the count, then they get to choose the pitch they hit or they do walk. That turns into putting a lot of pressure on your defense. You throw a lot of strikes early in the count, I think it makes your defense ready to play.”
The new coaching staff has seen a new committment to the Oklahoma State softball program since they took over during the summer. The Cowgirls have put more emphasis into their offseason training, which could be a sign of things to come for Oklahoma State softball.
