Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirl Softball Opens Season at CenturyTel Classic
February 08, 2007 | Cowgirl Softball
Oklahoma State will begin the Rich Wieligman era on the campus of Texas State University for the CenturyTel Classic this weekend. The tournament is a round robin that leads to bracket play. The Cowgirls open up with Texas-San Antonio at 10 a.m. on Friday morning before playing seventh-ranked Alabama at 12:30 p.m. The Crimson Tide are looking for a return trip to the Women's College World Series. The Cowgirls close out round robin action against tourney host Texas State on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. OSU does not get a break with Texas-San Antonio or Texas State. The Roadrunners went 37-14 and finished first in the Southland Conference, while the Bobcats went 34-22 and finished second in the SLC. The teams will be seeded according to record and the semifinals will be played on Saturday afternoon, with the consolation and championship game being played on Sunday. OSU went 21-29 during the 2006 season and finished eighth in the Big 12. The Cowgirls won their first two games at the Big 12 Championship, including an upset of regular season champion Texas The Cowgirls have eight seniors on the roster and are returning their top four hitters from a year ago. Lauren Kitchens was named first team All-Big 12 as she led the team in hitting with a .336 average. Shanel Scott returns as the leadoff hitter and boasts a career average of .350. Kim Kaye was the team's leading run producer last season after hitting nine home runs and driving in 42. Courtney Totte has started just about every game at catcher since she arrived at OSU. Totte hit .283 last season with 14 doubles.
Wieligman Takes Over
Oklahoma State opens the Rich Wieligman era on Friday against Texas-San Antonio. Wieligman came to Oklahoma State following a four-year stint at Texas A&M as an assistant coach. He helped lead the Aggies to a Super Regional appearance and he guided the Aggie offense to a nation leading .336 team batting average.
Scott Looking to Create Havoc
Senior Shanel Scott is closing in on the career run scored mark held by Cowgirl legend Jaime Foutch. Scott currently sits second with 106 runs scored, while Foutch's record is 122. Scott already holds the school record in stolen bases which she plans to add to this season. Scott has been a solid leadoff hitter throughout her career as she is a .350 hitter at OSU and creates havoc on the basepaths. Wieligman plans to utilize her speed to help create runs.
Hoppock Willing to Share
Jessica Hoppock has been a workhorse ever since she arrived at Oklahoma State in 2004. Hoppock set a school record her freshman season with 307.0 innings pitched. Hoppock again threw over two-thirds of the team's innings last season, and she is on pace to break school records in starts, complete games, innings pitched and appearances. The key for OSU's success this season is how rested head coach Rich Wieligman can keep Hoppock throughout the season.
Totte a Solid Backstop
Courtney Totte has started all but one game at catcher in her career at Oklahoma State. Catcher is generally thought to be one of the most physically demanding positions, but Totte has played solid defense and still been productive at the plate. Last season she threw out 28 percent of runners trying to steal, while still hitting .285 with 14 doubles and 25 RBIs. Totte currently sits sixth in her career at OSU with 30 career steals, she was a perfect 11-for-11 in 2006.
Cowgirls Picked Seventh in the Preseason
Oklahoma State was picked to finish seventh in the Big 12 preseason poll. OSU received 28 points and was picked behind defending Big 12 regular season champion Texas and defending Big 12 Tournament champion Kansas, who were picked fifth and sixth, respectively. Texas A&M was picked to win the league with eight first-place votes. Baylor was picked second and received one first-place vote, while Nebraska was third. Oklahoma received the last first-place vote and was picked fourth.
