Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirl Softball Opens League Play at Missouri
March 20, 2008 | Cowgirl Softball
Oklahoma State (14-14)
at Missouri (27-6)
University Field • Columbia, Mo.
Friday, March 21 • 5:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 22 • 1 p.m.
Cowgirls Travel to Columbia for Conference Opener
• Oklahoma State travels to Columbia, Mo., this weekend to open Big 12 Conference play with the Missouri Tigers.
• Games are set for 5:30 p.m. on Friday and 1 p.m. on Saturday.
• The Cowgirls are 14-14 this season and coming off a weekend in which they lost three of four in Clearwater, Fla., at the Under Armour Classic.
• OSU leads the all-time series with Mizzou, 55-30.
At the Plate
• Oklahoma State has six players batting .300 or better this season, led by freshman Mariah Gearhart’s .360 average. Freshman Alysia Hamilton is batting .354 while sophomore Megan Castle is batting .349.
• The Cowgirls have hit 39 doubles this season, led by eight by Heather Kim. OSU has 25 home runs, led by Kim Kaye’s nine.
• Over the last eight games, Heather Kim is batting .500 with three doubles and a home run.
• The Cowgirls are batting .448 with a runner on third base and less than two outs.
• OSU is batting .295 with two outs, but has 55 two-out RBIs, including a team-high 12 by Mariah Gearhart.
Hammering the Ball
• As a team, Oklahoma State has already hit 25 home runs this season. That already ranks as the eighth-most in a single season in school history.
• The Cowgirls are averaging 0.893 homers per game this year. The school record is 0.889 in 2003 when OSU hit 48 bombs in 54 games.
• Senior Kim Kaye has nine home runs, matching her single-season total from a year ago and tying Michele Smith for the sixth most in school history.
Balanced Attack
• Oklahoma State’s offensive output has been very balanced this season. No longer does OSU have to rely on one or two players to get to the plate in run-scoring situations.
• Ten different Cowgirls have hit at least one home run this season, and seven players have hit at least two. Senior Kim Kaye is the only player with four or more.
• Eight different players have multiple doubles this year, led by Heather Kim who has eight and Katelyn Bright with seven.
• Seven different Cowgirls have scored at least 10 runs and six have at least 10 RBIs in 28 games so far this season.
Kaye in the Record Books
• Cowgirl senior Kim Kaye’s name is scattered throughout the career record book at Oklahoma State.
• She currently has nine home runs this season, third in the Big 12 Conference. Her 22 career home runs rank sixth in the school record books. She is currently tied with Stephanie Nicholson and needs one to tie Courtney Totte and Megan Carey for fourth place.
• Kaye is fifth on the career doubles list with 27. She needs six to catch Stephanie Nicholson and tie for fourth place.
• Kaye’s 85 runs batted in rank her seventh in school history. She needs two RBIs to tie Michele Smith for sixth place.
• Her 214 total bases ranks 12th all-time in school history. Five bases will move her into the top 10.
• Kaye’s .521 career slugging percentage ranks seventh in school history.
• Earlier this season, she moved into the top-25 in school history for runs scored. She currently has 70, ranking 17th.
In the Circle
• Sophomore pitcher Anna Whiddon has 51 strikeouts and just 15 walks, a 3.4 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Her 1.40 earned run average ranks fifth individually in the Big 12.
• Freshman Amanda Crabtree has thrown nine complete games, the fifth-most in the Big 12 this season. Her 83.1 innings pitched also ranked fifth in the league.
In the Field
• Oklahoma State has turned 10 double plays so far this season.
• The school record for double plays turned is 19 by the 2000 Cowgirls.
• OSU needs just two double plays to move into the top 10 in school history.
• The Cowgirl catchers have thrown out 13 of 36 runners attempting to steal, nearly 36 percent.
• Oklahoma State’s .968 fielding percentage currently ranks as one of the best in school history. The record is .971, while the second-best percentage is .966.
Series History with the Tigers
• Oklahoma State owns a 55-30 all-time record vs. Missouri, including a 13-5 mark in Columbia. These two teams have played at least one game every season since 1982.
• Included in the series with Mizzou is a 14-game winning streak from 1986 until 1991 and an 11-game streak from 1994 until 1996.
• The Tigers have won seven of the last nine games and 17 of the last 28 games. Prior to that, OSU was 44-13 against Missouri.
• Oklahoma State won the last meeting in Columbia 5-1.
• The Cowgirls are looking to end a two-game skid against the Tigers.
• These two teams have played 10 extra-inning games with Oklahoma State owning a 7-3 edge.
Next Week with the Cowgirls
• Oklahoma State will return home before traveling down I-35 to Oklahoma City on Monday, March 24, when the Cowgirls will play the USA National Team at 6:30 p.m. at ASA/Hall of Fame Stadium.
• The game will be televised on a tape-delayed basis by ESPN2. Mark Neely will handle the play-by-play duties while former Cowgirl Michele Smith will provide expert analysis. The contest will be aired on Tuesday, April 22 at 7 p.m.
• OSU will travel to Fayetteville, Ark., on Wednesday, April 26 to compete in the Border Wars, hosted by the Arkansas Razorbacks.
• The Cowgirls will face Tulsa at 3 p.m. and Arkansas at 5 p.m. at Lady’Back Yard.
