Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirls Face Huskers
May 13, 2011 | Cowgirl Softball
May 13, 2011
Stillwater, Okla. — Oklahoma State's 20th-ranked softball team travels to Lincoln, Neb., this weekend for the final series of the regular season. The Cowgirls and the No. 16 Nebraska Huskers will play two games this weekend, one game on Saturday at 4:30 pm and another contest at noon on Sunday.
The OSU offense is led by the four infielders. Second baseman Alysia Hamilton is batting .392 this season and has 40 runs scored and 33 RBIs from the three-hole spot in the lineup. Third baseman Mariah Gearhart is hitting .370 with 47 runs scored and is 33 of 35 on stolen bases. She is the all-time OSU career record holder for runs scored with 178 as well as the all-time stolen-base record holder with 112. Shortstop Chelsea Garcia is hitting .340 with 30 runs scored and a team-high 49 RBIs, the fifth-most in school history. First baseman Julie Ward is batting .314 with 10 doubles, 11 home runs and 41 RBIs. She is the all-time OSU home run leader with 31.
In the circle, sophomore Kat Espinosa is 20-6 with a 2.32 earned run average and four shutouts. A pair of freshmen — Simone Freeman and Morgan Hawkins — have both thrown well for OSU. Freeman is 9-7 with a 2.24 ERA while Hawkins is 6-0 with a 1.21 ERA. Senior Sarah Odom has a 2-2 record and a 2.57 ERA in 32 innings pitched.
Defensively, Oklahoma State ranks in the top-10 nationally in fielding percentage at 97.7 percent, and has turned a league-leading 19 double plays. The Cowgirls are 33-3 when outhitting their opponents and 28-3 when scoring first this season. They are undefeated when scoring four or more runs, sporting a 28-0 record.
Nebraska is 37-12 overall this season and 7-9 in Big 12 Conference action, having swept Iowa State in a home-and-home series this weekend. The Huskers are 8-4 at home and 18-2 on neutral fields. NU is led offensively by Taylor Edwards who is hitting .357 with 17 home runs and 61 runs batted in. Nikki Haget is batting .346 with a team-high 46 runs scored and is 16-of-19 on stolen bases. In the circle, the Huskers mostly rely on Ashley Hagemann who is 27-11 this season with a 1.83 earned run average and 292 strikeouts in 233-1/3 innings pitched.
