Oklahoma State University Athletics
Tuesday, March 7
Stillwater, OK
5:30 PM
Oklahoma State University
vs
Evansville
Cowgirl Softball Finishing Up At Home Before Hitting Road Again
March 06, 2017 | Cowgirl Softball
- Oklahoma State Softball and second-year coach Kenny Gajewski finish up their eight-game home stand with back-to-back nights of softball against Evansville and Wichita State. First pitch for both games is set for 5:30 pm with tickets set at $5.
Following The Action
- Fans can watch both games on okstate.com/live for free. You can also follow along with live stats at okstate.com or on Twitter (@CowgirlSB).
Oklahoma State Snapshot
- The Cowgirls stayed home this past weekend to host the Mizuno Classic, posting a 4-1 record that included a season-high four game win streak. OSU posted wins over all three teams in the tournament with the lone loss coming to Northern Iowa in the final game of the tournament. In total, four different pitchers earned wins on the weekend. In their win streak during the tournament, OSU scored a season-high nine runs in a win over ACU on 3/4.
- Vanessa Shippy once again finds herself batting north of .400. Shippy leads the team with an incredible .417 batting average on 25 hits, eight of which have been for extra bases. Shippy has also shown she has a great eye as well, drawing the second most walks on the team thus far (17). In the field she has shown she can play almost anywhere as she has played five different positions thus far in 2017. Shippy has notably played the last five games at short while Randee O'Donnell has recovered from minor leg discomfort.Â
- Rylee Bayless didn't wait long to impress those in Stillwater. In her home debut, Bayless went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a walk to go along with her great start to her first year at OSU. Bayless is batting an impressive .352 on 19 hits, six of which have been doubles. Bayless has brought home 13 runs while scoring 16 herself. She has also been a threat once she gets on the bases as she has stole a team-best eight bases. In the field, Bayless has started all 21 games at third with a .965 fielding percentage. Overall she leads the team in on-base percentage (.557), doubles, home runs (two), walks and stolen bases
- Although just her second year in Stillwater, fans have become accustomed to seeing Taylor Lynch put up big numbers at the plate. Lynch is batting a cool .388 on the year with 26 hits and a team-best 16 RBIs. After breaking the school record with a 23-game hit streak in 2016, she holds the team's longest streak thus far in 2017 with a 12-game hit streak that ended against California in the Mary Nutter Classic. She has been consistent throughout the year at the plate with seven multi-hit games thus far. Lynch has shown an ability to adapt to wherever she has called on to play. After having never played either position at any level before this year, Lynch has started games at first and right field.
- One of the bigger questions coming into 2017 was how would the Cowgirls replace 20-game winner Kacy Freeze in the circle, and so far Brandi Needham has been a solid answer to the question. She has led the team with a 6-4 record with a 3.08 ERA with a team-best 27 strikeouts. On the year she has thrown three complete games, with two being complete-game shutouts. On the year teams are batting a low .299 against Needham.
- Speaking of pitching, the OSU pitching staff has shown off its depth this year. The squad has combined for 12 wins, with four different pitchers earning a win thus far. Teams are batting a low .298 against Cowgirl pitchers this year while striking out 95 times so far. The staff has also shown anybody can pitch at any time with all five having started games and come out of the bullpen at some point. Two different pitchers (Logan Simunek and Whitney Whitehorn) have earned saves at this point in the season.
- Oklahoma State has shown early on it isn't a team you can fall behind to if you expect to win, especially late in the game. The Cowgirls are 8-1 when leading after four and 10-0 when leading after six.
- After a 15-game road trip to start the season, the Cowgirls finally return to Cowgirl Stadium. OSU will play eight games in Stillwater before hitting the road again on March 10 for the Rebel Classic at Ole Miss.
Scouting The Opponents:Evansville, Wichita State
- Evansville
The team: Two batters hitting .300 or better. Older team with nine seniors on the roster.
2017: Comes in with a 5-9 record on the year. Has played good teams well this year, including a 5-4 loss last weekend in Norman against Oklahoma. Comes in with a one-game win streak.Â
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2017: Comes in with a 5-9 record on the year. Has played good teams well this year, including a 5-4 loss last weekend in Norman against Oklahoma. Comes in with a one-game win streak.Â
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- Wichita State
The team: Led by Kelli Spring and Mackenzie Wright with both hitting .400 or better. Katie Malone has led the way in the circle with a 2.67 ERA and a 9-4 record on the year. Bailey Klitzke is the only other Shocker pitcher to throw many innings as she has posted a 2-2 record with a 3.78 ERA.
2017: Comes in with a 9-4 record. Lost last two meetings to OSU.
2017: Comes in with a 9-4 record. Lost last two meetings to OSU.
Players Mentioned
INF
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LHP
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INF
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RHP
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SS
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UTL
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RHP
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RHP
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