Cowgirls Prepare For Midweek Games

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The Basics

Oklahoma State Softball and second-year head coach Kenny Gajewski return to action for a pair of midweek games against Central Arkansas and Tulsa. First pitch against UCA is set for 6:00 p.m. Tuesday while the Cowgirls will travel to Tulsa the following night for a 5:00 p.m. game.

Following the Action

Cowgirl fans can catch the UCA game on OSTATE TV while both games will be on 105.5 FM in Stillwater. Live stats will be on okstate.com. In-game updates will be on Twitter (@CowgirlSB).

Oklahoma State Snapshot

Oklahoma State finished 3-1 last week with wins over North Texas and Iowa State. As a team the Cowgirls hit .359 on their way to a season-series sweep of the Mean Green and a Big 12 series win over the Cyclones. On the week the Cowgirls outscored their opponents 43-16, out-hit 42-21 and had 22 walks while giving up just six. Brandi Needham earned the three victories in the circle for Oklahoma State.
To find the Cowgirls in the Big 12 Standings this week you'll have to go look at the top as OSU finds itself tied for second after the third weekend of competition. Oklahoma sits alone at the top after starting conference play with a perfect 6-0 record after sweeps of Kansas, Texas and Iowa State. OSU sits at 8-1. After checking in at No. 49 in the initial RPI rankings three weeks ago, the Cowgirls now find themselves at No. 35.
Vanessa Shippy continues to lead the charge at the plate for the Cowgirls.During her last 10 games, Shippy is batting a team-best .536 on 15 hits with 13 RBIs and 11 runs. During the stretch she has shown she can get on base a lot thanks to seven walks on her way to a .611 on-base percentage. Shippy has especially shined in Big 12 games where she's batting .483 on 14 hits with 13 RBIs and 12 runs. On the year she's batting .419, the second-best in the Big 12, on 54 hits with 38 RBIs and 43 runs.
Rylee Bayless has shined in her first year in Stillwater. Bayless is on her way to history, as she could become just the fourth Cowgirl in program history to lead the nation in a category for a season. Bayless currently leads the nation in walks (55) as she has walked on 50 percent of her at-bats this season. That has led Bayless to a team-best .565 on-base percentage through her first 44 games as a Cowgirl. But don't think Bayless can't swing, as she's also batting .351 on 39 hits with 32 RBIs this season.
Maddi Holcomb has quietly had a solid year in 2017. Holcomb is batting a cool .327 out of the nine hole where she's done an excellent job turning over the lineup. Holcomb has produced with 33 hits and 21 runs on the year. Just as important, Holcomb also has seven sacrifice hits on the season. Up to this point, Holcomb has 11 multi-hit games. She has also shined in center where she has become known for her highlight reel catches she's made throughout the year.
Taylor Lynch is off to another good start after an impressive freshman campaign. On the year Lynch has 12 multi-hit games, and has at least one in her last four games. Overall she's batting .351 on 47 hits with 26 RBIs and 27 runs. Just as important to the team Lynch has stepped up in right despite having never played the position before this season. Lynch has 45 putouts with a .963 fielding percentage.
Brandi Needham and Shea Coats have stepped up in the circle to replace 20-game winner Kacy Freeze, who graduated after last season. Needham and Coats have combined for a 20-11 record with 13 complete games. While Coats and Needham aren't your traditional strikeout pitchers, the duo has produced with 119 on the year. More importantly, don't expect a lot of free bases when you see these two. The pair has allowed just 32 on the year, or a 119-32 strikeout to walk ratio so far.
The Cowgirls haven't been afraid to move people around this year. OSU has used five pitchers, two catchers, three first basemen, two second basemen, two shortstops, four left fielders, two center fielders, three right fielders and four designated players.

Scouting the Opponents: UCA and Tulsa
CENTRAL ARKANSAS

2017: Comes into the game with a 17-29 record, including a 3-15 mark on the road. Winners of four of their last seven. As a team UCA is batting .229 with Kayla Crutchmer, the sister of OSU All-American wrestler Kyle Crutchmer, leading the way at .304. Kayla Gomness has led the charge in the circle with an 11-14 record to match her 2.38 ERA.

TULSA

2017: Comes into the game with a 29-13 mark, including a 9-2 record at home. The Golden Hurricane three batters hitting .300 or better with Maggie Withee leading the way at .393. Tulsa's true strength is its pitching. Emily Watson and Haley Meinen have combined for a 24-4 record with both posting a sub-2.00 ERA. Watson has struck out 244 batters thus far.
2017 Oklahoma State/Tulsa Series: Tulsa took the first meeting of the year in Stillwater, 3-2, on April 5. Vanessa Shippy led the way at the plate going 1-for-2 with two RBIs on a first-inning two-run home run. Taylor Lynch accounted for the other hit in the game for OSU. Watson accounted for 17 strikeouts in the game on her way to the victory.

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Players Mentioned

Rylee Bayless

Shea Coats

Kacy Freeze

Maddi Holcomb

Taylor Lynch

Brandi Needham

Vanessa Shippy

Oklahoma State University Athletics

Cowgirls Prepare For Midweek Games

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Rylee Bayless

Shea Coats

Kacy Freeze

Maddi Holcomb

Taylor Lynch

Brandi Needham

Vanessa Shippy

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