Game Notes: Cowgirls Set for Second Meeting With Tulsa

Wednesday, April 4

Stillwater, OK

6 P.M. CT

Oklahoma State University

Tulsa

Buy Tickets

Photo by: OSU Athletics

April 02, 2018 | Cowgirl Softball

PDF Notes

STILLWATER – The No. 25/23 Oklahoma State softball team briefly steps away from Big 12 play, as the Cowgirls face Tulsa in the second half of a 2018 home-and-home series. OSU dropped the first matchup against the Golden Hurricane, 2-0, in Tulsa on March 21, but will welcome their in-state foes to Cowgirl Stadium on Wednesday for the return game between the two teams.

In the Rankings
Oklahoma State is ranked No. 23 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 and is No. 25 in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll this week. It is the ninth consecutive week that OSU has held a spot in at least one of the national polls, dating back to last year's end-of-season rankings.

Oklahoma State From a Distance
Oklahoma State enters the 2018 season with a genuine buzz surrounding the program. Much of that has to do with a highly-successful first two years under head coach Kenny Gajewski, as well as a large crop of returning and new talent among the squad this season.
OSU was one of the best teams in the nation at getting on base last season, doing so at a .396 clip. That trend figures to remain a fixture of the team's success in 2018, as much of last year's core returns in this season's lineup. Senior Vanessa Shippy, who owns OSU's career on-base percentage record (.502), will lead the line once again as she looks to cement her place among the all-time great Cowgirls.
Along with Shippy, Oklahoma State's lineup will feature stars like Taylor Lynch, Madi Sue Montgomery and a host of other top-notch competitors. Among the 13 returners this year, OSU brings more than 75 percent of its total number of at-bats from a season ago (1,219-1,592 AB). That percentage grows when you look strictly at the number of hits that still reside in Stillwater from a season ago (77 pct./355-458 H).

Notable Streaks and Trends Entering the Matchup
- OSU is 32-22 in games decided by two runs or less since the start of the 2016 season.
-  Vanessa Shippy has started 208 consecutive games. She has started every possible game during her Oklahoma State career thus far, and has played every position but pitcher in a live game.
-  Madi Sue Montgomery has started 156 consecutive games.
-  Vanessa Shippy has tallied 190 hits to only 49 strikeouts since Gajewski became head coach at OSU.
-  Vanessa Shippy has recorded 56 hits over her last 49 games played.
-  Vanessa Shippy has reached base as the Cowgirls' first batter in 16 of OSU's last 20 contests.
-  Samantha Clakley has not walked more than two batters in her last 14 appearances.
-  Taylor Lynch has logged at least one hit in 29 of 35 games played this season.
-  Maddi Holcomb has logged at least one hit in 19 of her last 28 games.
-  Madi Sue Montgomery has driven in multiple runs on 10 occasions this season, including in each of OSU's last three games of the Mizuno Classic.
-  Sydney Pennington is currently riding a seven-game hitting streak, which is her longest of the season.
-  Sydney Pennington has recorded at least one hit in 26 of her 35 games played thus far and has driven in at least one run on 19 occasions so far in 2018.
-  Logan Simunek has allowed just 10 earned runs in 54.2 innings pitched this season.