Cowgirl Softball Ready for Hall of Fame Classic

March 11, 2021 | Cowgirl Softball

The No. 7 Oklahoma State Cowgirls (18-1 overall) compete in the Hall of Fame Classic this weekend.
OSU hosts Liberty on Friday, March 12 for a doubleheader in Stillwater beginning at 2:30 p.m. The Cowgirls then travel to Oklahoma City for a doubleheader against Houston in Hall of Fame Stadium with the first game set for 4 p.m.

Watch, Listen, Follow
This weekend's Oklahoma State softball games will be available on Stillwater Radio at KGFY 105.5 FM.

Fans can also follow live stats at okstate.statbroadcast.com.
No games this weekend will be televised or streamed.

In the Rankings
Oklahoma State is ranked No. 7 in both major polls, the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll and the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25. At 18-1, the Cowgirls have climbed steadily up the charts since the beginning of the season when they received their first top 10 preseason ranking since 1994.
OSU's opponents this weekend do not appear in the polls.

Oklahoma State from a Distance
Nineteen games into the 2021 season, Oklahoma State appears to be as advertised. The Cowgirls are 18-1 on the year and just wrapped up their first home series of the season. OSU was perfect on the weekend, going 5-0 with wins against Omaha, New Mexico, and Tulsa. The Cowgirls found some power in front of their home crowd, launching nine home runs on the weekend.

     In the circle, OSU has found some depth to back up their outstanding 1-2 punch of Carrie Eberle and Kelly Maxwell. In 18 games, seven different Cowgirls have logged innings in the circle, compared to just three in 24 games last season. Logan Simunek (2-1, 3.25 ERA) continues to be the go-to starter behind the duo of Eberle and Maxwell. Simunek got one start and picked up the win in the OSU/Tulsa Invitational last weekend.
     On offense, Oklahoma State is led by returning All-American Alysen Febrey, who is hitting .467 this season and launched two long balls against Tulsa to bring her season total to six. Chyenne Factor and Chelsea Alexander join Febrey in batting over .400. Six Cowgirl starters are now hitting over .340 for the year, and as a team OSU is hitting .337 The Cowgirls rank in the top 25 nationally in batting average, doubles, stolen bases, and winning percentage.

Notable Streaks and Trends

At 18-1, the Cowgirls are off to their best start since the 1989 season, in which OSU started 24-1 and went to the WCWS.
The Cowgirls have won 30 of their last 31 games, dating back to last season.
The Cowgirls have won four of five against ranked opponents this season and dating back to last season, have won seven of their last nine against ranked opponents.
Kiley Naomi has been successful on 35 of her last 36 stolen base attempts and leads the Big 12 with 10 stolen bases this season.
Sydney Pennington has started 166 consecutive games, which amounts to every possible game of her career.
OSU has won 19 straight at Cowgirl Stadium dating back to the 2019 season.
The Cowgirls are tied for second in the nation with nine shutouts.
The Cowgirls have stolen 33 bases this season, which ranks 15th in the NCAA.
Kelly Maxwell is tied for first in the NCAA with a 0.00 ERA.
Carrie Eberle leads the Big 12 and is tied for the nation's lead with four shutouts this season.
Eberle also leads the Big 12 with seven wins.
The Cowgirls have been ranked in the NFCA poll in each of their last 105 games, dating back to the start of the 2019 season.
The Cowgirls are outscoring opponents, 130-33, in 2021.
Alysen Febrey has recorded a team-leading 10 multiple hit games and eight multiple RBI games.
Febrey has a hit in all but two games this season.

Series History vs. This Week's Opponents

Oklahoma State and Liberty meet for the first time this weekend.
Houston currently leads the overall series with Oklahoma State, 7-5. The Cougars hold a 1-0 neutral site advantage. However, in their last meeting in 2019, the Cowgirls defeated Houston, 5-1. Head coach Kenny Gajewski is 3-1 against Houston.