On Tap Oklahoma State plays four games in a three-day span as the Cowgirls host Louisville and Nevada and play in Oklahoma City as part of The Preview Featuring Bedlam. OSU will host Louisville on Friday night at 6 p.m. inside Cowgirl Stadium before playing Nevada at 12:30 p.m. at ASA/Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City on Saturday. The Cowgirls will also play Oklahoma in a non-conference matchup of bedlam rivals at 3 o’clock on Saturday at Oklahoma City. OSU will conclude the weekend by hosting Nevada on Sunday at 11 a.m. at Cowgirl Stadium.
About Oklahoma State Oklahoma State is 11-5 overall this season and ranked No. 24 in the latest USA Softball/ESPN.com top-25 rankings and 25th in the NFCA Coaches poll. All five losses this season have come against top-25 opponents, including a loss to top-ranked Washington last weekend. This is the first time since 2004 that OSU has been in the top 25. The Cowgirls are hitting .262 as a team and have an earned run average of 2.58.
At the Plate The Cowgirls are being led by junior third baseman Mariah Gearhart who is batting .449 this season with 19 runs scored. She also leads the team with22 hits, eight stolen bases and a .571 on-base percentage. Freshman outfielder Amy Graham is second on the squad with a .440 batting average. Sophomore first baseman Julie Ward is leading the team with a .780 slugging percentage as well as five home runs, eight doubles and 23 runs batted in. She is tied for first in the Big 12 for doubles and ranks second in the conference for home runs.
In the Circle Oklahoma State’s pitching staff is led by senior Anna Whiddon who is 8-2 so far on the season. Whiddon has a 2.14 ERA after 52.1 innings pitched. She has four complete games, two were shutouts, and 51 strikeouts. Freshman Kat Espinosa is holding up the No. 2 spot with a 2.04 ERA in 37.2 innings pitched. She is 3-2 this season with one complete game and 34 strikeouts.
Ranked Competition As Oklahoma State takes on No. 14 Louisville and No. 11 Oklahoma, it will be the seventh and eighth games the Cowgirls have played against ranked opponents this season. OSU is 1-5 against ranked opponents so far, including a win over No. 13 California last weekend.
The Preview Opponents Oklahoma State is 0-1 all-time against the Louisville Cardinals, last meeting in 2003 when the Cowgirls lost 5-0 in the Chevron Paradise Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii. Oklahoma State and Nevada have never played on the softball diamond.
OSU-Nevada Ties Nevada head coach Matt Meuchel is in his second year with the Wolfpack and is 34-32. The two years prior to Nevada, Meuchel was an assistant coach under Rich Wieligman at Oklahoma State for two seasons.
Big 12 Match-Up Oklahoma State will play Oklahoma on Saturday, the first time since 1999 that the two have met in a non-conference game. That last game ended in a 3-2 loss for OSU and the Cowgirls are 3-4 all-time in non-conference games against the Sooners. The last non-conference match-up with a Big 12 opponent was in 2005 when OSU defeated Kansas 3-2.
Batter, Take Your Base Leadoff hitter Mariah Gearhart has no problem taking one for the team and has a knack for getting on base. After tying the school record for hit-by-pitches as a freshman with 16, she eclipsed that mark as a sophomore with 22, doubling the previous school career record with 38 through two seasons. This year, she has already been beaned 10 times through 16 games. With 48 career hit by pitches, Gearhart ranks seventh in NCAA history in that category.
Whiddon Among All-Time Greats Senior hurler Anna Whiddon ranks among some of the best pitchers in Oklahoma State history. Her career record is 49-35, tying her for the eighth-most victories in school history. Her 118 career appearances ranks third in school history. Her eight career saves tie Lauren Bay for the most by a Cowgirl in OSU history.
Crossing the Plate Mariah Gearhart entered the season ranked 12th in school history with 78 career runs scored. With 19 this season, she has moved into fourth place on the career list and is just three away from 100 career runs scored. Katelyn Bright now has 89 career runs scored, ranking eighth in school history.
Bombs Away Julie Ward hit nine home runs last season, a school record for a freshman. She’s continued that frantic pace this season with five bombs through the first 16 games in 2010. Her 14 career homers ties Kim Ward for the ninth-most in school history.
Freshmen Step Up Two of Oklahoma State’s top-three hitters this season are rookies to the Cowgirl program. Freshman Amy Graham is hitting .440 with nine runs scored and a .559 on-base percentage. Redshirt freshman Tamara Brown is batting .357 with a .464 slugging percentage. Both have started at least 10 games for OSU this season.
Coach Rich Wieligman Oklahoma State head coach Rich Wieligman enters his fourth season as the head coach of the Cowgirls and brings with him a 98-85 record. He led OSU to its first NCAA Tournament appearance in four years last season as the Cowgirls advanced to the regional final in Tallahassee, Fla.
Coach Wigs has led Oklahoma State to 12 wins over ranked opponents in his three-plus seasons, including a 3-2 victory over 13th-ranked California earlier this season. That win avenged a pair of losses to the Bears in last year’s regional tournament.
In his three short years at the helm of the Cowgirls, Coach Wieligman has coached seven All-Big 12 players and five all-region selections. With emphasis on the classroom as well, he has had 15 players named to the Academic all-conference teams in three years, an average of five per season.
