No. 23 SB Opens Conference At No. 15 OSU

Softball 3/25/2010 12:00:00 AM

March 25, 2010

#25/23 Baylor (19-8) at #15/16 Oklahoma St. (27-7)
Saturday, March 27, 2:00 p.m.
Sunday, March 28, 1:00 p.m.

The Series
Baylor vs. OSU: Oklahoma State leads, 24-16
In Stillwater: Oklahoma State leads, 13-5

Live Coverage
Radio (Saturday Only) : 104.9 FM
Live Audio: www.BaylorBears.com
Live Stats: www.BaylorBears.com
Live Video: www.OKST.com

Rankings (NFCA, ESPN.com)
Baylor (19-8) 25, 23
Oklahoma State (27-7) 15, 16

The Baylor softball team (19-8) will will remain on the road and open conference play at No. 15 Oklahoma State (27-7) on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and finish up on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. at Cowgirl Stadium. Baylor has played eight of its last nine games on the road heading into the weekend.

Free live audio and stats will be available for both games on baylorbears.com, while Saturday's game will be broadcast on 104.9 FM.

SCOUTING OKLAHOMA STATE
The Cowgirls enter the weekend, winners of their last four and 12 of their last 15. Mariah Gearhardt leads the offense with a .440 average and 16 stolen bases, while Julie Ward provides the power with seven home runs and 43 RBI. Kat Espinosa and Anna Whiddon lead the pitching staff that has a 1.91 team ERA. Espinosa is 10-3 with a 1.65 ERA, while Whiddon is 14-3 with a 1.90 ERA, striking out 113 batters in 99.2 innings.

LAST TIME €ˆOUT
OSU and BU have split the series, 2-2 the last two seasons, with each team holding serve at their home stadium. The last time the Lady Bears were in Stillwater, they fell 11-5 in game one and 3-1 in game two.

CONFERENCE OPENERS
Baylor is 6-7 all-time in conference openers. This weekend marks the first time OSU and BU have met to open conference play.

CANION DONE FOR SEASON
Baylor sophomore pitcher Whitney Canion will miss the rest of the 2010 season due to an increasing stress reaction in her left forearm. Canion, the 2009 Big 12 Freshman and Pitcher of the Year, was 5-3 with a 1.58 ERA and 79 strikeouts in 48.2 innings this season.

WESLEY'S €ˆMIRRORING EACH OTHER
Not only are twin sisters Tiffany and Nicole Wesley identical in physical appearance, but they are mirroring each other on the softball field. The duo are each batting over .400 and are a perfect 26-for-26 in stolen bases. Nicole leads the Big 12 Conference with a .468 average, while Tiffany (hitting .402) is the team leader with 22 runs.

NIETEN WAS ALL SHE NEEDED
Maybe it was a change in the name, but Courtney Nieten (who was formerly Courtney Oberg until her wedding in December) has busted out and swung a hot bat. She is second on the team with 22 RBI. In addition, she is 8-for-11 in RBI opportunities with runners on third and less than two outs, proving she can come through in the clutch.

VANNATTA BREAKS €ˆOUT
Jordan Vannatta came into the season with one home run and 13 RBI in her career, as well as a batting average of .179. She has busted out this season, hitting .354 with five homers and 25 RBI.

CLOSE LOSSES
Of Baylor's eight losses so far this season, five of them have come by one run, while two have been in extra innings. In addition, four losses have come to ranked teams.

TWO OUTS? NO €ˆPROBLEM
The Lady Bears have had a knack for scoring with two outs this season. Of the 150 RBI so far, 60 (40 percent) of them have come with two outs.

Tiffany Wesley HOLDS ERRORLESS STREAK
Senior left fielder Tiffany Wesley has gone 99-straight games without making an error (a program record), dating back to her last error on March 30, 2008 at Oklahoma State.

AGAINST RANKED FOES
Baylor is 1-4 against ranked opponents this season.

THIEVES
Baylor has stolen a conference-leading 77 bases this season, and entered the week ranked second in the country with a 2.96 stolen bases per game average.

DROPPING BOMBS
While it may not be 2007, the power is back in the Baylor lineup. In 2009, the Lady Bears hit 31 home runs in 62 games, however, in 2010 BU has hit 25 home runs through 27 games.

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