No. 14 Softball Hosts No. 20 Oklahoma State
4/21/2011 12:00:00 AM | Softball
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No. 14 Baylor (35-8, 7-3) vs No. 20 Oklahoma State(34-11, 5-4) | |||
FRIDAY, APRIL 22| 6:30 P.M. | SATURDAY, APRIL 23 | NOON |  Listen | ||
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Scouting Oklahoma State
The Cowgirls are led by seniors Alysia Hamilton and Mariah Gearhart. Hamilton is batting .406 this season with 37 runs scored and 29 runs batted in from the third spot in the lineup. In the circle, sophomore Kat Espinosa is 17-5 with a 2.38 earned run average and four shutouts. A pair of freshmen, Simone Freeman and Morgan Hawkins, are a combined 15-5, while senior Sarah Odom is 2-1 with a 2.67 ERA.
Series
Oklahoma State leads the all-time series 26-16, but the Lady Bears lead 8-4 in Waco. The teams have split the last two series', each sweeping on their home fields.
RPI
Baylor comes into the series with an RPI of 12, while Oklahoma State is 17th.
5 And Under
Baylor is 35-2 when holding its opponents to five runs or less, including a 30-1 mark when allowing two runs or less. On the flip side, BU is 0-6 when allowing six or more runs.
Score First, Score A Win
The Lady Bears are 12-1 this season when scoring in the first inning and 29-2 when scoring first. When leading after four innings, Baylor is 29-2, and when having a lead after six, it is 26-1. The lone loss came on a walk-off, two-run homer at Texas A&M on March 27.
Top 25 Terrorizers
The Lady Bears enter this weekend's contests with a 12-5 mark against ranked opponents, including 8-3 away from Getterman Stadium.
One's Enough
Baylor has yet to drop back-to-back games so far this season.
Road Warriors
Baylor wrapped up its eight-straight games away from home, traveling over 2,800 miles in a 12-day span, going 6-2 on the road swing.
Vs. Ranked Opponents
After going 2-14 against ranked opponents in 2010, Baylor is 12-5 against ranked foes in 2011.
Best Start Since 2005
The 35-8 start is the second-best mark through 43 games in Baylor history. Only the 2005 squad was better, with a 37-6 record.
All Acquaintance Be Forgot
It's a new year, and nothing makes that more clear than looking at the Lady Bears' record. After going 28-25 in 2010, they already have 35 wins entering this weekend. The difference? At this time last season, BU had a 2.29 ERA, while it enters the weekend with a 1.41 ERA. But in Big 12 play, through 10 games in 2010 the Lady Bears had a 2.66 ERA. Through 10 games in 2011, they sit with a 1.58 ERA. Offensively through 10 conference games in 2010 BU was hitting .238, while it has amassed a .315 clip in 10 games so far in 2011.
Armed And Ready
The Baylor pitching staff has been nothing short of stellar, entering the weekend with a 1.41 ERA, third in the Big 12 Conference and eighth nationally. Canion's 0.90 ERA is good for sixth in the country and third in the league, while Liz Paul (1.68) is sixth and Courtney Repka is 13th with a 2.27 mark.
Look Out For Leal
Senior Dani Leal, has been stellar in her second year in green and gold, leading the team in batting average (.370), home runs (13), RBI (32) and slugging percentage (.796). She is hitting .407 in conference games, tied for sixth. Her 13 home runs put her in a tie for sixth on the single-season home run mark and tie her for sixth on the career home run list with 22. The shortstop from Mexico City, Mexico, set a new Getterman Classic for home runs in the tournament, smashing quatro.
Canion Grand In Circle
Canion has been outstanding in the circle for BU, with a 19-5 record and 0.90 ERA, while her 9.19 strikeouts per seven innings is good for fifth in the league.
Canion Climbing The Charts
Canion now sits second all-time in career strikeouts at Baylor with 698. Just a redshirt sophomore, she needs 61 to tie Cristin Vitek's career record 759.
Shelton's Speed
Kathy Shelton was a perfect 37-for-37 on the base paths in her career until she was thrown out for the first time in her career at Texas Tech on April 6. She is now 43-44 in her career and 26-27 this season. As a team, Baylor is second in the Big 12 with 90 stolen bases on the year.
Freeland's Final Stand
KJ Freeland is having an outstanding senior season. She entered 2011 with a career average of .252 and career totals of one double, 11 RBI and 16 stolen bases. This year she is second on the team with a .352 mark to go with two doubles, eight RBI and nine stolen bases.
