The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Softball preview: Baylor
05.02.2006 | Softball
No. 2/2 Texas (48-5, 14-2) at No. 18/18 Baylor (36-17, 12-5)
When: Wednesday, May 3 -- 6:30 p.m.
Where: Getterman Stadium -- Waco, Texas
Baylor Ticket Office: Telephone: (254) 710-1000 or 800-BAYLORU (option 7)
SERIES BREAKDOWN
All-Time Series: Texas leads 13-5
First Meeting: 4/25/1998; a 11-0, 5 inn. Texas win in Austin, Texas.
Last Meeting: 3/29/2006; a 2-1 Texas win in Austin, Texas
Streak: UT won the last two meetings.
Clark vs. Texas Tech: 13-5
LAST TIME AROUND THE BASES
Behind the two-hit, 17-strikeout shutout performance of pitching ace Cat Osterman and a three-run first inning, the No. 2 ranked Texas softball team posted a 3-0 win over Oklahoma State (April 30), and clinched the 2006 Big 12 Conference regular season championship in the process ... with an 14-2 Big 12 record the Longhorns are guaranteed the Big 12 regular season crown - the third in the program's history ... the game was played in front of a school single game attendance record of 1,570 fans who were watching the Longhorns play their final regular season home game at McCombs Field on "Texas Senior Day" ... The standing-room only crowd broke the former record of 1,437, set on April 6, 2005 when UT hosted Texas A&M in Austin ... Texas struck for three runs in the first inning, aided by three hits, a walk, a stolen base, two Cowgirls errors and an OSU wild pitch, as UT sent seven runners to the plate ... in the first game against OSU on April 29, Osterman hurled a eight-inning four-hitter and fanned 16 batters while senior Chez Sievers delivered the game-winning RBI with a one-out double in the bottom of the eighth, to lift No. 2 Texas to a 1-0 victory over the Cowgirls ... Sievers finished the weekend with three doubles ... Texas is now 2-1 in extra inning games this spring, and won in the bottom of the seventh or in extra innings for the seventh time ... the score remained deadlocked, 0-0, when catcher Megan Willis slammed a line drive off the left-field wall for a standup double, that brought Sievers to the plate ... Sievers lined a 2-2 pitch hard up the middle to score Willis from second for her 13th RBI on the year.
OSTERMAN NAMED BIG 12 PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Cat Osterman earned her third consecutive and ninth Big 12 Pitcher of the Week honor of the season, as announced Tuesday by the conference office ... it was Osterman's 25th conference weekly pitching accolade of her career ... Osterman, 32-1, went 3-0 last week with a 0.00 ERA and three shutouts against No. 15 Texas A&M (April 26) and Oklahoma State (April 29 and 30) for the No. 2 ranked Longhorns (48-5) ... the two-time USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year struck out 45 batters in 22 innings of work and surrendered seven hits with seven walks ... the opposing team's batting average was .097 when Osterman was in the circle last week ... in an ESPNU nationally-televised game at No. 15 Texas A&M, Osterman won, 1-0, striking out 12 and allowing one hit for her seventh one-hitter of the year ... the win split the 2006 State Farm Lone Star Showdown series between UT and Texas A&M one game apiece ... against Oklahoma State, a 1-0 eight-inning win, Osterman retired 16 of 28 batters faced and allowed only four hits and zero walks on April 29 ... in the Sunday series closer, Osterman helped clinch the 2006 Big 12 regular season title by striking out 17, giving up only two hits and walking four in UT's victory ... it was her 16th win in a row and 23rd shutout of the season.
AGAINST BAYLOR
Texas leads the all-time series with the Baylor Bears by a 13-5 margin ... UT is is 4-3 in games played where Baylor is the home team ... Texas defeated then - No. 20 Baylor 2-1 in Austin on March 29 ... Amber Hall had an RBI triple in the fourth inning and then came in to score on a Baylor throwing error, giving Texas the 2-1 win ... senior hurler Cat Osterman earned the win in the circle, allowing one run on one hit with 15 strikeouts and two walks ... last season, Texas split with the Bears, falling 2-0 in Waco but wining the second meeting, 1-0, in Austin ... in the first meeting, Baylor capitalized on a pair of third-inning Texas fielding errors to push two unearned runs across the board to win 2-0 ... Texas was playing its first game since the team's bench collapsed during a rain delay on March 26, which injured four Texas starters: centerfielder Tina Boutelle, first baseman Alexis Garcia, rightfielder Amber Hall and shortstop Desiree Williams ... Osterman tossed the complete game despite snapping her 10-game winning streak and allowed two runs (none earned) while scattering two hits and striking out 13 ... in the second meeting, UT's Monica Askew connected for a two-out, pinch-hit double in the third that drove in MicKayla Padilla for the game's only run to give Texas a 1-0 victory ... Osterman posted her 12th shutout of the season with the win as she went the distance in her 18th complete game of the year
LONGHORNS LOCK UP BIG 12 REGULAR SEASON TITLE
No. 2 ranked Texas posted a 3-0 win over Big 12 opponent Oklahoma State April 30, and clinched the 2006 Big 12 Conference regular season championship in the process ... Texas moved to 14-2 in the league, with one conference game left to play (tonight's game) ... UT is guaranteed the Big 12 regular season crown - the third in the program's history - as second-place No. 16 Nebraska stands 11-4 with two games to play and No. 18 Baylor is third in the league standings (12-5) with tonight's game left.
TEXAS TRAVELING BETTER THAN MOST
Texas has a 7-2 road record and a large part of its success is owed to the Longhorn fans who have helped to cheer on their team in hostile territory ... after six true away games this season, Texas is averaging 1,127 fans per outing at an opponents stadium ... four opponents have set their all-time high for attendance with Texas as the visitor and two have set top five attendance marks ... on March 9th, Texas State set a new record with 1,184 fans, Iowa State set a new record with 610 fans on April 1st, Texas Tech squeezed 657 people in on April 20th when they hosted UT and Kansas had an all-time high of 1,217 on April 22nd.
SUCCESS IN BIG 12 PLAY
Texas has an all-time record of 105-61 (.633) in Big 12 play ... UT has won three regular-season crowns (2002, 2003 and 2006), finished second once (1999) and third three times (1998, 2000 and 2005) ... UT has won a Big 12-record four postseason Big 12 Championship titles (1999, 2002, 2003 and 2005) ... Texas has the third-highest winning percentage in the history of Big 12 play, a .633 mark ... Oklahoma (149-49, .753) and Nebraska (133-55, .707) are the only teams to best the Horns ... Texas, however, did not participate in the first official year of Big 12 softball competition - 1996 - as UT took that year to transition from club play to Division I status.
UP NEXT
UT heads to Oklahoma City, Okla. for the 2006 Big 12 Softball Tournament at the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium ... last year, Texas won the tournament after claiming the No. 3 seed and became the first-ever non-No. 1 or No. 2 team to win the tourney ... the Longhorns have won three out of the last four Big 12 Tournament titles and four titles overall.
BAYLOR - QUICK FACTS
Nickname: Lady Bears
Head Coach: Glenn Moore
2005 Record: 51-14
2005 Conference Record (Finish): 11-7 (4th Big 12)
2005 Postseason: NCAA Super Regional
