May 17, 1998

STILLWATER, Okla. - Jaime Foutch hit a two-run home run, and Amy Lopez allowed no hits after the third inning as Oklahoma State defeated Stanford 4-0 to win the NCAA Softball Regional held here and advance to the College World Series.

Lopez stranded four Stanford runners in the first two innings, but the Cardinal was unable to advance a runner to second base for the remainder of the game. She allowed just four hits, all in the first three innings, as OSU earned its third shutout victory of the regional.

"I was extremely nervous," said Lopez. "I was really nervous the first three innings, and then I started to relax. Then we got a couple of runs, and I felt a little better. Then in the last inning, I was nervous again."

Foutch's two-run homer to left in the fourth inning opened the scoring, and Kristi Bolle added a run-scoring double in the fifth. Liz Silvas two-out bunt single scored pinch runner Jennifer Olival with an insurance run in the sixth.

Pitcher Jenn Markert, who tossed a no-hitter in OSU's tournament-opening victory over Florida State, was named Most Outstanding Player of the regional. Five Cowgirls and four Stanford players were named to the regional's all-tournament team, joined by two Southwest Missouri State players and one from Florida State.

Oklahoma State 4, Stanford 0

Stanford        000 000 0 -- 0 4 0
Oklahoma State  000 211 x -- 4 6 0

Blevins and Wiginton; Lopez and Silva. W - Lopez (11-6).
L - Blevins (24-10). HR - OSU, Foutch (8).

All-Tournament Team
Kristi Hull, Florida State
Tawnya Grout, Southwest Mo. St.
Sarah Madden, Southwest Mo. St.
Michelle Acosta, Stanford
Shane Anderson, Stanford
Marcy Crouch, Stanford
Jenni Shideler, Stanford
Kristi Bolle, Oklahoma State
Jaime Foutch, Oklahoma State
Melissa Turley, Oklahoma State
Leanne Tyler, Oklahoma State
Jenn Markert, Oklahoma State (Most Outstanding Player)