Osterman, Cat (Softball Player)

Cat Osterman started playing softball in first grade before quitting to play soccer, but she eventually found her way back to the diamond in fifth grade; she is currently a senior psychology major at the University of Texas at Austin and starting pitcher for the Longhorns. Osterman holds the NCAA Division I career strikeout record with 2,134 strikeouts over her four year career, as well as the Big 12 record with 25 Pitcher of the Week awards and the Big 12 record with four Pitcher of the Year awards. Osterman has pitched 20 NCAA career no-hitters and 10 NCAA career perfect games.

Catherine Leigh (“Cat”) Osterman (born April 16, 1983) is an American athlete and was one of the pitchers on the Women’s Softball Team USA Gold Medal winners at the 2004 Summer Olympics. She was born in Houston, Texas and attended Cypress Spring High School in Cypress, Texas from 1997 to 2001; her parents are Gary and Laura Osterman, and her brothers are Craig (born 1986) and Chris (born 1994).

She started playing softball in first grade before quitting to play soccer, but she eventually found her way back to the diamond in fifth grade; she is currently a senior psychology major at the University of Texas at Austin and starting pitcher for the Longhorns. Osterman holds the NCAA Division I career strikeout record with 2,134 strikeouts over her four year career, as well as the Big 12 record with 25 Pitcher of the Week awards and the Big 12 record with four Pitcher of the Year awards. Osterman has pitched 20 NCAA career no-hitters and 10 NCAA career perfect games.

Cypress Springs High School

On April 4, 2000, Osterman struck out 21 batters in a row against Langham Creek High School to record a perfect game at the age of 17. Considering the general equality of talent at the high school level, her feat betters the Major League record for strikeouts in a game shared by Roger Clemens and Kerry Wood at 20; moreover, Osterman collected one more strikeout in two less innings in a performance on par with 1950’s Minor League phenom Ron Necciai.

In 2001, she struck out 33 batters in a 14-inning 1-0 shutout over Cy-Fair High School. The performance ranked 11th on the strikeouts-in-a-single-game (extra innings) list, behind:

• 61, Alicia Holloway; Fairfield High School 0, Woodland High School 1; May 25 & 29, 2001; 30 innings
• 53, DeeDee Weiman; Cerritos Gahr 0, Lakewood St. Joseph 1; 1986; 29 innings
• 49, Jennifer Deering; Salinsa North Salinas 9, Gilroy 4; April 14 & May 8, 1997; 34 innings
• 48, Lisa Fernandez; Lakewood St. Joseph 1, Cerritos Gahr 0; 1986; 29 innings
• 47, Kristen Sloubar; Van Nuys Montclair Prep 2, Sonta Monica Crossroads 1; May 8-9, 2005; 21 innings
• 44, Samantha Freeman; Pleasant Hill MO vs. Jefferson City Helias MO; October 20, 2001; 21 innings
• 43, Terry Carpenter; Huntington Beach Edison 0, Burbank Burroughs 0; 19xx; 24 innings
• 43, Jenny Schachtner; Flintridge Prep 2, Westright Tigers 1; June 27-29, 2005; 26 innings
• 42, Kristy Goodrich; Warren Lordstown OH 6, Bristol OH 2; 1998; 21 innings
• 42, Tracy Tiensvold; Truman MO vs. Blue Springs MO; October 14, 2000; 35 innings
• 40, Marissa Marzan; Fresno Bullard 0 vs. Clovis 1; 2000; 22 innings
• 40, Michele Granger; Placentia Valencia 1, La Mirada 0; 1988; 25 innings
• 40, Kayla Richardson; West Jefferson Ashe County NC vs. Mt. Airy North Surry NC; April 22, 25 & 27, 2005; 26 innings
• 35, Lucy Cezarez; Chula Vista Bonita Vista 1, La Mesa Helix 0; 1976; 29 innings

As such, she set a new national record for strikeouts in a game under 20 innings, beating Jenny Stallard’s previous record of 31 in 19 innings in 1978; she also set the new national record for strikeouts in a 14-inning game, breaking Michelle Granger’s former record of 31 in 1985.

2002: Freshman year

Osterman became the first UT freshman to be named Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Week for the week of February 19, a week in which she tossed two no-hitters (a 3-0 win over the University of Utah on February 13 and a 4-0 win over Southwest Texas on February 15); they were only the third and fourth by a UT freshman, along with Natalie King’s two freshman no-hitters in 2001). Her February 13th no-hitter was the first of her NCAA career.

She also threw the first perfect game in UT history in a game against Stephen F. Austin State University on February 26; she proceeded to throw two more perfect games in her freshman season. She struck out 554 batters to set a new NCAA freshman record (which has since been eclipsed by Monica Abbott of the Tennessee Lady Volunteers with 582 in 2004).

She set new UT single-season records for wins (36), innings pitched (304.1), games started (40), shutouts (17), appearances (51), and consecutive innings without giving up an earned-run (79.2 from February 13 to March 13), as well as the UT single-game record for innings-pitched (14) and strikeouts-in-a-game (23) in a March 1 game against Mississippi State University. In a March 20 game against Texas-State, she broke her own UT record for strikeouts-in-a-game with 24 in a 12-inning match. She also tied the UT single-season record for complete games (27).

2003: Sophomore year

Osterman threw four more no-hitters, including another perfect game — on February 12, March 1, and March 20 — while setting new UT career records for wins (68), shutouts (35), strikeouts (1,042), and opponents-batting-average (.105). She is so far the only pitcher in Big 12 Conference history to strike out 1,000 batters in only two seasons. She also broke the record for strikeouts-per-game with an average of 14.1 per seven-innings, beating the previous mark of 13.9 by Danielle Henderson of the University of Massachusetts in 1999; she surpassed her own UT single-season record for shutouts with 18, and tied her own shared record for complete games (27). From April 22 to May 22, she went a career-high and UT record 65 consecutive scoreless-innings.

On July 11, Osterman threw a no-hitter in the 2003 Canada Cup, striking out 10 batters to defeat Team Canada 8-0; on July 12, Osterman pitched her second no-hitter of the 2003 Canada Cup, striking out 16 of 24 batters to defeat the Stratford Brakettes 5-0.

On August 15, Osterman threw a perfect game to win the Gold-Medal game of the 2003 Pan American Games against Canada 4-0, securing Team USA’s fifth consecutive PanAm Gold Medal. She struck out 14 batters in a game that was delayed three-and-a-half hours due to rain.

2004: XXVIII Olympiad

Osterman redshirted from UT to participate with fellow college softball pitcher Jennie Finch in the Olympic Games in Athens.

Aiming for Athens

Osterman went undefeated in 24 appearances during the USA Softball National Team’s 53-game schedule. On February 20, she struck out nine batters in four perfect innings and combined with Finch for a no-hitter when Finch hit Megan Bordelon of Stanford with a pitch in the late innings of a 9-0 victory. On May 17, she struck out seven of nine batters over three innings, after which Finch struck out the final six batters in a row to combine for a perfect game and defeat the Sonic Stars 10-0. On July 10, she struck out 13 batters over five innings for another no-hitter, this time missing perfection on a lone error by first-baseman Stacey Nuveman in a 16-0 win over the Fort Worth All-Stars.

Olympic Games

Osterman picked up two wins and a save in the Olympiad. She followed Finch and Lori Harrigan of the University of Nevada by striking out the final two batters in Team USA’s 7-0 victory over Italy on August 14; she gave up one hit and struck out 11 batters over eight innings in Team USA’s 3-0 victory over Japan on August 16; and she gave up one hit and four walks while striking out 10 batters over six innings in Team USA’s 3-0 victory over Chinese Taipei on August 20. Her 23 strikeouts led Team USA.

2005: Junior year

Osterman threw six more no-hitters including three more perfect games on February 16 (perfect), March 9 (perfect), March 11, May 12, May 20, and May 21 (perfect); she also struck out 20-or-more batters in four separate games on March 17 (23 in ten innings), March 19 (21 in eight innings), April 26 (24 in ten innings), and May 27 (20 in nine innings) in the process of leading the Longhorns to a third-place finish in the NCAA Women’s Softball College World Series (they lost to the UCLA Bruins, who in turn lost to the Michigan Wolverines).

She also topped her previous UT single-season records for complete games (31) and shutouts (22), and broke her own NCAA single-season record for strikeouts-per-game with an average of 15.2 per seven innings. She tied her own UT records for strikeouts-in-a-game with 24 (April 26) and strikeouts-in-a-seven-inning-game with 19 (May 1), and finished the season at third place on the all-time NCAA single-season strikeout list with 593 (behind Courtney Blades’s 663 in 2000, and Monica Abbott’s 594 in 2005).

On June 12, Osterman picked up the win in Team USA’s Gold-Medal 9-0 victory over Australia in the 2005 International Sports Invitational; she gave up one hit and struck out ten batters over five innings.

On August 28, Cat made her television broadcast debut when she was the color commentator for ESPN2’s broadcast of the National Pro Fastpitch championship and all-star games.

The Nolan Ryan of women’s softball

On March 9, Osterman struck out her 1,200th batter to tie Lisa Ishikawa of Northwestern University for 10th place on the NCAA all-time strikeout list; on March 11, she moved past Ishikawa and passed Jocelyn Forest of California State University to take ninth place. On March 15, she reached 1,229 to surpass Amanda Renfro of Texas Tech for eighth place; on March 17, she passed Shawn Andaya of Texas A&M to take seventh place. On March 23, she struck out her 1,291st batter, passing Sarah Dawson of the University of Louisiana at Monroe for sixth place.

On March 25, Osterman became the sixth NCAA Division I pitcher to strikeout 1,300 batters. On April 6, she passed Danielle Henderson for fifth place on the NCAA all-time strikeout list; on April 10, she struck out seven in 3.1 innings to surpass Britni Sneed for fourth place. On April 13, she passed Nicole Myers to take third place; on April 16, she struck out 13 in a 3-2 win over the University of Missouri to become the third member of the 1,400 Strikeout Club (along with Michelle Granger and Courtney Blades). On May 12, she crested the 1,500 strikeout plateau; on June 3, she broke the 1,600 strikeout mark.

2006: Senior year

Osterman has pitched five no-hitters, including three perfect games, so far in the 2006 season on February 10 (perfect), February 11, February 17 (perfect), March 8 (perfect), and April 15; she also struck out 20 batters in a seven-inning 5-1 win over the University of Texas-San Antonio on February 21. She opened the season with six consecutive shut-outs, including an opening day perfect-game, a follow-up no-hitter, and a 16-0 romp over Oklahoma Christian University on February 16. Her February 10th no-hitter was also her 100th career NCAA win.

Her pursuit of the NCAA Division I career strikeout record continued in her season debut, a 3-0 perfect game against the Northwestern University Wildcats on February 10; she struck out 11 batters to bring her career total to 1,646, passing Michelle Granger for second place on the all-time list. On February 16, she struck out 13 Oklahoma Christian batters to bring her careet total to 1,708, making her just the second pitcher in NCAA history to reach the 1,700 plateau.

On February 25, Cat Osterman struck out six Fresno State batters in a 7-2 win and then proceeded to strike out seven batters in a 4-0 victory over the University of Nevada Lady Rebels, bringing her career strikeout total to 1,774 to surpass Courtney Blades as the all-time NCAA Division I leader. On March 1, she struck out 15 batters in a 5-1 win over the University of Texas at Arlington to bring her career total to 1,807, making her the first pitcher in NCAA Division I history to reach the 1,800 watershed.

On March 17, Cat struck out 13 Michigan Wolverines batters in her first loss of the season (following 17 consecutive wins) to become the first pitcher in NCAA Division I history to enter the 1,900 Strikeout Club. On April 5, she struck out five Texas A&M Aggie batters to become the first pitcher to enter the 2,000 Strikeout Club; her milestone strikeout was against leadoff third-baseman Jamie Hinshaw. On April 29, Cat struck out 16 OSU Cowgirls batters to become the first pitcher to enter the 2,100 Strikeout Club.

Cat has also been awarded the Big 12 Player of the Week Award six of the first seven weeks of the 2006 season. She has won for the week of February 8 to 14, February 15 to 21, February 22 to 28, March 8 to 14, March 15 to 21, and March 22 to 28; she lost the week of March 1 to 7 to Amie Ford of Iowa State University. For the week of February 22 to 28, Cat also won the Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I National Player award of the Week and the USA Softball National Player of the Week award.

On March 1, Cat recorded her 109th career win over the University of Texas at Arlington to tie Jennie Finch (University of Arizona) and Jessica Salinger (Georgia Tech) for 16th on the NCAA all-time career wins. On March 3, Cat recorded her 110th career win over Ole Miss to pass Finch and Salinger and tie Jenny Voss (University of Nebraska) for 15th place; the next day, she recorded her 111th career win over the University of Houston to pass Voss and tie Samantha Iuli (University of Chicago at Illinois) 14th place.

On March 16, Cat recorded her 114th career win to tie Shawn Andaya (Texas A&M for 13th place on the NCAA all-time list. On March 18, Cat recorded her 115th career win over Notre Dame to pass Andaya and tie Jennifer Stewart (University of Oklahoma) and Shelley Laird (University of Alabama) for 12th place; the next day, she recorded her 116th career win over the University of Arizona Wildcats to pass Stewart and Laird and tie Kristin Schmidt (Notre Dame/LSU) and Debby Day (UTA/Arizona) for 11th place.

On March 22, Cat recorded her 118th career win over Georgia Tech to tie Jamie Southern (Fresno State) for 10th place on the NCAA all-time list. On March 25, Cat recorded her 119th career win over the University of Nebraska to pass Southern and tie Brooke Mitchell (Louisiana-Lafayette) and Michele Granger (University of California) for ninth place. On March 29, Cat recorded her 120th career win to pass Mitchell and Granger and tie Britni Sneed (LSU) and Sarah Dawson (Louisiana-Monroe) for eighth place on the all-time list.

On April 14 and April 15, Cat recorded her 124th and 125th career wins over the Oklahoma Sooners to tie and then pass Nancy Evans for sixth place on the all-time list. On April 29 and April 30, Cat recorded her 129th and 130th career win over the Oklahoma State University Cowgirls to tie UCLA Bruins pitcher Keira Goerl for fifth place on the all-time list. The only active collegiate player with more career wins is University of Arizona Wildcats pitcher Alicia Hollowell with 133, in fourth place on the all-time list.

Going Pro

On February 15, 2006, Cat was the first overall pick in the National Pro Fastpitch softball league draft; she was chosen by the Connecticut Brakettes, who will play their first professional season in 2006. The Brakettes were formerly known as the Stratford Brakettes of the Amateur Softball Association, and Osterman had been on their amateur roster for the five seasons prior to being drafted.

Awards

• 1999 ASA Third-team All-American
• 1999 Second-team All-Greater Houston
• 1999 District 16-5A Most Valuable Player
• 2000 ASA First-team All-American
• 2000 ASA Under-18 Gold Fastpitch National Champion
• 2001 ASA First-team All-American at the JO Gold National Championships
• 2001 ASA Second-team All-American at the Women’s Major
• 2001 Gold Medalist at the U.S. Cup
• 2001 Gatorade National High School Player of the Year
• 2001 ASA Under-18 Gold Fastpitch National Champion
• 2001 First-team All-Greater Houston
• 2001 District 16-5A Most Valuable Player
• 2001 Texas Girls Coaches Association All-Star
• 2001 (Fall) Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll
• 2001-02 UT Women’s Athletics Jill A. Sterkel Leadership Award
• 2002 (Spring) Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll
• 2002 Big 12 Freshman of the Year
• 2002 Big 12 Pitcher of the YEar
• 2002 Elite National Team member
• 2003 Third-team Academic All-American
• 2003 (Spring) Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll
• 2003 Big 12 Pitcher of the Year
• 2003 Big 12 Female Athlete of the Year
• 2003 First-team Academic All-Big 12
• 2003 First-team All-American
• 2003 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year
• 2003 Gold Medalist at the Pan-American Games
• 2004 Gold Medalist at the Athens Olympic Games
• 2005 UT V. F. “Doc” Neuhaus Endowed Presidential Scholarship
• 2005 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year
• 2005 Second-team Academic All-Big 12
• 2005 NCAA Honda Award Winner for Softball
• 2005 ESPY for Top Collegiate Female Athlete
• 2005 ESPY for Top Female Olympic Performance (USA Softball)
• 2005 Big 12 Female Athlete of the Year
• 2005 Big 12 Pitcher of the Year
• 2005 Women’s Sports Foundation Sportswoman of the Year (in a Team Sport); first collegiate recipient
• 2006 UT V. F. “Doc” Neuhaus Endowed Presidential Scholarship
• 2006 UT women’s Texas Exes Lifetime Award
• 2006 Big 12 Pitcher of the Year
• 2006 All-Big 12 First Team

Among her favorite athletes are fellow Texans Roger Clemens and Nolan Ryan, as well as NBA player Hakeem Olajuwon and actor/ director Kevin Costner. She was the first softball player to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated (the 7 October 2002 “America’s Best Sports Colleges” issue), and made a second SI cover with the 2004 Olympic Gold Medal Softball team to become the only softball player to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated twice.

Source: Wikipedia contributors (2006). Cat Osterman . Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 20:54, May 18, 2006.