Osterman to be inducted into Texas Sports Hall of Fame
Nov. 28, 2012
AUSTIN, Texas -- Former Texas Softball left-handed pitcher Cat Osterman (2002-06) has been selected as one of eight members to be enshrined into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in February, the organization announced Wednesday. A three-time USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year and four-time National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-America selection, Osterman will be joined in the Class of 2013 by fellow Longhorn Ricky Williams, who was awarded the 1998 Heisman Trophy. Also set for induction in 2013 with the UT duo are New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, former Dallas Cowboys running back Walt Garrison, former Milwaukee Braves third baseman Eddie Mathews, former Lubbock Monterey High School baseball coach Bobby Moegle, former San Antonio High School and NBA champion Shaquille O'Neal and one individual who will be announced at a later date. The inductees are scheduled to appear in Waco for the banquet, which will be held on Monday, Feb. 18. There will be a reception at the Texas Sports Hall of Fame from 4:30 - 6:00pm. Combination Reception/Banquet tickets are $200 each, or $1,500 for a reserved table of 10. The banquet will be held at Baylor University's Ferrell Center. Banquet-only tickets can be purchased for $75 each or a table of 10 can be reserved for $675. "This is a tremendous honor for Cat and it is well deserved," UT Softball head coach Connie Clark said. "She has been the most iconic softball athlete at the University of Texas as well as in the state of Texas. We are extremely proud of her and her representation of our program." Osterman, a Houston native, broke nearly every Texas pitching record as well as an NCAA mark, during her career. As a freshman in 2002, she tossed the first of her nine perfect games. The next season (2003), Osterman received her first of three USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year awards after leading the Longhorns to their second-ever Women's College World Series (WCWS) appearance.
After missing the 2004 season while competing as the youngest member of the U.S. Olympic Team and winning the gold medal in Athens, Osterman returned to the Forty Acres in 2005 as a junior and posted a 30-7 record to go along with a 0.36 earned run average. She earned her second USA Softball Player of the Year honor and took UT back to the WCWS. Her final season, in 2006, Osterman went 38-4 with a 0.42 ERA and 630 strikeouts while helping the Longhorns to another WCWS appearance. She received her final USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award and earned the ESPY for Best Female College Athlete. In all, Osterman still owns 12 Texas career records, including most wins (136), earned run average (0.51), strikeouts (2,265), shutouts (85) and lowest opponent batting average (.096). She is the NCAA's all-time leader in strikeouts per seven innings (14.34) while owning three of the top five single-season strikeout ratio marks. Osterman also holds places on the NCAA's top-10 career charts in strikeouts (second), shutouts (third) and victories (eighth). She topped all Division I softball players in ERA and strikeouts per seven innings in 2003, 2005 and 2006. Among her conference peers, Osterman was nearly untouchable, claiming four Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Year honors to become the league's first student-athlete in any sport to earn a major award four times. Also a standout in the classroom, the psychology major was a three-time member of the All-Big 12 Academic Team and received the University of Texas Women's Athletics Department's highest endowed scholarship honor, the V.F. "Doc" Neuhaus Endowed Presidential Scholarship, for two consecutive school years (2004-05 and 2005-06). |
|
