Catherine Leigh Osterman (born April 16, 1983) is a retired American

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

player. Osterman pitched on the

United States women's national softball team The United States women's national softball team is the national softball team of the United States. It is governed by USA Softball (formerly known as the Amateur So ...

that won the gold medal at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

and silver medal at the

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

and

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

. She was a collegiate four-time All-American and six-time professional All-Star. She completed her college eligibility in 2006 at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

, where she was a starting

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or dr ...

for the Longhorns since 2002. Osterman holds the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...

pitching Triple Crown for her career wins, ERA, and

strikeouts In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

, as well as

shutouts In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

, no-hitters,

WHIP A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally ...

, and perfect games; she also holds the

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athleti ...

record for strikeout ratio (14.34). In the National Pro Fastpitch, Osterman was drafted first overall and is the career leader in strikeout ratio (10.90) and no-hitters (6). She is also one of NCAA's five pitchers to strikeout 1,000 batters with 100 wins, an ERA of under 1.00, and averaging double digit strikeouts. She was a member of the independent "This Is Us" team. In May 2020, she joined and eventually won the inaugural championship in the

Athletes Unlimited Softball Athletes Unlimited Softball is a women's professional softball league in the United States, founded in 2020. League history Athletes Unlimited was founded by Jonathan Soros and Jon Patricof. There are no team owners, and league investors are c ...

league as the top individual points leader. Osterman was also named No. 3 Greatest College Softball Player and the No. 1 pitcher in NCAA history.

Early years

She started playing

in first grade before quitting to play

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

. Osterman found her way back to the diamond in fifth grade, when she was filling in as a backup pitcher for a little league team. Osterman was born in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

to parents Gary and Laura Osterman. Her younger brothers are Craig and Chris. She attended

Cypress Springs High School Cypress Springs High School, CSHS, or more commonly as Cy-Springs is located at 7909 Fry Road, in Cypress, an unincorporated community in Harris County, Texas. Cypress Springs High School was established in 1997, making it the sixth high scho ...

Cypress, Texas Cypress is an unincorporated community in Harris County, Texas, United States, located completely inside the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the City of Houston. The Cypress area is located along U.S. Highway 290 (Northwest Freeway) is twenty-f ...

from 1997 to 2001, where she set several records on the school's softball team. In 2001, she struck out 33 batters in a 14-inning 1–0 shutout over

Cy-Fair High School Cy-Fair High School is a secondary school located in Cypress, which is an unincorporated place in Harris County, Texas, near Houston. The school is located along U.S. Highway 290 and is part of the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District ...

. The performance ranked 16th on the list of strikeouts in a single game. As such, she set a national record for strikeouts in a game less than 20 innings, beating Jenny Stallard's previous record of 31 in 19 innings in 1978; she also set a national record for strikeouts in a 14-inning game, breaking Michele Granger's former record of 31 in 1985.

University of Texas

2002: Freshman year

Osterman was named a National Fastpitch Coaches' Association Second Team All-American. She was also named

First Team, Big 12 Freshman of the Year and Big 12 Pitcher of the Year. She broke and set UT single-season records for wins (led the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one inning ...

, games started,

, strikeouts, strikeout ratio (led the

) and appearances. Currently only her inning pitched and games started remain top season records from this year. Her freshman ERA was and is a top-5 school record. Osterman also set the UT single-game record for innings-pitched (14) and single game strikeouts. She also tied the UT single-season record for complete games. Osterman debuted on February 6, tossing six shutout innings, allowing two hits and fanning 11 of the Texas A&M–Corpus Christi Islanders. In a March 20 no-decision against the

Texas State Bobcats The Texas State Bobcats are the sports teams that represent Texas State University. Currently, they compete in the Sun Belt Conference in NCAA Division I (Football Bowl Subdivision for football). The Bobcat has been the mascot of Texas State Univ ...

, she struck out 24 in over 10-innings for a career best. That game also was and is a top-5

record for combined strikeouts at 34, which she shares with Nicole Neuerburg and tied Osterman fourth for an individual pitcher's total in a single game all-time. Osterman became the first UT freshman to be named

Pitcher of the Week, for the week of February 19, in which she threw two no-hitters. The first, a 3–0 win over the

Utah Utes The Utah Utes are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of Utah, located in Salt Lake City. The athletic department is named after the Ute tribe of Native Americans. The men's basketball team is known as the Runnin' ...

on February 13 and then a 4–0 win over the

on February 15. They were only the third and fourth no-hitters by a UT freshman, and Osterman became only the second Longhorn pitcher to accomplish the feat, along with Natalie King in 2001. She also threw the first perfect game in UT history in a game against Stephen F. Austin State Lumberjacks on February 26. She proceeded to throw two more in her freshman season to match and set two all-time

Freshman Class records for season no-hitters (5) and perfect games (3), the latter record has since been surpassed.

2003: Sophomore year

Osterman repeated honors as an All-American, now a First Team selection, as well as

Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its f ...

"Pitcher" and "Female Athlete" of The Year. She also earned her first

USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year The USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year is an award given by USA Softball to the best college softball College softball is softball as played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education, predominantly in the United S ...

award. Osterman threw 4 no-hitters and a perfect game, while breaking her own UT records for ERA, shutouts and strikeout ratio (all-time NCAA Sophomore Class record), of which she also led the

in, except shutouts; the strikeout ratio was a new

season record. She also tied her own shared record for complete games and posted career records in wins (68), shutouts (35), strikeouts (1,042), and opponents-batting-average (.105). From April 22 – May 22, she pitched a career high and UT record 65 consecutive scoreless innings. The streak began with a win against the

Texas A&M Aggies Texas A&M Aggies refers to the students, graduates, and sports teams of Texas A&M University. The nickname " Aggie" was once common at land-grant or "ag" (agriculture) schools in many states. The teams are also referred to as "A&M" or "Texas Agg ...

and was broken in a 3–2 win over the

ULL Ragin' Cajuns The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns are the athletic teams of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. The college has been competing athletically since 1901. The Ragin' Cajuns compete in NCAA Division I, fielding 16 varsity teams. Nickname The univ ...

; the streak ran over 12 games (7 complete) and 11 wins and included 115 strikeouts, 16 hits and 9 walks. Osterman is so far the second pitcher in

history to strike out 1,000 batters in only two seasons and in that very same game on May 22, during the

Women's College World Series The Women's College World Series (WCWS) is the final portion of the NCAA Division I softball tournament for college softball in the United States. Eight teams participate in the WCWS, which begins with a double-elimination tournament. In other wo ...

vs. the

, she struck out 11 to reach the milestone. Osterman also is noted for just needing over 500 innings pitched to get into the club, the fewest of any

pitcher. With that win, Osterman and the Longhorns the next day advanced to meet the

California Golden Bears The California Golden Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Berkeley. Referred to in athletic competition as ''California'' or ''Cal'', the university fields 30 varsity athletic programs and various club tea ...

, whom Osterman shutout with 17 strikeouts to tie Lisa Ishikawa's WCWS record for a single game performance. In a doubleheader on the 25, the Longhorns lost to the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) ...

in back-to-back games and were eliminated. Osterman was named to the All-Tournament Team for her efforts.

2004: XXVIII Olympiad

Osterman redshirted from UT to participate with fellow college softball pitcher

Jennie Finch Jennie Lynn Finch Daigle (born September 3, 1980) is an American former softball player. She played for the Arizona Wildcats softball team from 1999 to 2002, where she won the 2001 Women's College World Series and was named collegiate All-Amer ...

in the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...

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 9 batters in four perfect innings and combined with Finch for a

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

. On May 17, she struck out 7 of 9 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 5-innings for another

, this time missing perfection on a lone error by first-baseman

Stacey Nuveman Stacey "Nuvey" Nuveman-Deniz (born April 26, 1978) is an American, former professional softball player and current head coach at San Diego State. She played for the UCLA Bruins at the catcher position on-and-off from 1997 to 2002, winning a Nation ...

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, Las Vegas The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes th ...

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 8-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 6-innings in Team USA's 3–0 victory over Chinese Taipei on August 20. Her 23 strikeouts led

Team USA The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

Return to the University of Texas

2005: Junior year

Osterman received her second First Team All-American citation and repeated honors from the

and USA Softball. She also added the

Honda Sports Award The Honda Sports Award is an annual award in the United States, given to the best collegiate female athlete in each of twelve sports. There are four nominees for each sport, and the twelve winners of the Honda Sports Award are automatically in th ...

for softball that year as well. Osterman was named the 2005 Sportswoman of the Year (in the team category) by the Women's Sports Foundation. She also topped her previous UT single-season records for ERA (career best), strikeouts, strikeout ratio (all-time

Junior Class record), shutouts, opponents batting average and complete games. The opponents BA remains the school record and Osterman again led the

in ERA and strikeout ratio in addition; the ratio was another new all-time record. Finally, she set

records in ERA, strikeouts and opponents batting average, of which only the strikeouts has been surpassed. She finished the season at third place on the all-time NCAA single-season strikeout list. Osterman threw 6 no-hitters (an NCAA top-5 season record) and three more perfect games (another NCAA top-3 and Junior Class season tying record) while setting a career best WHIP. Osterman was and is still the only pitcher to have two three perfect game seasons, including 2002. On February 27, Osterman combined with

Anjelica Selden Anjelica Maria Selden (born April 26, 1986) is a former collegiate All-American, softball pitcher and coach. She played for UCLA and is the career leader in strikeouts. She also pitched internationally. Vanden High School Selden, who is Afric ...

of the

to strike out 31 batters in an 8-inning win for the Longhorns. She also struck out 20 or more batters in four separate games, one of which came on March 17 vs. the No. 1

Arizona Wildcats The Arizona Wildcats are the athletic teams that represent the University of Arizona, located in Tucson. The Wildcats compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I ( Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for college foot ...

; Osterman struck out 23 in a 10-inning shutout. The game tied her combination strikeouts record of 34, this time with

Alicia Hollowell Alicia Kay Hollowell-Dunn (born February 29, 1984) is an American, former collegiate four-time All-American, retired professional softball pitcher and assistant coach. She played college softball at Arizona Wildcats softball from 2003 to 2006, c ...

. Beginning on March 4, the Longhorn posted a career best 24.2 consecutive hitless innings when she surrendered a first-inning hit to the

Evansville Purple Aces The Evansville Purple Aces are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of the University of Evansville, located in Evansville, Indiana. The Aces athletic program is a member of the Missouri Valley Conference and competes at the NCAA's Divis ...

to open a three-game series before shutting them down for the rest of the game. The next day, Osterman threw the final 1.2 innings by striking out all batters faced in an eventual win for the Aces. On March 9, Osterman struck out her 1,200th batter to tie Lisa Ishikawa of

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

for 10th place on the NCAA all-time strikeout list; the victory was also her sixth career perfect game. On March 11, she moved past Ishikawa and passed Jocelyn Forest of the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant un ...

to take ninth place with a second consecutive no-hitter against the

UTEP Miners The UTEP Miners is the name given to the sports teams of the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). They are informally referred to as the Miners, UTEP, or Texas–El Paso. UTEP was a member of the Western Athletic Conference from 1967 to 2005, ...

. Finally, on March 14, Osterman came on in relief vs. the

and retired the first five batters before the streak ended with a sixth-inning leadoff single. Overall, Osterman allowed only two walks and struck out 64 batters in four wins over 5 games during the streak. On March 15, she reached 1,229 to surpass Amanda Renfro of

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

for eighth place; on March 17, she passed Shawn Andaya of

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

to take seventh place. On March 23, she struck out her 1,291st batter, passing Sarah Dawson of the

University of Louisiana at Monroe The University of Louisiana Monroe (ULM) is a public university in Monroe, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System. History ULM opened in 1931 as Ouachita Parish Junior College. Three years later it became the Northeast Cen ...

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 Danielle Henderson (born January 29, 1977) is an American, former collegiate All-American, medal-winning Olympian, retired professional All-Star softball pitcher who is currently the head coach at UMass. Henderson was a starting pitcher for ...

for fifth place on the NCAA all-time strikeout list; on April 10, she struck out 7 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 The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded in ...

to become the third member of the 1,400-strikeout club (along with

Michele Granger Michele Marie Granger (born January 15, 1970) is an American, former collegiate four-time NCAA Division I First Team All-American and 1996 gold medal-winning Olympian softball pitcher. She played college softball for four seasons, over five ye ...

and

Courtney Blades Courtney Lynn Blades-Rogers (born May 16, 1978) is an American, former collegiate All-American, right-handed batting softball pitcher. She was a starting pitcher for two NCAA Division I teams: the Nicholls State Colonels and later the Southe ...

). Later she would again whiff 24 to match her own school record vs. the

Texas Tech Red Raiders The Texas Tech Red Raiders and Lady Raiders are the athletic teams that represent Texas Tech University, located in Lubbock, Texas. The women's basketball team uses the name Lady Raiders, while the school's other women's teams use the "Red Raider ...

and along with Erin Crawford combined for another 31 strikeouts on April 26. On May 12, she crested the 1,500-strikeout plateau; on June 3, she broke the 1,600-strikeout mark. On June 2, Osterman opened her WCWS by matching her shared record with 17 strikeouts vs. the

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I as a me ...

. The team eventually lost to the

on June 5, who in turn lost to the eventual champions the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except women's water polo, which competes in the NCAA inter-divisio ...

, to whom the Longhorns had also lost to earlier in the tournament. Osterman and

set a new WCWS record for combined strikeouts at 30 in their 11-inning battle; Osterman was named All-Tournament.

2006: Senior year

Osterman earned honors for a final time from the NFCA,

and USA softball. Again Osterman also collected her second Honda Award. She broke and set her final set of Longhorn records in wins, strikeouts, shutouts and strikeout ratio (all-time

Senior Class record), all were career highs. Osterman became one of the first pitchers to have three 500-strikeout seasons to her credit. For a fourth time in her career, Osterman led the

in ERA and strikeout ratio, setting a new all-time season record in the latter category at 15.4. These would help her to a

pitching Triple Crown for the best in wins, ERA and strikeouts for that year. Osterman pitched 5 no-hitters (NCAA top-5 season record) and opened the season with six consecutive shutouts, including an opening day

and a 16–0 romp over the Oklahoma Christian Lady Eagles. On February 11 she won her 100th career game, 3–0, against the

Northwestern Wildcats The Northwestern Wildcats are the athletic teams that represent Northwestern University, located in Evanston, Illinois. Northwestern is a founding member of the Big Ten Conference and the only private university in the conference. Northwestern ...

in shutout fashion. On February 16, she struck out 13 Oklahoma Christian Lady Eagles batters to bring her career total to 1,708, making her just the second pitcher in NCAA history to reach the 1,700 plateau. Later she also struck out 20 batters in a 7-inning, 5–1 win over the

UTSA Roadrunners The UTSA Roadrunners is a collegiate athletic program that represents the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). The UTSA Roadrunners are also commonly referred to as "UTSA", "Roadrunners", "Runners", “The Meep Meeps”, or simply “The B ...

on February 21 (the Senior Class record for a regulation game), which is tied second most in

history and her career best at Texas for a regulation game. On February 25, Osterman struck out 6

Fresno State Bulldogs The Fresno State Bulldogs are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent California State University, Fresno (commonly referred to as Fresno State). The university is a member of NCAA Division I's Mountain West Conference (MW). It was a ...

batters in a 7–2 win and then proceeded to strike out 7 batters in a 4–0 victory over the

UNLV Rebels The UNLV Rebels are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). The Rebels compete in the NCAA Division I (Football Bowl Subdivision for college football) as a member of the Mountain West Confe ...

, bringing her career strikeout total to 1,774 to surpass

as the all-time NCAA Division I leader. The next day, Osterman defeated the No. 1

in an 18-strikeout, three-hit shutout to hand them their first loss. On March 1, she struck out 15 batters in a 5–1 win over the

UTA Mavericks The UT Arlington Mavericks (abbreviated UT Arlington, UTA, and Mavs) are the athletic teams that represent the University of Texas at Arlington in Arlington, Texas. The Mavericks currently compete in the NCAA Division I Western Athletic Confere ...

to bring her career total to 1,807, making her the first pitcher in NCAA Division I history to reach the 1,800 watershed. Osterman recorded her 109th career win over the

to tie Jessica Sallinger for 16th on the NCAA all-time career wins. On March 3, she recorded her 110th career win over

Ole Miss Rebels The Ole Miss Rebels are the 18 men's and women's intercollegiate athletic teams that are funded by and represent the University of Mississippi, located in Oxford. The first was the football team, which began play in 1893. Originally known as ...

to pass Salinger and tie Jenny Voss for 15th place; the next day, she recorded her 111th career win over the

Houston Cougars The Houston Cougars are the athletic teams representing the University of Houston. Informally, the Houston Cougars have also been referred to as the Coogs, UH, or simply Houston. Houston's nickname was suggested by early physical education instr ...

to pass Voss and tie Samantha Iuli at 14th place. In a win over the

Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac ...

on March 16, Osterman combined with Danielle Lawrie for 32 strikeouts in regulation, then the highest combined total in the

for a single 7-inning game. On March 17, Osterman struck out 13

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 March 19, she threw her second win (third of her career) over the No. 1

in 9-innings, allowing a hit and whiffing 19. On April 5, she struck out 5

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, Osterman struck out 16

Oklahoma State Cowgirls The Oklahoma State Cowboys and Cowgirls are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Oklahoma State University, located in Stillwater. The program's mascot is a cowboy named Pistol Pete. Oklahoma State participates at the National ...

batters to become the first pitcher to enter the 2,100 Strikeout Club; on May 26, she struck out 16

to become the first pitcher to enter the 2,200 Strikeout Club. On March 16, Osterman recorded her 114th career win to tie Shawn Andaya for 13th place on the NCAA all-time list. On March 18, Osterman recorded her 115th career win over

Notre Dame Fighting Irish The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 23 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...

to pass Andaya and tie Jennifer Stewart and Shelley Laird for 12th place; the next day, she recorded her 116th career win over the

to pass the two and tie Kristin Schmidt and Debby Day for 11th place. On March 22, Osterman recorded her 118th career win—over the

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets is the name used for all of the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), located in Atlanta, Georgia. The teams have also been nicknamed the Ramblin' Wre ...

—to tie Jamie Southern for 10th place on the NCAA all-time list. On March 25, she recorded her 119th career win over the

Nebraska Cornhuskers The Nebraska Cornhuskers (often abbreviated to Huskers) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference, and the Cornhuskers compete in NCAA Divis ...

to pass Southern and tie

, Brooke Mitchell and

for ninth place. On March 29, Osterman recorded her 120th career win to pass them and tie Britni Sneed and Sarah Dawson for eighth place on the all-time list. On April 14 and April 15, Osterman recorded her 124th and 125th career wins over the

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman, Oklahoma, Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to a nickname given to the early part ...

to tie and then pass Nancy Evans for sixth place on the all-time list. On April 29 and April 30, she recorded her 129th and 130th career win over the

to tie

pitcher Keira Goerl for fifth place on the all-time list. On June 1, Osterman recorded her 136th and final

career win, finishing in sixth place on the all-time list. In the win, Osterman struck out 18

Arizona State Sun Devils The Arizona State Sun Devils are the athletic teams that represent Arizona State University. ASU has nine men's and eleven women's varsity teams competing at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member o ...

to set a new WCWS 7-inning game record; she also brought her season total to 608, passing

Monica Abbott Monica Cecilia Abbott (born July 28, 1985) is an American professional softball player. Abbott was an All-American pitcher for the Tennessee Lady Volunteers in college before starting a professional career in the NPF and in the Japan Softball ...

's 2005 strikeout total for second place on the single-season strikeouts list, 33 behind

's all-time record. The win was also her 85th

career shutout, putting her in second place behind

's career record 94 shutouts. Osterman's

career hopes for a World Series championship ended on June 3; following a 2–0 loss to the

on June 2, she lost her second game in a row, 2–0 again, to the Bruins (who had ended the Longhorns run for a championship in 2003 and 2005). Osterman ended her career with school records in wins, strikeouts, ERA, WHIP, innings pitched, shutouts, strikeout ratio and opponents batting average. She continues to hold the crown for all categories. Osterman claims the

records for all the same categories minus the innings pitched and opponents batting average. Finally, she owns the ratio record for the

and is top-10 in wins (6th), strikeouts (2nd), shutouts (3rd), WHIP (2nd), perfect games (2nd) and no-hitters (3rd).

Post-collegiate career

On July 2, 2006, Osterman threw a 12–0

against th
Arizona Heat
in th

missing the perfect game by walking Kaleo Eldridge. She struck out 12 Heat batters, catching every batter at least once. On July 17, 2006, Osterman won the championship game of th
2006 World Cup
by beating Team Japan 5-2, giving up two runs on two hits and a walk while striking out 11 batters. She recorded two wins in the tournament, striking out 21 batters in 14-innings of work over three games (including two complete games, and a 9–0 shutout against Team Australia). On August 28, Osterman made her television broadcast debut when she was the color commentator for

ESPN2 ESPN2 is an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remaining 20%). ESPN2 was initially fo ...

's broadcast of the National Pro Fastpitch championship and all-star games. In 2007, Osterman appeared sparingly on

ESPNU ESPNU is an American multinational digital cable and satellite sports television channel owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Disney Media Networks division of The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and the He ...

broadcasts as a color commentator for certain college softball games, including the game in which

surpassed her own career strikeout record.

Professional career

On February 15, 2006, Osterman was the first overall pick in the National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) softball league draft. She was chosen by the

Connecticut Brakettes The Connecticut Brakettes is a women's fastpitch softball team based in Stratford, Connecticut. The team has won many state, regional, national, and international tournaments (28 ). History The team was founded in 1947 by William S. Simpson a ...

. The Brakettes were formerly known as the Stratford Brakettes of the

Amateur Softball Association An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, self-taught, user-generated, DIY, and hobbyist. History ...

. However, even though Osterman had been on their amateur roster for the five seasons prior to being drafted, she chose not to sign with them, making her officially a free agent on September 30. On December 19, 2006, the

Rockford Thunder Rockford or Rockfords may refer to: Places United States * Rockford, Illinois, a city, the largest municipality of this name *Rockford, Alabama, a town * Rockford, Idaho, a census-designated place * Rockford metropolitan area, Illinois, a United St ...

of the NPF announced that they signed Osterman to a contract for the 2007 season. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. On May 29, 2007, Osterman pitched her professional debut, striking out 24 batters in a 12-inning, 1–0, win over the

Chicago Bandits The Chicago Bandits were a women's professional softball team based in Rosemont, Illinois. Since the 2005 season, they have played as a member of National Pro Fastpitch (NPF). The Bandits won the 2008 NPF championship, defeating the Washington Gl ...

, which tied the league single game strikeout record. Opposing pitcher

struck out 17 to combine for another NPF record 41 strikeouts. In June 2007, Osterman went 3–2 with four complete games, striking out 69 batters in 36.2 innings, while giving up 5 runs on 16 hits and 8 walks. In July, Osterman took a leave from the Thunder to travel with the US National Team, returning to the NPF following the Women's Pan-Am Games. In August, Osterman went 1–4 with two complete games, striking out 57 batters in 33.2 innings, while giving up 10 runs on 14 hits and 21 walks. In her

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

professional season, Osterman struck out 126 batters while walking 29, and surrendered 15 runs (12 earned) on 30 hits. She set a then league record with career best strikeout ratio of 12.5. She also had her first career

on August 26, 2007, over the

New England Riptide The New England Riptide was a women's professional fastpitch softball team based in Lowell, Massachusetts. Since the 2004 season, they have played as a member of National Pro Fastpitch. Operations were suspended in February 2009. History 200 ...

, which got her team into the Cowles Cup Championship. In 2009, Osterman set career bests in ERA and WHIP and from June 6-August 9 she had a career best shutout streak of at least 55 innings that was snapped by the USSSA Pride in a 7-0 loss. She accomplished a no-hitter on June 13 over the Akron Racers. She won the Cowles Cup Championship in shutout fashion on August 23, 2009. She was named an All-Star and MVP for her efforts. After announcing her retirement, Osterman went on to have arguably her best season ever. She won the pitching Triple Crown (only the second pitcher ever to accomplish the feat) and simultaneously set then season records in both the wins and strikeouts categories. The pitcher also was named All- NPF and tossed two no-hitters, the first coming on June 11, 2013 where she struck out 14, giving up only three walks. On June 27, she tied another single game record by punching out 18 batters in a 7-inning 3-0 win also against the NY/NJ Comets. Osterman pitched her team through to the Cowles Cup Championship on August 24, 2013. She got the save in the finale and threw a shutout and two wins en route to the title and an MVP award. The victories would start a career best win streak that would stretch into her final season. For the 2014 season, Osterman was named Pitcher of the Year, earned her second consecutive pitching Triple Crown with a perfect season, extending her win streak to 18 straight games. On August 23 The Pride won the Cowles Cup championship, and she helped throwing two shutout wins resulting in back-to-back MVP awards on August 23. She also threw her fifth career

on July 5. Osterman opened the 2015 season with three wins for 21 consecutive victories dating back to 2013, a career highlight. The Akron Racers broke through on June 22 with a 2-0 decision. For the streak, Osterman completed 149.0 innings and surrendered 63 hits, 11 earned runs and 40 walks while fanning 237 hitters for a 0.51 ERA and 0.69 WHIP. On July 10, 2015, Osterman pitched the sixth

of her NPF career, beating the Pennsylvania Rebellion 2-1. On June 8, 2017, the Pride announced that Osterman's jersey number 8 had been retired, commemorating it with a banner on the outfield fence. Osterman currently is tops in career strikeout ratio and no-hitters, while ranking second in ERA and strikeouts overall; the first pitcher to reach 1,000 career strikeouts.

US National Team

On July 11, Osterman threw a

in th
2003 Canada Cup
striking out 10 batters to defeat Team Canada, 8–0; on July 12, Osterman pitched her second

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 wi
the Gold-Medal game
of the 2003

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is hel ...

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. On June 12, Osterman picked up the win in Team USA'
Gold-Medal 9–0 victory
over Australia in th

she gave up one hit and struck out ten batters over five innings. Osterman continued to pitch for USA Softball Women's National team in 2007. In the Canada's Cup, she struck out 18 batters in 8-innings over four games from July 1–7 and gave up 1 run on three hits and four walks. In the World Cup, she struck out 21 batters in two complete game wins on July 13 and July 16, giving up four hits, two walks, and no runs. In the Women's Pan-Am Games, Osterman threw a 5-inning

against Cuba on July 26, giving up just one walk and striking out 15. In the Japan Cup, she struck out 20 batters in 9-innings over three games from November 16–18, giving up three hits, one walk, and one unearned run.

2008: XXIX Olympiad

Bound 4 Beijing

Osterman went undefeated in 28 appearances during the USA Softball National Team's 60-game tour, contributing 15 wins to Team USA's 59–1 record. She struck out 247 batters in 116.2 innings, giving up 9 runs on 37 hits and 18 walks, and throwing 9 complete games. On February 22, she struck out 7 batters in three perfect innings and combined with Abbott and Finch for a 9–0

against the Palm Springs All-Stars. The next afternoon, she struck out 5 batters in two perfect innings to close out another 9–0 combined

with Finch against

Florida Atlantic University Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, and satellite campuses in Dania Beach, Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Jupiter, and Fort Pierce. FAU belongs to the 12-c ...

, the first of two combined no-hitters for Team USA in the February 23 double-header. On the 24th, Osterman struck out 7 batters in the final three innings of a combined perfect game; Abbott struck out 7 in the opening three innings of a 15–0 rout of Hawaii. On May 16, Osterman struck out 14 batters in a complete-game 13–0 no-hit victory over the Visalia All-Stars, missing the perfect game by hitting Lindsey Herrin with a pitch. On July 10, Osterman struck out 22 batters in 9.1-innings, leading Team USA to a 31–0 victory over the Spokane All-Stars. She struck out 10 or more batters 11 times during the tour, and topped 15 strikeouts four times.

Olympic Games

On August 13, Osterman struck out 13 batters in a

against the Australian national team. She issued three walks in the 3–0 victory, which was Team USA's 16th consecutive Olympic win. The 7-inning

was just the second in U.S. Olympic history, following Lori Harrigan's 6–0 perfect game against Canada on September 17, 2000, and was Osterman's 100th game-played with the U.S. Women's National Team. On August 15, following Team USA's 7–0 victory over Japan, Osterman pitched the final 4-innings of the suspended match against Canada, postponed from the previous day due to rain and lightning. Osterman struck out 8 batters and allowed one hit, enabling the line-up to mount a comeback for an 8–1 win, Team's USA's 18th consecutive victory and Osterman's second of the 2008 Games. On August 18, Osterman pitched the first three innings of a 5-inning 9–0 win over China, giving up a hit, a walk, and hitting a batter, while striking out three. Osterman's third win of the tournament was Team USA's 21st consecutive Olympic victory. On August 20, Osterman earned a save—her first for Team USA since the Athens Olympics—in a 9-inning 4–1 win over Japan. She inherited a runner from Abbott before retiring three batters for a perfect ninth to preserve the victory and advance to the

Gold Medal Match Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

, where Team USA faced Japan once again following Japan's 12-inning 4–3 win over Australia in the

Bronze Medal Match Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

. On August 21, Osterman pitched the first 5 innings of a 3–1 loss to Japan in the

, ending Team USA's winning streak at 22 consecutive games and clinching the silver medal of the 2008 Summer Games. The loss was Team USA's first since a 2–1 loss to Australia on 21 September 2000, and marks the first time in four Olympiads that the US National Team has failed to win the gold. Osterman gave up two runs on three hits while striking out 9 batters; the runs and the loss was the first in her Olympic career.

Return for the 2020 Summer Olympics

Osterman retired after the 2008 games. In 2018, she announced that should would be un-retiring once softball was reintroduced for the 2020 games. Osterman made the team for the 2019 season. She helped Team USA win a silver medal at the

. Osterman did not allow a run in 14 innings of work and won two games for Team USA. She started the gold medal game against

Team Japan Team Japan is a professional wrestling group that was brought together as a part of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's World X Cup Tournament. History 2004 Team Japan started as six-man team as team captain Nosawa from All Japan Pro Wrestling tea ...

but eventually the team was defeated in a 2–0 loss on July 27, 2021.

Miscellaneous

Among her favorite athletes are fellow Texans

Roger Clemens William Roger Clemens (born August 4, 1962), nicknamed "Rocket", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the Boston Red Sox. Clemens was one of the most dominant pi ...

and

Nolan Ryan Lynn Nolan Ryan Jr. (born January 31, 1947), nicknamed "the Ryan Express", is an American former professional baseball pitcher and sports executive. Over a record 27-year playing career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanning four decades, Ryan ...

, as well as NBA player

Hakeem Olajuwon Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon (; ; born January 21, 1963), nicknamed "the Dream", is a Nigerian-American former professional basketball player. From 1984 to 2002, he played center in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Houston Rockets a ...

and actor/ director

Kevin Costner Kevin Michael Costner (born January 18, 1955) is an American actor, producer, film director and musician. He has received various accolades, including two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Screen Actor ...

. She was the first softball player to appear on the cover of ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence tw ...

'' (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 one of two softball players to appear on the cover of ''Sports Illustrated'' twice. In the bonus features of the "Bad News Bears" DVD,

Billy Bob Thornton Billy Bob Thornton (born August 4, 1955) is an American actor, filmmaker and musician. He had his first break when he co-wrote and starred in the 1992 thriller ''One False Move'', and received international attention after writing, directing, a ...

admits to having a crush on Cat Osterman. Osterman is a spokesperson for Under Armour as well as having an endorsement contract and signature glove with

Wilson Wilson may refer to: People *Wilson (name) ** List of people with given name Wilson ** List of people with surname Wilson * Wilson (footballer, 1927–1998), Brazilian manager and defender * Wilson (footballer, born 1984), full name Wilson R ...

. In 2009, Osterman posed nude along with three of her Olympic teammates for the first annual ''

The Body Issue ''The Body Issue'' is an edition of '' ESPN The Magazine'' that features dozens of athletes in nude and semi-nude photographs, which is intended to rival the annual Swimsuit Issue from ''Sports Illustrated''. The first issue debuted on October 19 ...

'' of ''

ESPN The Magazine ''ESPN The Magazine'' was an American monthly sports magazine published by the ESPN sports network in Bristol, Connecticut. The first issue was published on March 11, 1998. Initially published every other week, it scaled back to 24 issues a year ...

''. Of the shoot, Osterman said that it was a "surprisingly emotional experience" and that "even though I was terrified on set at first, I'm glad I did it. Sometimes it's necessary to push yourself to see what you are made of." In 2012 Osterman was inducted into the

Texas Sports Hall of Fame The Texas Sports Hall of Fame recognizes athletes, coaches, and administrators who have made "lasting fame and honor to Texas sports". It was established in 1951 by the Texas Sports Writers Association. Once it made its first induction (baseball ...

. In 2014 Osterman signed on as an assistant softball coach at

Texas State University Texas State University is a public research university in San Marcos, Texas. Since its establishment in 1899, the university has grown to the second largest university in the Greater Austin metropolitan area and the fifth largest university ...

Career statistics

Career records

* 2,265 career NCAA Division I strikeouts (2nd all-time) * 14.34

strikeouts per 7 innings (1st all-time) * 3-time

(2003, 2005, 2006) (1st all-time) * 136 career NCAA Division I wins (6th all-time) * 0.50 ERA NCAA NCAA Division I sub-1.00 ERAs * 85 career

shutouts (third all-time) * 25 career

Pitcher of the Week awards (1st all-time) * 20 career

no-hitters (third all-time) * 7 career

perfect games (2nd all-time) * 4-time Big 12 Pitcher of the Year (T-1st all-time)

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Osterman, Cat 1983 births Living people Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in softball Olympic silver medalists for the United States in softball Olympic softball players of the United States People from Cypress, Texas Softball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Softball players at the 2007 Pan American Games Softball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Softball players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Softball players from Texas Sportspeople from Houston Texas Longhorns softball players Pan American Games competitors for the United States Pan American Games medalists in softball Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States