Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State University
Oklahoma
The Bedlam Series Up Next For Cowboys
May 12, 2016 | Cowboy Baseball
#12 Oklahoma State (31-15, 12-6)
vs. Oklahoma (24-23-1, 9-12)
Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark
Oklahoma City
Fri., May 13: 6:30 p.m.
ONEOK Field
Tulsa, Okla.
Sat., May 14: 7:30 p.m./Sun., May 15: 2p.m.
Oklahoma StateÂ
    Winners of six in a row, Oklahoma State returns to Big 12 Conference play this weekend against rival Oklahoma in The Bedlam Series. The Cowboys are 31-15 overall and in second place in the league standings with a 12-6 mark. The rivalry series opens Friday night in Oklahoma City before shifting to Tulsa for the final two games.Â
    Led by Donnie Walton and his .355 batting average, the Cowboys are hitting a collective .260, while the pitching staff has posted a Big 12-best 3.01 ERAÂ
    The Cowboys are coming off a 38-20 season in which they made their third consecutive NCAA Regional appearance, and expectations are again high. OSU was ranked in the top 10 nationally in four different preseason polls and returns seven starters from 2015, including All-Big 12 Conference performers Donnie Walton, Ryan Sluder and Corey Hassel.
    The 2016 season marks OSU's fourth under Holliday, who compiled a 127-57 record in his first three seasons at his alma mater.Â
About The Sooners
    Oklahoma is 24-23-1 on the season and tied for fifth in the Big 12 standings with a 9-12 conference mark. Led by junior shortstop Sheldon Neuse (.376, 10 HR, 42 RBI), the Sooners own a .268 team batting average, while the pitching staff sports a 4.11 ERA.
    Expected to start on the mound for OU are:
    Friday - RHP Jake Irvin (4-1, 4.54)      Saturday - RHP Alec Hansen (1-4, 5.06)  Â
    Sunday - TBA
    OSU is 165-150 all time against OU, including a 4-3 win in a non-conference contest on April 20 in Norman. The Cowboys are 12-4 vs. the Sooners under Josh Holliday.
Watch, Listen, Follow
    Friday's game will air live on ESPNU, with Jason Benetti and Mike Rooney calling the action. The final two games of the series air on FOX Sports Plus, with Dave Hunziker and Cowboy Baseball Hall of Famer Tom Holliday on the call.
    All OSU baseball games are carried live by Stillwater Radio and air on KSPI 93.7 FM or 780 AM. Rex Holt, who is in his 34th season on the air with Cowboy baseball, will call the action, with Matt "Chief" Davis providing color commentary. Radio broadcasts are also available online at okstate.com/watch.
   Live stats for all games can also be found at okstate.com, with links available under the Schedule tab on the baseball home page. Additionally, fans can follow the official OSU Baseball Twitter account, @OSUBaseball, for in-game updates.
In The Polls
    OSU moved up in this week's national polls and is ranked as high as 12th by Collegiate Baseball. The Cowboys are also ranked No. 13 by Perfect Game, 15th in the NCBWA and USA Today coaches polls, 16th in the Baseball America poll and No. 18 by D1Baseball.com.
    OSU has been ranked in at least one national poll for 64 consecutive weeks dating back to 2013, when the Cowboys were in the polls for the final 14 weeks of the season. During that time, they have spent 16 weeks in the Top 10 and been ranked as high as No. 3 (by the NCBWA in 2014). They finished the '14 season ranked 10th in each of the final polls, marking the 19th time in program history OSU ended the season in the top 10 in the national polls.
On The Road Again and Again and Again and Again and Again and Again and Again and...
    As has become commonplace, OSU opened Big 12 Conference play on the road in 2016.
    The Cowboys have begun league play at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium only twice since 2003 (in 2005 and 2013), and this season OSU opened at Kansas State.
    The trend will continue in the near future as the conference office has set schedules for 2017 and 2018, and in each of those seasons, OSU opens Big 12 action away from Stillwater.
    Since 2004 and spanning through 2018, OSU will have opened conference play on the road 13 times and only two times at home. Since Big 12 baseball began play in 1997, the Cowboys will have opened league play on the road 16 times and just six times in Stillwater.
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Big 12 Home Series Winning Streak Snapped
   Prior to being swept by Texas Tech (April 8-10), OSU had not lost a three-game Big 12 Conference series at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium since 2012 when it was swept by Texas A&M on the final weekend of the season. From 2013-15, the Cowboys won nine consecutive three-game league series on their home field following a split in a rain-shortened two-game series with Baylor to open league play in 2013. (In 2015 OSU lost its only game vs. West Virginia in Stillwater — the final two games of the series were canceled due to weather).
Building A Winner
    In the first three seasons as head coach at his alma mater (2013-15), Josh Holliday has built quite an impressive resume. Just a few of the highlights:
    • OSU's .690 winning percentage was the highest among Big 12 teams from 2013-15;
    • OSU has finished first or second in the conference standings each year (1st in 2014, 2nd in 2013 and 2015);
    • The Cowboys finished in the top 10 in the national rankings in 2014 after ending the 2013 season ranked as high as No. 19. Counting the 2016 preseason polls, they've been nationally ranked for 52 consecutive weeks.
    • In 2014, OSU advanced to the third Super Regional in program history and won its first-ever Big 12 Conference regular season championship;
    • OSU has hosted two NCAA Regionals and been the top-seeded team both times;
    • The Cowboys have earned three NCAA Regional berths and advanced to the regional championship round twice;
    • OSU has won at least five of its eight Big 12 Conference series each season (5 in 2013, 7 in 2014, 6 in 2015).Â
Big 12's Best
    Oklahoma State's .690 winning percentage (127-57) from 2013-15 marked the highest in the Big 12 Conference during that span. TCU came in second at .677, with the Cowboys only trailing the Horned Frogs by one in the win column.
    OSU has also finished first or second in the league standings each of the last three years, and the Cowboys are the only Big 12 team over that span to finish over .500 in conference play each year.
Comeback Cowboys
    Come-from-behind victories have become a trend for the Cowboys under Josh Holliday. OSU has overcome deficits to win 68 games in Holliday's four seasons, notching 18 comeback wins in 2013, 28 in 2014 and 15 a year ago.
Close Calls
    OSU is 37-21 in one-run games since 2013, including an 11-8 mark this season. After losing their first five one-run games this season, including four via walk-off, the Cowboys won nine in a row before dropping two at West Virginia. Under head coach Josh Holliday (2013-pres.), 37 of the Cowboys' 72 losses have come by two runs or less.
Small Ball
    OSU has smashed program records for sacrifice bunts each of the last three years.
    In 2014, the Cowboys were third nationally with 88 sacrifice bunts, which trumped the 2013 team's 74 sac bunts to set a program record. Donnie Walton ranked fourth in the NCAA in 2014 with 22 sac bunts and has racked up an OSU career-record 54 sacrifice bunts, a total which ranks ninth on the NCAA's all-time list.
    Last season, OSU led the NCAA with 81 sacrifice bunts, and four different Cowboys had at least 10 sac bunts.
Swept Away
    OSU made history with its sweep of Texas in Austin as it marked the first time OSU has swept three Big 12 road series in a single season. The Cowboys also swept Kansas State and Baylor on the road this year.
    The Cowboys finished the season 10-2 in Big 12 road games, the lone losses coming at West Virginia.Â
Strong-Armed
    In three seasons under the direction of coach Rob Walton, OSU's pitching staff has turned in impressive numbers.Â
    The Cowboys' success under Walton includes 12 All-Big 12 pitchers, two consensus first-team All-Americans, a Big 12 Pitcher of the Year and a first-round Major League Baseball Draft pick.
    Here's just a sampling of how the Cowboys have performed under Walton:
    • OSU's pitching staff led the Big 12 in ERA in conference-only games in 2014 (2.43) and 2015 (2.50).
    • The Cowboys' 2.84 ERA in 2015 ranked eighth nationally and was the lowest by an OSU pitching staff since 1973.
    • OSU recorded seven shutouts in both 2013 and 2014, marking just the fourth and fifth times in program history the Cowboys had reached that mark. In the 26 seasons prior to 2013, the program had reached seven shutouts only once.
    • Over the last three seasons, OSU has seen Jason Hursh drafted in the first round of the 2013 Major League Baseball Draft, Brendan McCurry (2014) and Michael Freeman (2015) named first-team All-Americans and Freeman garner Big 12 Pitcher of the Year honors.
    • Freeman's 1.31 ERA ranked sixth in the NCAA in 2015 and was the fifth lowest in a single season in OSU history.
   • McCurry set OSU records for single-season saves (19) and career saves (27). Â
Dealing
    OSU leads the Big 12 with a 3.01 team ERA, with Thomas Hatch posting a league-best 1.52 ERA and Tyler Buffett ranking second at 1.65. Two other Cowboys rank in the top 10 — Jensen Elliott (9th at 3.18) and Trey Cobb (10th at 3.49).
    OSU also leads the conference with a .238 opponent batting average and four complete games and ranks second in strikeouts (400), shutouts (7) and saves (14).
Back In The Saddle
    Donnie Walton spurned professional baseball last summer to return for his senior season with the Cowboys in 2016.
    Walton has established himself as one of the Big 12's elite players since arriving on campus in 2013. In 206 career games, the switch hitter owns a .317 batting average to go along with 10 home runs, 123 RBIs, 42 doubles and an OSU-record 55 sacrifice bunts (which ranks seventh on the NCAA's all-time list).
    Primarily a shortstop throughout his career, Walton is one of just nine players in OSU history to earn All-Big 12 First Team accolades twice (in 2014 & 2015), with no Cowboy ever achieving that status three times.
    A 23rd-round draft pick of the Milwaukee Brewers last June, Walton chose not to sign a pro contract and instead starred in the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League. He was named the CCBL All-Star Game MVP and then earned the Star of Stars Award as the most valuable player of the CCBL playoffs after leading the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox to the league championship.
    Walton was one of 50 players on USA Baseball's 2016 Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List and was recently named to the Brooks Wallace Award (nation's top shortstop) Watch List by the National College Baseball Hall of Fame.
Hometown Hero
    Corey Hassel played in 86 games and hit just .208 in his first two seasons at OSU, but the Stillwater native had a breakout junior campaign for his hometown Cowboys in 2015.
    Used mostly as a late-game defensive replacement and pinch runner in 2013 and 2014, Hassel became a regular starter in the outfield as a junior and led the Cowboys with a .312 batting average. He also topped OSU in multi-hit games (18) and multi-RBI efforts (11) en route to All-Big 12 Second Team honors. In conference play, Hassel hit .344 with two home runs and 18 RBIs and led OSU in numerous offensive categories, including RBIs, hits (31) and doubles (6).
    The only Cowboy to start all 46 games this season, Hassel leads OSU with 14 doubles, 12 sacrifice bunts and 10 stolen bases.
The Candyman Can
    Tyler Buffett was a reliable performer on the mound in his first two seasons in Stillwater, but he has taken on a starring role in 2016.
    In a team-high 27 appearances, 26 of those in relief, the junior right-hander is 6-1 with eight saves and a 1.65 ERA, with the six wins and eight saves marking career highs. He leads the Big 12 in appearances and opponent batting average (.188) and ranks second in saves and ERA.
    In the month of March, Buffett appeared in 11 of OSU's 18 games and went 4-0 with four saves and a 1.54 ERA to go along with 27 strikeouts in 23 1/3 innings. He was named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week twice (March 7th and 28th).
    Named to the National Pitcher of the Year Award Watch List by the National College Baseball Hall of Fame and the NCBWA's Stopper of the Year Watch List, Buffett is 2-0 with five saves and a 1.56 ERA in 10 relief outings in Big 12 play. He has allowed only three runs in 17.1 innings while racking up 19 strikeouts against league foes.
Deep Threat
    Dustin Williams tied for the OSU lead with six home runs last season — and in 15 games this year, he'd already equaled his long ball total of a year ago.
    The Cowboys' junior first baseman is currently tied for second in the Big 12 lead with 10 homers.
    The left-handed hitting Williams was named the Big 12 Player of the Week on March 14 following a three-game stretch that saw him go 5-for-11 (.455) at the plate with four home runs, seven RBIs, 17 total bases and a 1.545 slugging percentage. He homered in all three games — including twice in one of them — and also drove in multiple runs in each contest.
Workhorse
    Trey Cobb became the Cowboys' go-to pitcher out of the bullpen in 2015. His team-high 31 appearances marked the third most in a single season in OSU history, and the right-hander compiled a 5-2 record and two saves to go along with a 2.61 ERA. In 58.2 innings — all in relief — Cobb racked up 53 strikeouts, and opponents hit just .221 against him as he earned honorable mention All-Big 12 accolades.
    Cobb has made 15 appearances this season, nine of those as a starter, and is 4-6 with two saves and a 3.49 ERA. He also ranks third in the Big 12 with a team-high 71 strikeouts in 56.2 innings, including a career-high 13 in six innings of work in a win against 18th-ranked Michigan and 12 in a victory vs. Baylor.Â
    The opening day starter for the Cowboys vs. UT Arlington, Cobb's next six appearances came in relief before he re-joined the weekend starting rotation March 14 against Abilene Christian.
    Cobb has twice been named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week this season — April 4 and April 18.
Hit Man
    Garrett Benge put up video game numbers at the junior college level last season, and he's proving to be a valuable hitter in his first season in an OSU uniform.
    As a freshman at Cowley County CC, Benge was the 2015 NJCAA Division I Player of the Year after hitting .502 with 19 home runs, 97 RBIs, 26 doubles and four triples. In 59 games, he collected 103 hits and a .946 slugging percentage.
    Now manning the hot corner in Stillwater, Benge has swung a consistent bat for the Cowboys as he's hitting .325 with a and leads OSU with 33 RBIs and a .512 slugging percentage.
The Cyclist
    J.R. Davis made history in the series finale at West Virginia when he joined Josh Fields (2003) and Zach Johnson (2011) as the only OSU players to hit for the cycle during the Big 12 era (since 1997). The Cowboy second baseman is also one of just 18 Big 12 players to ever hit for the cycle.
    After leading off Sunday's game vs. WVU with a walk, Davis delivered an RBI triple in the third and a leadoff single in the sixth. In the eighth, he hit his first-career home run, a two-run shot, and then in the ninth he recorded an RBI double to complete the cycle. He finished the historic day 4-for-4 with a career-high four RBIs and three runs scored.
    Davis, a JUCO transfer who had not played since 2014 prior to joining OSU this season, appeared in just one of the Cowboys' first nine games this season but was inserted in the starting lineup at second base March 1 vs. Indiana State and has not left since. He owns a .338 batting average in 38 games, and the Cowboys are 23-6 with Davis batting in the leadoff spot.
Friday Night Filth
    Thomas Hatch missed the 2015 season with a sprained UCL, but he has returned to the OSU rotation as the Cowboys' Friday night starter this year and is consistently displaying the talent he showed glimpses of as a freshman two years ago.
    Hatch has made 12 starts as a redshirt sophomore and is 5-1 with a Big 12-best 1.36 ERA, which also ranks ninth nationally. The right-hander also leads the conference with 86.0 innings pitched, and he has worked six or more innings in 10 of his 12 starts, including three complete games.
    Hatch's three complete games also leads the Big 12, and he's been dominant in those performances (vs. TCU, Texas and Prairie View), tossing shutouts in all three to become just the 10th pitcher in Big 12 history to record three shutouts in a season. Against No. 4 TCU, he racked up a career-high 10 strikeouts and did not allow a runner past first base until the ninth inning; he followed that with six-strikeout effort in blanking Texas as he became the first Cowboy pitcher since All-American Andrew Heaney in 2012 to record consecutive shutouts. Against PVAMU, he took a perfect game into the seventh and struck out a career-high 11 while allowing just two hits and facing only one hitter over the minimum.
    In Big 12 play, Hatch is 3-1 with a 1.17 ERA. He's tossed two shutouts in six starts while striking out 40 in 46.0 innings of work.
    Of the 68 hits Hatch has allowed this season, only three have gone for extra bases (two doubles and a home run).Â
Hatch Is Going Streaking
    Thomas Hatch has not allowed an earned run in 35 1/3 consecutive innings dating back to the seventh inning of his start against Texas Tech on April 8. The only runs he has given up during the streak were two of the unearned variety against Baylor on April 15.
    Hatch has also recorded a streak of 29 2/3 consecutive scoreless frames dating back to the seventh inning vs. Baylor.
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Fantastic Freshman
    OSU's pitching staff is arguably the best in the Big 12, and Jensen Elliott is a big reason why. The freshman right-hander has been in the Cowboys' weekend starting rotation throughout the year, making 12 starts and compiling a 7-2 record and 3.18 ERA. He leads OSU with four wins in Big 12 play, where he's 4-1 in six starts.
    Elliott won his first-career start on Feb. 20 at UT Arlington with five shutout innings, and in the series finale at West Virginia he became the first OSU freshman since Matt Smith in 1998 to throw a complete game. In that game, he threw 133 pitches and allowed just one run on four hits while striking out four in a performance that earned him Big 12 Pitcher of the Week honors. He was also named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week on April 18 following his win over Baylor.
Award TourÂ
    OSU has had 10 Big 12 weekly award winners in 2016, which is tied for the second-most in a single season in conference history (the record is 11 by Baylor in 2012), and the Cowboys set a record with seven pitcher of the week honorees.
    Tyler Buffett (March 7 and March 28), Trey Cobb (April 4 and April 18) and Thomas Hatch (April 25 and May 9) have each been named Big 12 Pitcher of the Week twice, while Jensen Elliott has been the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week (April 4) and Newcomer of the Week (April 18). Other winners are Dustin Williams (Player of Week on March 14) and J.R. Davis (Newcomer of Week on April 4).
Short Hops
   OSU entered the week 27th in the official NCAA RPI ... The Cowboys have turned 60 double plays this season, which ranks is tied for second nationally ... OSU is 7-8 against ranked teams this season.
