Oklahoma State University Athletics
Baseball Heads to San Diego Classic
June 21, 1999 | Cowboy Baseball
February 16, 1999
Setting The Scene: Oklahoma State (3-0) hits the road for the first time this season to participate in the San Diego Classic in San Diego, Calif. The Cowboys will face four quality opponents in Oregon State, San Diego State, Loyola-Marymount and No. 15 Arizona. The Pokes look to remain unbeaten on the young season when they take on Oregon State on Thursday at 3 p.m. PST/ 5 p.m. CST. The contest will air on the Cowboy Baseball Radio Network (flagship KSPI in Stillwater) with Rex Holt calling the action.
About Oregon State: Oregon State is 5-3 on the season after going 2-2 against Cal State-Northridge last weekend. The Beavers opened the season with a 3-0 mark and wins over Big 12 schools Kansas State and Nebraska at the Pacific 10/Big 12 tournament on Feb. 5-7.
The Beavers are led offensively by designated hitter Tim Dryden who is batting at a .444 clip with two doubles and three RBIs. Another offensive catalyst for Oregon State is second baseman Corrie Willkie who is batting .370 with two doubles and a team-leading six RBIs. Junior Mark Newell is the ace of an Oregon State pitching staff which has a combined 4.96 ERA. Newell, a righthander is 1-0 on the season with a 1.98 ERA and six strikeouts in 13.2 innings pitched.
The Series: Thursday's meeting between the two OSU schools is the first-ever on the baseball diamond. In fact this is the first time Oklahoma State has ever faced a team from the state of Oregon.
On The Mound: Senior Dale Pearson will start against the Beavers on Thursday. Pearson went 6-2 last season with a 4.20 ERA in 60.2 innings of work last season. The lefthander tied Matt Smith for second on the team in wins and won five straight contests after starting the season 1-2.
The Coaches: Oklahoma State head coach Tom Holliday is now in his third year as the pilot of the Cowboys program. Holliday's record of 89-40 is tops among the Cowboys' all-time coaches records after two seasons. He needs just two victories to surpass the legendary Henry P. Iba for the fourth-highest baseball win total in school history. Holliday previously served as an assistant at Oklahoma State from 1977-96. Oregon State head coach Pat Casey is now in his fifth season at the helm of the Beavers and owns a 135-69-4 mark in Corvallis. Casey has been a head coach for 12 seasons and has posted an impressive 303-181-5 ledger during that span.
New Bats, No Problem: The big question in collegiate baseball heading into the 1999 season was what effect would the new bats have on the high scoring offensive trend. If you were to judge after three games, the answer would be no effect on Oklahoma State. The Cowboys are averaging 19.7 runs per game and have scored in double digits in all three contests. Oklahoma State's scoring after three games is the most in school history. Add to that the 12 home runs the Cowboys have hit and it is easy to see that the effect is very minimal.
Gasparino's Great Start: Senior shortstop Billy Gasparino's has started the season in impressive fashion with five homers in only three games. The Tampa, Fla. native hit two bombs against Missouri Southern (2/7) in the season opener and went deep twice again against Wisconsin Milwaukee last Saturday (2/13). Gasparino capped it all off with another homer on Valentine's Day, which placed him atop the Big 12 leaders in home runs. He finished second in the Big 12 Player of the Week balloting to Ken Harvey of Nebraska. On the season Gasparino is batting .600 with five homers and 11 RBI. "It's a nice start for Billy. He is getting good pitches and hitting them where he is supposed to. He is swinging the bat well and it is really nice to have a three-hole guy come out and establish some power," said Coach Holliday.
New Outfielders Play Important Roles: Before the season started the coaching staff felt that the newcomers in the outfield would have to come in and pay dividends early to make an impact on the 1999 campaign. After three games those dividends have reaped great rewards statistically. Here is a quick glance of the what the newcomers have done after three games.
In leftfield, Chris Becerra has proven to be a solid hitter with run-producing capabilities. The senior transfer from the University of Memphis leads the team with a .714 batting average and has two doubles and five RBIs while starting in all three contests. In rightfield, junior Lamont Matthews is proving not only to be a powerful lefthanded hitter but is also proving to be a fine defensive outfielder as well. Matthews, a junior college All-American at Kishwaukee CC, is batting .333 and is second on the team with two homers and eight RBIs. In addition, he has made several acrobatic catches in the outfield leaving the fans in awe.
No Sophomore Slump for Smith: After a freshman campaign which saw Matt Smith earn Freshman All-America and Big 12 Freshman of the Year plaudits, he has already shown that there should be no sophomore slump. The Henderson, Nev. native has captured both of the Cowboys wins this season and also boasts a 1.29 ERA to go with 12 strikeouts. For his career, Smith is now 8-3 with a 3.45 ERA and 102 strikeouts in 91.2 innings pitched. He is slated to start against Arizona on Sunday.
News and Notes: Josh Holliday reclaimed sole possession of second place in career hit by pitches with 33 after getting plunked in the fourth inning against Wisconsin-Milwaukee (2/13)... Holliday tied Peter Prodanov (1992-95) in career doubles with 51 (2/7) and moved ahead of Sean Hugo (1992-94) in total bases on (2/13) and currently has 387 ... the Cowboys are averaging 19.7 runs per game (59 total) this season which is the most ever after three games ... juniors Carls Gautreaux and Matt Mabrey are both recovering from injuries sustained on the basepaths last weekend but both should be able to play in San Diego.
The Last Time Out: The 20th ranked Oklahoma State baseball team used five home runs by five different players to beat Wisconsin-Milwaukee 24-3 last Sunday afternoon at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium.
The Cowboys never trailed in the contest, sweeping the two-game series against the Panthers while moving to 3-0 on the season. "I thought we played much better than we did yesterday and alot of credit goes to our pitching staff. Thom (Dreier) came in and did a great job of throwing the breaking ball and straight change. Our pitching today allowed us to swing the bat and score alot of runs," said head coach Tom Holliday.
Oklahoma State opened the scoring with four runs in the bottom of the second and proceeded to score in the next four innings. The Pokes capped off the scoring barrage with a 10-run sixth which featured three of OSU's five home runs on the afternoon.
Outfielder Lamont Matthews led the Cowboy offensive attack with a 2 -for-5 performance at the plate with a grand-slam homer and six RBIs. Shortstop Billy Gasparino continued his hot start to the young season, hitting a home run in the sixth inning, his fifth of the year. Second baseman Kevin Lucas also aided the offensive surge with a three-for-three performance with two RBIs and three runs scored. Pitcher Thom Dreier (1-0) picked up the win hurling five innings of shutout ball while allowing only three hits and striking out three.
What's Next: After Thurday's ballgame the Cowboys will face tournament host San Diego State on Friday at 9 p.m. CST/ 7 p.m. PST.
Season Streaks: The Cowboys enter the 1999 season with two long-standing streaks to build on. Oklahoma State is looking to win 40 games for the 20th straight season and is also looking to make the NCAA tournament for the 19th straight year. The tournament streak is the third-longest streak in the nation. Only Miami (Fla.) with 26 and Florida State with 21 NCAA treks in a row have longer skeins.
Preseason Predictions: According to Baseball America, Oklahoma State is predicted to finish third in the Big 12 conference behind Texas A&M and Texas Tech. OSU was predicted to participate in the NCAA tournament along with the Aggies, Red Raiders and Baylor.
Collegiate Baseball has Oklahoma State finishing fourth in the Big 12 behind Texas Tech, Texas A&M and Baylor.
Everybody's All-American: Senior catcher Josh Holliday was a pre-season All-American pick by Collegiate Baseball adding yet another award to his collection . The three-year starter led the Cowboys last season with 18 homers while also knocking in 60 RBIs. He is a three-time all-conference selection and was the Big Eight Freshman of the Year in 1996. Holliday is currently in the Cowboy's top ten career list in at-bats, runs, doubles, total bases, base on balls and hit by pitches.
Player Notes
#1 Carlos Gautreaux (Jr.) - Second Base/Outfield
* Saw action in the Cowboys first two games before injuring himself on the base paths against Wisconsin-Milwaukee on 2/13.
* Was held out of last Sunday's contest.
#2 Toby Rhodes (Fr.) - Centerfielder
* Saw action in all three games, mainly as a late inning defensive replacement in centerfield.
#3 Ryan Herrmann (Fr.) -Pitcher (R)
* Closed out the Wisconsin-Milwaukee contest on 2/14, not allowing a hit and striking out one in an inning of work.
#4 Terry Lawrence (So.) -Pitcher (R)
* Has not seen action this season.
#5 Garrett Bell (Jr.) -Outfielder
* Has not seen action this season.
#6 Ryan Budde (Fr.) -Third Base/Catcher
* Played in all three games at third base and started the last game against Wisconsin-Milwaukee
* first hit of his collegiate career was a double against Wisconsin-Milwaukee (2/14)
#7 Lance Smith (Jr.) -Third Base
* Started first two games at third base.
* Subbed in at second base against Wisconsin-Milwaukee on (2/14) and hit a double.
#8 Billy Gasparino (Sr.) - Shortstop
* Started all three games at shortstop
* Has hit five homers in first three games
* Hit two homers in each of the first two games and one on 2/14.
* Big 12 Conference and team leader in homers.
* Leads team with 2.100 slugging percentage, 11 RBIs, 21 total bases and nine runs scored.
#9 Josh Holliday (Sr.) - Catcher
* Started every game at catcher.
* Preseason All-American by Collegiate Baseball.
* Leads team with 27 putouts.
#10 Trent Kitsch (Jr.) -First Base/DH
* Started in every game, the first two at DH, the third at first base.
#12 Mike Myers (Fr.) -Shortstop
* Has seen action in two games, both in reserve duty at short.
* Collected first collegiate hit against Missouri Southern (2/7)
#13 Grant Bergman (Sr.) -Pitcher (R)
* Has not seen action this season.
#14 Jeremy Krismer (Jr.) -Pitcher (R)
* Has not seen action this season.
#15 Dale Pearson (Sr.) -Pitcher (L)
* Has not seen action this season.
* Is scheduled to start against Oregon State.
#16 Frank Bludau (Jr.) -Pitcher (R)
* Has not seen action this season.
* Recovering from offseason shoulder surgery.
#17 Jimbo McAuliff (So.) -Centerfield
* Started all three games in center.
* Leads team with four stolen bases and six walks.
* Second on the team with eight runs scored.
#18 Stu Hunt (So.) -Pitcher (L)
* Has not seen action this season.
#19 Mike Lorsbach (Fr.) -Outfielder
* Saw action in all three games.
* first hit of his collegiate career was a two-RBI single against Wisconsin-Milwaukee (2/13)
#20 Rusty Rushing (Jr.) -Pitcher (R)
* Pitched three innings against Wisconsin-Milwaukee (2/13) and picked up the save.
* gave up one run on four hits while striking out four.
#22 Kevin Lucas (Sr.) -Second Base
* Started all three games at second base.
* Team leader with three triples.
* Coming off 3-for-3 performance last Sunday.
#24 Trevor Leu (So.) -First Base/DH
* First action of the season came against Wisconsin-Milwaukee (2/14).
* Went one-for-four with five RBIs and hit the second homer of his career.
#25 Brad Smith (So.) -First Base/DH
* Has not seen action this season.
#27 Will Rosellini (So.) -Pitcher (R)
* Has not seen action this season.
#28 Casey Eckstein (Jr.) -Catcher
* Has not seen action this season.
#29 Chris Haggard (Fr.) -Catcher
* Has seen action in two games as a reserve behind the plate.
* Is the last OSU player to wear the No. 29 jersey which was worn by Pete Incaviglia and retired on 2/14.
#30 Lamont Matthews (Jr.) -Outfielder * Started all three contests in rightfield.
* Second on the team with two homers and eight RBIs.
* Hit grandslam homer against Wisconsin-Milwaukee (2/14).
#32 Jay McCullough (Sr.) -First Base * Played in all three games, started the first two at first base.
* Came off the bench on 2/14 and hit first homer of the year, while playing leftfield.
#33 Chris Becerra (Sr.) -Leftfield * Started all three games in left. * Leads team with a .714 batting average.
* Second on the team with a 1.429 slugging percentage.
#34 Matt Mabrey (Jr.) -Outfield
* Played in all three games as a late-inning defensive replacement.
* Injured running the bases on 2/14 vs. Wisconsin-Milwaukee
#36 Matt Smith (So.) -Pitcher (L)
* Started and won first two contests.
* Hurled four innings, giving up one earned run on six hits while striking out eight in start against Wisconsin-Milwaukee (2/13).
#38 Thom Dreier (Jr.) -Pitcher (R)
* Pitched in two games, in relief against Missouri Southern and started against Wisconsin-Milwaukee on 2/14.
* Picked up the win last Sunday, pitching five shutout innings and striking out three.
#39 Danny Kelly (Jr.) -Pitcher (L)
* Pitched two innings against Wisconsin-Milwaukee (2/13)
* Gave up two earned runs while striking out three.
#40 Denny New (Jr.) -Pitcher (L)
* Pitched in two games in relief.
* Pitched three innings on 2/14 giving up two earned runs on four hits while striking out four.
#44 David Rollandini (Fr.) -Pitcher (R)
* Has not seen action this season.
