Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Take on Kansas in Big 12 Series
June 21, 1999 | Cowboy Baseball
April 15, 1999
Setting The Scene: Oklahoma State looks to get back on the winning track in Big 12 play this weekend against Kansas in Lawrence. Game times for this weekend are set for 7 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. The contests will air on the Cowboy Baseball Radio Network (flagship 93.7 KSPI in Stillwater) with Rex Holt (play-by-play) and Robert Allen (analyst) calling the action.
About Kansas: The Jayhawks are 10-27 overall and 4-17 in Big 12 play this season after getting swept by Missouri last weekend. Kansas had a two-game midweek series against Wichita State canceled due to rain. Left fielder Brett Kappelmann leads the Jayhawks offensively with a .339 batting average with two homers and 14 RBIs in 33 games.
The Series: Oklahoma State leads the all-time series between the former Big Eight schools 102-33 and have won seven of the last 10 meetings dating back to the 1996 season. Last season the Cowboys took the first two games of the series in Stillwater before the Jayhawks won the finale 9-8.
1998 Results
Feb. 27 Oklahoma State 10, Kansas 1
Feb. 28 Oklahoma State 17, Kansas 16
Mar. 1 Kansas 9, Oklahoma State 8
On the Mound: Sophomore left hander Matt Smith will open the series for the Cowboys Friday night. Smith, the ace of the OSU staff, is 7-1 on the season with a 2.14 ERA. In his last outing against Nebraska last Friday he pitched eight innings of three-hit ball and struck out seven to lead the Pokes to a 10-2 win.
Junior right hander Thom Dreier will be on the hill Saturday afternoon for Oklahoma State. Dreier is 4-2 this season with a 3. ERA. He was rocked for seven runs in two innings of work against the Cornhuskers last Saturday.
Oklahoma State's starter for Sunday's game is yet to be determined.
Cowboy Coach Tom Holliday: Oklahoma State head coach Tom Holliday is now in his third year as the pilot of the Cowboys program. Holliday moved past the legendary Henry P. Iba into fourth place on the Cowboys coaching list with OSU's 12-2 win over San Diego State on Feb. 20. Holliday's record of 112-50 (.691) is tops among the Cowboys' all-time coaches records after two seasons. He reached the 100-win plateau with the Pokes 5-4 win against Iowa State on March 20. Holliday previously served as an assistant at Oklahoma State from 1977-96. Holliday is 4-2 against the Jayhawks as a head coach.
The Last Time Out: Lamont Matthews, Chris Becerra and Brad Smith each hit home runs to lead Oklahoma State to a 21-9 victory over TCU Tuesday night at Reynolds Stadium.
The Cowboys scored two runs in the first and second innings then exploded for five in the third and four in the fourth to put the game away.
Matthews led the Cowboys offensively with a homer, his 17th, and two triples which tied the school mark of triples in a game set by Chris Richard in 1995. He also chipped in with five RBIs and five runs scored.
Starting pitcher Dale Pearson picked up the win for the Pokes, his first in six outings dating back to Feb. 23 against Chicago State. Pearson pitched five innings and gave up two runs off of six hits with four strikeouts to move to 2-1 on the season.
The Cowboys moved to 20-0 on the season in games which they have scored 10 or more runs in. OSU avenged a 5-4 loss at the hands of TCU earlier in the season and moved to 26-10 overall while TCU dropped to 23-16.
Cowboys Ranked Nationally: Oklahoma State was ranked No. 2 in the nation in scoring at 11.77 runs per game as of the April 11 national statistical rankings. The Cowboys pitching staff was third in the country with a 3.27 ERA while the Pokes .340 team batting average was 19th in the nation.
Individual Cowboys ranked nationally include Lamont Matthews (62 RBIs-4th; 16 HRs- T-11th, 5 3B- 19th), Billy Gasparino (54 RBIs-12th, 16 HRs- T-11th) and Ryan Budde (15 2B- 12th). Pitcher Matt Smith's 2.14 ERA is the 28th best in the country.
Brad Not Just Another Smith: Sophomore Brad Smith had spent most of the 1999 season rehabbing a nagging shoulder injury and was basically known as the third Smith on the team behind Matt and Lance. In his first at-bat of the season against TCU on Wednesday, the left handed power hitter belted a towering home run to right field in the Cowboys 21-9 rout. Brad(Smith) impressed the coaches enough with the power display that he has made the travel squad for this weekend's series versus Kansas and could see time at first base or as the designated hitter.
Gasparino- The Quiet Bomber: Senior shortstop Billy Gasparino has put together a solid senior season with a .362 batting average and 16 homers and 54 RBIs. He is quietly sneaking up the ladder on the career home run list at OSU. His 47 career dingers ranks seventh all-time on the Cowboys career charts. With a solid finish to the 1999 season, Gasparino can move into the top-five all-time list and join former OSU legends Pete Incaviglia, Robin Ventura and Monty Fariss.
Budde Time: Freshman Ryan Budde is certainly making a statement that he is a player to be reckoned with in Oklahoma State baseball for the next three years. The Midwest City product is second on the squad with a .387 batting average and leads the team with 15 doubles. Despite hitting nine homers as a senior in high school, he did not hit his first dinger until his 29th game this season against Nebraska last Friday. Budde has also been a fixture behind the plate as of late, with nine consecutive starts at catcher after playing most of the season at third base.
News and Notes: OSU is 20-0 when scoring 10 runs or more and have scored 10 or more in seven of its last nine games ... The Cowboys have hit 79 home runs in 36 games, an average of 2.19 per contest ... Billy Gasparino tied Josh Holliday for second place in career hit by pitches with 40 after getting plunked against TCU ... OSU has scored in double-digits in 17 of 20 non-conference contests and seven of its last nine ... OSU is 26-1 in non-conference games at home over the last two seasons; the last loss was an 18-17 decision against Centenary College on Feb. 24, 1998.
The Rankings: A week after getting back into the national rankings in all three polls, Oklahoma State fell out of two with a 2-2 ledger last week. The Cowboys dropped to No. 29 in Collegiate Baseball's Fab 30 rankings and are unranked in Baseball America and the ESPN/Baseball Weekly's Coaches Poll.
Cowboys Week By Week in the Polls
Collegiate ESPN/Baseball Baseball
Baseball Weekly America
Jan. 1 19 24 21
Feb. 8 20 24 22
Feb. 15 19 25 NR
Feb. 22 13 21 16
Mar. 1 23 NR 20
Mar. 8 29 NR NR
Mar. 15 27 NR NR
Mar. 22 27 NR NR
Mar. 29 29 NR NR
Apr. 4 25 25 23
Apr. 11 29 NR NR
Notes From the Big 12: Another national cable television audience (FOX Sports Net) awaits Big 12 baseball on Saturday, Apr. 17, when Missouri hosts Oklahoma at 4 p.m. (CDT) at Simmons Field. That comes after a weekend where 14 seemed to have been the magic number. Baylor tied its own Big 12 mark, set in 1998, with 14 consecutive wins before Texas edged the Bears 4-2 in Waco last Saturday to end the skein. Then last Sunday, Iowa State knotted the conference mark for runs in one inning (14 by Oklahoma vs. Emporia State in 1998) with a 14 spot in a 18-12 win over Northern Iowa in Ames to start a doubleheader sweep. Baylor downed Texas twice in three games while Texas Tech, Texas A&M and Missouri notched sweeps to enhance their national standings and probable places in postseason play. All hope for a spot in the third annual Big 12 postseason tourney at Oklahoma City's Southwestern Bell Bricktown Ballpark on May 19-23 with an expanded eight-team field. Tournament tickets are available by calling (405) 236-5000.
Holliday Climbs Up Career Charts: Third baseman/catcher Josh Holliday is winding down his stellar career at Oklahoma State and is climbing closer and closer to the top of the career charts in several categories. The senior from Stillwater, Okla. is No. 2 in the Cowboys career record books in career at-bats (793) and hit-by-pitches (40) and is also near the top in games played, runs, doubles, total bases and bases on balls (see chart). Holliday is also a candidate for Academic All-American honors as well as All-Big 12 plaudits.
Gautreaux on the Go: Entering the 1999 campaign the Cowboy coaching staff was impressed with the fall season of Carls Gautreaux and he was expected to see plenty of action this year. The plans were put on hold when Gautreaux injured his hamstring while on the base paths against Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Feb. 13. Gautreaux has fought through the nagging inury and has been on a tear since coming back against TCU last month. The Abbeville, La., native is batting .382 overall with five doubles and two home runs. In addition to his overall numbers, Gautreaux has put up some gaudy numbers in Big 12 games hitting .484 in nine games with three doubles and eight RBIs. Most of his playing time has come at the designated hitter spot but he has also seen time at second base and in center field.
Season Streaks: The Cowboys entered 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.
OSU Tradition in the 1990's: Oklahoma State has continued its baseball success into the final year of the decade, having fared extremely well in the 1990's on a national level. Oklahoma State is No. 6 in wins in this decade with 446 and is No. 8 in terms of winning percentage among Division I schools with a .717 mark. The Cowboys are tops among the Big 12 schools in both categories in front of Texas Tech, Texas A&M and Texas.
