Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Play Bedlam Baseball This Weekend.
April 20, 2000 | Cowboy Baseball
April 20, 2000
It's Bedlam Time:
Oklahoma State, a winner of 13 of its last 15 and eight in a row, looks to continue its winning ways this weekend against Oklahoma in the annual Bedlam Baseball series. The three-game set opens Friday at 7:05 p.m. at Drillers Stadium in Tulsa, Okla. The series moves to Oklahoma City and the Southwestern Bell Bricktown Ballpark for Saturday's 3 p.m. contest and Sunday's 2 p.m. matchup. The contests will air on the Cowboy Baseball Radio Network (93.7 KSPI) with Rex Holt (play-by-play) and Tom Dirato (analyst) calling the action. Saturday's game will be televised semi-nationally on Fox Sports Southwest with Bill Land (play-by-play) and Jack Lazorko (analyst) narrating the game.
About Oklahoma:
Oklahoma is 28-15 overall and 11-7 in Big 12 play after taking two of three from Kansas in Lawrence over the weekend. The Sooners completed a two-game sweep of McNeese State Tuesday and Wednesday (15-5 and 12-9) and have won 11 out of 12 contests.
Jerome Godsey leads the team offensively with a .350 batting average to go along with nine doubles and 24 RBIs. Rick Park is OU's top power source with 10 homers and 45 RBIs. As a team, the Sooners are batting .307 and have outscored their opponents 266-237.
Oklahoma's weekend pitching rotation will be Evan Greusel (2-0, 3.22 ERA) Friday, Austin Mix (8-1, 4.96 ERA) on Saturday and Michael Bradbury (3-1, 3.05 ERA) on Sunday. OU's relief ace is Jeff Bajenaru who has 12 saves on the year with 37 punchouts in 34 innings.
OU head coach Larry Cochell is in his 10th year as the skipper of Sooner program and has posted a 377-213 ledger in that span. He is 19-29 all-time vs Oklahoma State.
The Series:
The Cowboys own a 126-125 series lead over the Sooners according to statistical records dating back to 1935. Last season the two teams split four games, but OSU captured the three game conference series 2-1. Three of the four games were decided by only one run. The fourth game was an additional contest added to benefit victims of the tornadoes which hit central Oklahoma on May 3. Oklahoma State is 5-6 against the Sooners since the formation of the Big 12 dating back to the 1997 season. A little extra about Bedlam can be found later in the notes.
1999 Results
| 4/30 | Oklahoma 4, Oklahoma State 3 | (Drillers Stadium, Tulsa) |
| 5/1 | Oklahoma State 9, Oklahoma 6 | (SWB Bricktown Ballpark, OKC) |
| 5/2 | Oklahoma State 10, Oklahoma 9 | (SWB Bricktown Ballpark, OKC) |
| 5/11 | Oklahoma 10, Oklahoma State 9 | (SWB Bricktown Ballpark, OKC) |
On the Mound:
The Cowboy rotation for this weekend will be Josh Merrigan on Friday, Matt Smith on Saturday and Frank Bludau in the series finale Sunday afternoon.
All three starters picked up wins last weekend against Texas A&M. Merrigan improved to a team best 7-1 with six innings of work against the Aggies last Friday. He gave up three runs off of eight hits while striking out five.
Smith rebounded from his shortest outing of the season (Kansas State 4/8) to pitch a season-high eight innings in the Pokes 6-2 win last Saturday. The Henderson, Nev., native struck out nine batters to move into second place on the OSU all-time strikeout list (see next page).
Bludau extended his home scoreless streak to 20.2 innings before giving up three unearned runs in the seventh of OSU's 5-3 win over the Aggies last Sunday. He improved to 4-4 on the season and 3-2 with a 3.23 ERA in Big 12 play.
Starting Pitchers
| Day | No. | Name | G/GS | Season Stats |
| Fri. | 32 | Josh Merrigan (L) | 12/11 | 7-1, 2.75 ERA, 48 SO, 59.0 IP |
| Sat. | 36 | Matt Smith (L) | 11/11 | 5-5, 3.61 ERA, 75 SO, 62.1 IP |
| Sun. | 16 | Frank Bludau (R) | 11/9 | 4-4, 4.57 ERA, 25 SO, 43.1 IP |
OSU Probable Starters
| Pos. | No. | Name | G/GS | Season Stats | |
| C | 6 | Ryan Budde | 38/35 | .311, 8 HRs, 38 RBIs | |
| 1B | 24 | Luke Scott | 40/33 | .284, 7 HRs, 41 RBIs | |
| 2B | 11 | Curt Anthony | 36/33 | .235, 6 HRs, 26 RBIs | |
| SS | 13 | Nebasett Brown | 38/35 | .348, 1 HR, 34 RBIs | |
| 3B | 5 | Rob Watson | 33/27 | .371, 8 HRs, 29 RBIs | |
| CF | 2 | Toby Rhodes | 38/22 | .303, 2 HRs, 21 RBIs | |
| or | |||||
| 8 | Ront' Langs | 29/22 | .295, 2 HRs, 9 RBIs | ||
| LF | 9 | Roy York | 38/33 | .339, 9 HRs, 36 RBIs | |
| RF | 17 | Jimbo McAuliff | 38/26 | .365, 2 HRs, 18 RBIs | |
| DH | 1 | Carl--s Gautreaux | 37/35 | .408, 14 2Bs, 16 RBIs | |
Head Coach Tom Holliday:
Oklahoma State head coach Tom Holliday is in his fourth year as the pilot of the Cowboys' program. His record of 159-75 is tops among the Cowboys' all-time coaches records after three seasons. Holliday won his 150th game against Oral Roberts on Apr 4. Last season he led the Cowboys to the school's 19th College World Series appearance. OSU finished with a 46-21 mark and its 19th consecutive NCAA regional showing. Holliday served as an assistant at Oklahoma State from 1977-96. He is 5-6 against OU as the head coach.
Recapping Prairie View A&M:
Oklahoma State outscored Prairie View A&M 46-5 in a three-game sweep over the Panthers Tuesday and Wednesday. OSU blanked Prairie View 12-0 Tuesday and swept the doubleheader 19-3 and 15-2 Wednesday afternoon. The Cowboys banged out 39 hits and tallied 11 homers, led by Roy York and Luke Scott, who hit two each. The Cowboy pitchers allowed only three earned runs in the series as Rob Watson, Ryan Herrmann and Kris Oakes each picked up wins on the mound.
Jimbo Breaks Out:
Junior outfielder Jimbo McAuliff had one of his finest weeks in a Cowboy uniform last week as he went 8-for-12 (.667) at the plate to spark OSU to a 5-0 record. McAuliff also notched a double, two triples and four RBIs while also stealing two bases. The Bishop McGuiness product also showed a great eye at the plate with seven walks and no strikeouts and boasted an .800 on-base percentage. With the stellar week, McAuliff upped his batting average from .309 to .365, second best among the regulars. During the Cowboys' eight-game winning streak, McAuliff is batting .588 with two doubles, two triples and three stolen bases.
York Finds His Groove:
Entering the season, junior Roy York was expected to be one of the main power sources on the 2000 club. Entering the weekend, York had only produced four homers while splitting time between right field and the designated hitter spot. The Stroud, Okla., native showed everybody his power in the weekend series against A&M with a homer in each game. His three-run homer in Friday's game was instrumental in leading the Pokes' offensive attack, which scored 14 runs in the contest. York continued his power display with two homers against Prairie View A&M on Wednesday afternoon. During the Cowboys' eight-game win streak, the junior outfielder has blasted five homers with 10 RBIs to go along with a .385 batting average.
Cowboys Corral:
The Cowboy pitching staff has allowed only eight earned runs over the last eight games (66 innings, 1.09 ERA), lowering the team ERA from 4.98 to 4.25 ... The Cowboy offense has hit .351 in that span with 16 homers and 92 runs scored ... Mike Miller recorded his first collegiate save with 2.1 perfect innings of relief against A&M last Sunday ... Frank Bludau had a 20.2 scoreless innings streak at home snapped against A&M last Sunday ... Two of OSU's three remaining Big 12 conference series are against teams ahead of them in the standings (OU and Texas Tech) ... The Cowboys had the same exact infield in all three games against Texas A&M , marking the first time this season they have done so in a series ... OSU is 13-1 in games in which the team scores in double digits ... Rusty Rushing moved into a tie for third place in the OSU career saves list with 10 after picking up his sixth save of the season against Oral Roberts ... The Cowboys recorded back-to-back shutouts last week for the first time since 1990 ... Matt Smith is currently in second place on the OSU strikeout list with 309 behind Dennis Livingston (344) ... OSU has never lost to a team from the Southwestern Athletic Conference and is 7-0 against SWAC members this season ... Rusty Rushing started his collegiate career at Oklahoma while Sooner catcher Chris Haggard was a backup on OSU's team last season ... "Pitcher" Matt Smith got two pinch-hit at-bats against Prairie View A&M, he flied out to center in his first AB and walked on his next chance (Smith had never had a collegiate at-bat until Wednesday).
Budde Garnering National Recognition:
Catcher Ryan Budde was among the first 20 players invited to participate in the 2000 USA Baseball National Team Trials to be held in Tucson, June 16-21 USA Baseball announced. In addition, the sophomore was named to the Johnny Bench National Collegiate Catcher of the Year watch list. He is the only catcher from the Big 12 to receive the designation.
Budde was selected to the USA trials last year but did not make the team. The Midwest City native is currently batting .311 and is second on the team with eight homers and 38 RBIs.
Baylor pitcher Zane Carlson and catcher Kelly Shoppach were the only other players from the Big 12 invited to the trials.
Budde was a Freshman All-America last season and was rated one of the top prospects in the Big 12 for the year 2001 by Baseball America.
A Little Extra About Bedlam:
A few extra tidbits about OSU's record against OU:
- OSU's longest winning streak: six straight twice (1993-94, 1952-53)
- OSU's longest losing streak: 11 straight in 1976-77
- OSU's largest margin of victory: 19 (22-3) in 1986
- OSU's largest margin of defeat: 14 (18-4) in 1976
- OSU's record in conference tournament matchups: 22-10
- OSU's record in the 1990s: 29-23
- OSU's record at Bricktown Ballpark (1998): 3-3
- OSU's record at Drillers Stadium (1991): 1-8 (lone win 4-3 in 1994)
- Extra Innings Contests: Five (1-4), last time in 1992: Lost 5-4 in 12 innings
Brief Career Notes: Jimbo McAuliff is 2-for-19 (.105) against the Sooners in five games ... Carl--s Gautreaux is 4-for-11 (.363) in four games ... Ryan Budde is 2-for-11 in four games (.182) ... Toby Rhodes is 0-for-1 in one contest.
OSU Starting Pitchers Against OU All-Time:
Matt Smith
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | AB | BF | W/L | Score | ||
| (4/30/98, Tulsa) | 7.1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 24 | 31 | N/A | L, 4-5 | |
| (4/30/99, OKC) | 9.0 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 32 | 35 | L | L, 3-4 | |
| Totals | 16.1 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 26 | 56 | 67 | 0-1, 2.75 ERA |
Frank Bludau
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | AB | BF | W/L | Score | ||
| (5/2/98, OKC) | 4.1 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 17 | 21 | N/A | W, 10-3 | |
| (5/16/98, OKC) | 3.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 14 | N/A | L, 4-9 | |
| (5/11/99, OKC) | 4.0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 18 | N/A | L, 9-10 | |
| Totals | 11.1 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 46 | 53 | 0-0, 3.17 ERA |
The Rankings:
The Cowboys are unranked in the three polls this week. OSU did receive 41 votes in the ESPN/Baseball Weekly Coaches poll.
Cowboys Week-By-Week in the Polls
| Collegiate Baseball | ESPN/Baseball Weekly | Baseball America | ||
| Jan. 1 | 23* | 25* | NR | |
| Feb. 7 | 23* | 25* | NR | |
| Feb. 14 | NR | NR | NR | |
| Feb. 21 | 24 | NR | NR | |
| Feb. 28 | 27 | NR | NR | |
| Mar. 6 | NR | NR | NR | |
| Mar. 13 | NR | NR | NR | |
| Mar. 20 | NR | NR | NR | |
| Mar. 27 | NR | NR | NR | |
| Apr. 3 | NR | NR | NR | |
| Apr. 10 | NR | NR | NR | |
| Apr. 17 | NR | NR | NR |
*- Preseason Poll
Preseason Predictions:
According to Baseball America, Oklahoma State is predicted to finish fourth in the Big 12 conference behind Baylor, Texas and Texas A&M. The Cowboys were also one of five teams picked by the publication to make it to the NCAA tournament along with the Bears, Longhorns, Aggies and Texas Tech.
Sophomore catcher Ryan Budde and pitcher Matt Smith were named to the preseason All-Big 12 team in Baseball America and the Dallas Morning News while Smith also garnered pitcher of the year plaudits in both publications. Smith is also a preseason All-America selection by Collegiate Baseball and Baseball America and is considered one of the top professional prospects to watch.
Season Streaks:
The Cowboys enter the 2000 season with two long-standing streaks to build on. Oklahoma State is looking to win 40 games for the 21st straight season and make the NCAA tournament for the 20th straight year. Only Miami (27) and Florida State with 22 NCAA treks in a row have longer skeins.
