Cowboys Begin Conference Play This Weekend

Feb. 21, 2001

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THIS WEEKEND
After opening the home portion of its schedule last weekend, Oklahoma State will begin conference play this weekend when Missouri comes calling for a three-game set. The Cowboys and Tigers will play single games on Friday, Saturday and Sunday this weekend, with each slated for a 2 p.m. start at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium in Stillwater.

ABOUT THE TIGERS
Despite being conference foes, the Cowboys and the Tigers have not met since a tilt at the Big 12 Tournament in 1998. The Cowboys prevailed 11-8 and lead the all-time series 106-52. However, the Tigers won the 1998 regular-season series, winning two of three.

Mizzou brings a 3-2-1 record into the weekend after defeating UNLV (10-1) and New Mexico (7-3) last week. The Tigers closed the week with a loss to Utah (12-9).

MU opened the season with a 0-0 deadlock against San Jose State and have also defeated Loyola Marymount (10-7) and lost to Pepperdine (4-1).

A pair of Tigers, Kurt Propst and Luke Cassis, are above the .400 mark at the plate so far this season. Propst leads Missouri with a .412 average, while Cassis checks in right at the .400 mark.

On the hill, junior southpaw Matt Hobbs will bring a 2-0 record and 2.45 ERA to Stillwater. Hobbs owns wins over Loyola Marymount and New Mexico.

This weekend's series will be a homecoming for Missouri's Cody Ehlers. The freshman graduated last spring from Stillwater High School and has seen action in four games this season for the Tigers.

PROBABLES ON THE MOUND
On the hill for the Cowboys in the series opener will be preseason All-Big 12 pick Josh Merrigan. Merrigan, a senior southpaw from Vermillion, S.D., jumped out to a 2-0 start, including a 12-strikeout performance against Miami, before suffering his first loss of the season last weekend against Washington State. On the season, Merrigan has hurled 18 innings and struck out 24.

Getting the nod in Saturday's game will be junior college transfer Nick McCurdy. McCurdy, a two-time draft choice of the Colorado Rockies, will be making his third start for the Pokes. The transfer from Jefferson Davis Junior College is 1-1 on the season with a 3.38 ERA in 10.2 IP. Last weekend, McCurdy was tagged with an unusual line. Against WSU, he worked one-third of an inning and gave up seven runs, none of which were earned.

Freshman Scott Baker will make his third career start on Sunday afternoon. The Shreveport, La., native has been impressive in his two appearances in the Orange and Black. Boasting a 2-0 record, Baker enters the weekend with a 3.38 ERA and16 K's. Baker, considered one of the top newcomers in the country according to Baseball America, was a 36th round pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2000 amateur baseball draft.

LAST WEEKEND
Oklahoma State split a pair of games with the Washington State Cougars. The matchup was supposed to be a three-game series, but was shortened to a two-game set due to wet grounds at Reynolds Stadium. Friday's contest was cancelled and Saturday's game was moved to David Allen Memorial Ballpark in Enid, Okla. Oklahoma State never got on track offensively, producing a season-low two runs on a pair of hits in a 12-2 loss to the Cougars. Seven of the Cougars' runs were unearned and Cowboy starter Josh Merrigan was saddled with his first loss of the season.

OSU rebounded on Sunday in the Cowboys' true home opener, as the Pokes picked up a 6-5 win. Behind a strong plate performance from DH Jos? Virgil, OSU plated a run in the bottom of the ninth to secure the squad's seventh win of the season. Virgil, a sophomore from Phoenix, Arizona, finished the weekend 3-for-6 with two runs scored and four RBIs. In Sunday's triumph, he added his first home run of the season.

Oklahoma State University Athletics

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