Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboy Baseball Heads To Louisiana
February 21, 2002 | Cowboy Baseball
Feb. 21, 2002
What's On Tap
Oklahoma State, undefeated in 2002, heads to Shreveport, La., to participate in the Shreveport College Classic. The Cowboys will open with Cal State Northridge Friday at 4 p.m. at Fairgrounds Field followed by a contest against San Diego on Saturday at 4 p.m. OSU will close out the tourney against Delaware on Sunday at 3 p.m.
Cal State Northridge
The Matadors are 7-3 on the year after taking two of three from Nevada last weekend in Northridge. Baseball America had the team ranked No. 22, ahead of Oklahoma State, in the magazine's College Preview. Cal State Northridge has five starters returning from last year's squad which finished 34-22 and fourth in the Big West Conference. Head coach Mike Batesole is in his seventh season and has posted a 222-144-1 record in that span. Second baseman Shaun Larkin, a transfer from Texas Tech, leads the team with a .531 average with eight homers and 18 RBI in 10 games. Leftthander Bill Murphy is expected to start against Oklahoma State on Friday with a record of 2-1 and a 4.82 ERA in three starts this year. Murphy went seven innings in his last outing against Nevada on Feb. 15 and gave up two runs, one earned, off of six hits while striking out 11.
The Series
Oklahoma State leads the all-time series between the clubs 5-1, including a two game series sweep two seasons ago in Stillwater.
San Diego
The Toreros are 10-3 on the year after getting swept by UC Riverside over the weekend. San Diego opened the season with a 10-0 mark and was ranked No. 22 by Baseball America going into the UCR series. Head coach Rich Hill has seven starters returning from last season's squad which finished 35-21 and 20-10 in the West Coast Conference. Hill is in his fourth year at USD and has posted a 107-78-2 record in that span. Shortstop Ben Quinto leads the team with a .436 batting average in 13 games this season while second baseman Mike McCoy is the stolen base threat with 13 base swipes in 13 attempts. The starting pitcher against Oklahoma State on Saturday is to be announced with the two possibilities being righthanders Tom Caple (2-0, 1.35 ERA) or Aaron Wilson (2-0, 3.63 ERA).
The Series
These two teams have never played on the baseball diamond. They were scheduled to play in 2000 in San Diego but the game was cancelled due to rain.
Delaware
The Fightin' Blue Hens are 0-3 on the year after getting swept by East Carolina last weekend in Greensville, N.C. Delaware has five starters returning from last year's team which finished 45-15 and in first place in the America East Conference. Head coach Jim Sherman is in his second season at UD and is 45-18 overall with an NCAA appearance in 2001. Shortstop Kris Dufner leads the team with a .417 batting average with five hits in 12 at-bats this season. The Blue Hens have used righthanders exclusively on the mound in the first three games with junior Jason Vincent going the longest in his start (5.1 innings).
The Series
Sunday's game will be the first ever meeting between the two schools on the baseball diamond.
On The Mound
Oklahoma State's starting rotation for this weekend will be sophomore lefthander Shane Hawk on Friday, senior righthander Nick McCurdy on Saturday and sophomore righty Jimmy Rhodes on Sunday. Hawk went five innings in his last start against Cal Poly on Feb. 16 and gave up one unearned run on six hits while striking out six. McCurdy picked up the win against Loyola Marymount on Feb. 15 after pitching five innings of three-hit shutout ball while striking out three. Rhodes went four innings against UC Riverside last Monday and gave up five runs, three earned, on five hits while striking out three.
Friday Shane Hawk (LHP) 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 7.0 IP, 9 SO
Saturday Nick McCurdy (RHP) 1-0, 1.29 ERA, 7.0 IP, 6 SO
Sunday Jimmy Rhodes (RHP) 1-0, 4.50 ERA, 6.0 IP, 3 SO
Bollig Leads Offensive Attack
After five games OSU is averaging 15.8 runs per contest while batting .412 as a team. Leading the way this season is senior designated hitter Jake Bollig who is batting .615 with two homers and 12 RBI in four games. Bollig's 12 RBI is more than twice the amount of the next Cowboy with five. The Moore, Okla., product has also shown a keen eye at the plate with five walks and only one strikeout in 13 at-bats for a .722 on base percentage.
Newcomers Paying Dividends
Five games into the 2002 season and several newcomers are producing for the Cowboys offensively and on the mound. Junior college transfer Jeff Salazar has solidified his hold on the starting job in center with a .500 batting average and five runs scored. Rightfielder Daylon Monette, another junior college transfer, has started four games in the outfield and is batting .429 with two doubles and six runs scored. Freshman Josh Fields has started in two games this season including his first ever at first base against UC Riverside last Monday. Fields came through with the game winning RBI in the eighth inning and is batting .714 with a double and four runs scored. On the mound, juco transfer John Forrest has proven to be a quality pitcher after pitching 4.2 innings of scoreless relief against UCR and getting the win.
Baker Returns Home
Sophomore pitcher returns home to Shreveport where he played at Captain Shreve High from 1997-2000. Baker has yet to pitch for the Cowboys this season after being sidelined the second half of 2001 with a sore arm. The righthander went 6-2 last season with a 4.05 ERA en route to Freshman All-American honors. He is expected to be the Friday starter once Big 12 play begins in March and is slated to see action in relief against Delaware on Sunday.
On Deck
After the three game tourney in Shreveport, Oklahoma State returns to the friendly confines of Allie P. Reynolds Stadium for three games against St. Johns and Texas-San Antonio. The Cowboys will take on St. Johns on Friday, March 1 at 2 p.m. and again on Saturday, March 2 at 1 p.m. before finishing out the weekend against UT-San Antonio on Sunday, March 3 at 1 p.m.
Cowboys On The Air
Every game on the 2002 Oklahoma State baseball schedule will be broadcast on Stillwater Radio. Due to the busy spring schedule, several games will be broadcast on either 93.7 FM or 780 AM until early April when the rest of the season's contests can be heard on KSPI 93.7. In addition, fans outside of the Stillwater area can listen to the games on the internet by going to Oklahoma State's official athletic website: www.okstate.com. Calling the action in his 20th year with Oklahoma State baseball is Rex Holt, of the famous Oklahoma Holts. He will be joined once again this year by former Cowboy player Ryan Folmar who welcomed a new addition to his family, son Kade, who was born on Jan. 4.
Radio schedule for this week:
Feb. 22 Cal State Northridge KSPI 93.7 FM
Feb. 23 San Diego KSPI 780 AM
Feb. 24 Delaware KSPI 93.7 FM
Nebasett Brown Preseason All-American
Senior second-baseman Nebasett Brown was named a third-team preseason All-American by Collegiate Baseball in December. Brown, a first-team All-Big 12 selection in 2001, led the Cowboys with a .381 batting average last year while also stealing 12 bases and wrapping out six triples. The Scottsdale, Ariz., native is currently tied for fourth place in the OSU record books with 13 career triples. He enters the 2002 campaign seven triples behind the school's all-time leader Benji De La Rosa who hit 20 of them from 1980-82. Brown has gotten off to a slow start at the plate this season and heads into the weekend with a .250 batting average and has scored six runs. He currently leads the team with six walks and has played a solid second base with no errors in 16 chances.
Cowboy Notes
Hitting Streaks: Jake Bollig has an eight game hitting streak dating back to last season, Ali Modami has a seven game skein and Jeff Salazar has a four-game streak ... OSU has five pitchers who have yet to give up an earned run this season ... sophomore Joe Weaver is a perfect 9-0 in his college baseball career ... opponents are only 2-for-3 in stolen bases against the Cowboys in five games ... over the last 15 years Oklahoma State has made the College World Series every third year dating back to 1987 (87, 90, 93, 96, 99, 02?) ... in Baseball America's College Preview Issue catcher Jason Jaramillo was rated as the 48th best freshman prospect, pitcher Scott Baker was rated as the 24th best sophomore prospect and Nebasett Brown was rated as the 38th best senior prospect ... five of the Cowboys first seven games are against teams from California ... the combined record of OSU's 2002 opponents in 2001 was 914-801-2 (.533).
Sophomore Studs
Oklahoma State returns five sophomore pitchers that showed enormous potential in the 2001 season. Led by Joe Weaver (8-0, 3.23 ERA) and Scott Baker (6-2, 4.05 ERA), both 2001 Freshman All-Americans, this group should mold the core of the pitching staff in 2002. Shane Hawk (2-4, 3.88 ERA), who saw time mostly as a reliever last year, could challenge for a spot in the starting rotation along with Jimmy Rhodes (4-1, 4.28 ERA). Daniel Rew (0-1, 3.50) is another sophomore who showed flashes of his enormous potential towards the end of the year and who the coaches expect to have a strong 2002.
New Coaches, Familiar Faces
Two coaching staff changes occurred during the offseason when Josh Holliday was named as a full-time assistant coach and Jason Bell was brought in as a volunteer assistant coach. Both men were former Cowboy standouts who earned numerous accolades on and off the baseball diamond during their careers. Holliday was hired when former assistant John Farrell took a position with the Cleveland Indians organization in August. Holliday, who was a student assistant last year, will assist with the position players and in the recruiting process. Bell, a Cowboy Baseball Hall of Famer as a pitcher, will assist in the day-to-day development of the pitching staff.
New Facility Additions
Oklahoma State baseball had some new facility additions and improvements over the offseason. First and foremost is the new indoor hitting facility which houses four batting/pitching cages. Over the summer a wrought iron fence went up around Allie P. Reynolds Stadium and more recently, the classroom inside the stadium was renovated and is now a meeting room/lounge for the players and families.
Oklahoma State All-Time Record
Through the years OSU has sustained a baseball legacy that is one of the best in the country. Entering the 2002 season, Oklahoma State has the 22nd best record all-time in the history of NCAA Division I baseball. The Cowboys record of 1,986-956-4 over 89 years is good for a .676 winning percentage, which is second among Big 12 schools (Texas- .761). The Cowboys are third among Big 12 schools in wins (Texas- 2,653, Texas A&M 2,014) and first among schools from the old Big Eight. OSU is nine wins away from winning 2000 games.
The Polls
The Cowboys are ranked as high as No. 8 and as low as No. 22 in this week's polls. Many prognosticators have forecasted a top-three finish for Oklahoma State in the Big 12 Conference this year. OSU is No. 8 in Collegiate Baseball, No. 13 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Poll, No. 14 in the ESPN/Baseball Weekly's Coaches Poll and No. 22 in Baseball America.
Ali Modami's Baseball Diaries
Senior first baseman Ali Modami is keeping a running journal throughout the 2002 season. The diary will be published on Oklahoma State's official website: www.okstate.com usually every Thursday and Sunday throughout the year, Ali's schedule permitting. The most recent journal entry has Ali sharing his L.A. experiences from last weekend.
