Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboy Baseball Heads North
March 21, 2002 | Cowboy Baseball
March 21, 2002
What's On Tap
Oklahoma State heads north to Manhattan, Kan., to take on Kansas State in Big 12 action this weekend. Game one is set for Friday at 3 p.m. at the newly completed Frank Meyers Field. The teams will meet again on Saturday at 2 p.m. before closing out the series Sunday at 1 p.m. Of note, the Friday gametime was moved from an original 3 p.m. start to 2 p.m. because of the cold weather conditions expected in Manhattan.
Oklahoma State's Road to 2000
Oklahoma State is one victory away from reaching 2000 wins in the school's storied baseball history. With 13 wins this season, OSU is now 1,999-962-4 all-time and its .675 winning percentage is second among Big 12 schools (Texas- .761).
Kansas State Bits
Kansas State is 11-8 on the season after going 3-4 during a spring break trip to Florida. The Wildcats started the trip with a 12-7 defeat to Miami of Ohio on March 14 and ended it with a 5-4 loss to Rutgers on Wednesday. This week marks the conference opener for K-State.
Head coach Mike Clark is 401-435 in 16 years as the head man in Manhattan. He picked up his 400th win in a 8-7 win over Wisconsin-Milwaukee on March 18. He is 694-571 overall in 23 years of coaching.
Leftfielder Pat Maloney leads the team offensively, hitting at a .481 clip in 19 games with six homers and 24 RBIs. As a team, the Wildcats are batting .327 with 16 homers and 157 runs scored.
The rotation for Kansas State this weekend is righthander Ross Hawley on Friday, lefthander Brock Smith on Saturday and righty Kevin Melcher on Sunday. Hawley gave up six runs on 11 hits in 4.2 innings in a 8-4 loss to Florida Atlantic on March 16. Smith lasted 2.1 innings in his last start, a 16-10 loss to Florida International on March 17, and gave up eight runs on nine hits. Melcher picked up his third win of the season with eight solid innings of work in a 3-2 win over Drexel. He gave up two runs on seven hits while striking out five.
Friday Ross Hawley (R) 1-2, 3.21 ERA, 28.0 IP, 27 SO, 5 BB
Saturday Brock Smith (L) 1-1, 5.40 ERA, 21.2 IP, 19 SO, 4 BB
Sunday Kevin Melcher (R) 3-1, 3.14 ERA, 28.2 IP, 22 SO, 2 BB
The Series
Oklahoma State dominates the all-time series on the baseball diamond, holding a 131-37 advantage dating back to the 1936 season. The Cowboys took two of three from the Wildcats last year in Stillwater, but K-State took two of three in Manhattan during the 2000 campaign. Since the teams joined the Big 12, OSU leads the series 8-5 (teams met in non-conference matchup in San Diego in 2000).
Series Results (Last 10 Contests)
April 8, 2001 Oklahoma State 4, Kansas State 3 Stillwater, Okla.
April 7, 2001 Kansas State 13, Oklahoma State 8 Stillwater, Okla.
April 6, 2001 Oklahoma State 11, Kansas State 5 Stillwater, Okla.
April 9, 2000 Kansas State 14, Oklahoma State 7 Manhattan, Kan.
April 8, 2000 Kansas State 15, Oklahoma State 9 Manhattan, Kan.
April 7, 2000 Oklahoma State 8, Kansas State 4 Manhattan, Kan.
Feb. 18, 2000 Oklahoma State 15, Kansas State 4 San Diego, Calif.
April 4, 1999 Oklahoma State 15, Kansas State 1 Stillwater, Okla.
April 3, 1999 Oklahoma State 13, Kansas State 2 Stillwater, Okla.
April 2, 1999 Oklahoma State 13, Kansas State 4 Stillwater, Okla.
On The Mound
Righthanders Nick McCurdy and Scott Baker are slated to start for the Cowboys Friday and Saturday with Sunday's starter to be announced.
McCurdy is coming off a win over Texas Tech last Sunday in Stillwater. He gave up two runs in 7.2 innings of work to improve to 2-0 on the year.
Baker did not factor in the decision in a 9-7 loss to the Red Raiders last Friday. He gave up four runs on seven hits with two walks and two strikeouts in 3.2 innings of work.
Friday Nick McCurdy (R) 2-0, 2.74 ERA, 23.0 IP, 16 SO, 7 BB
Saturday Scott Baker (R) 1-0, 3.38 ERA, 13.1 IP, 11 SO, 4 BB
Sunday TBA
The Polls
The Cowboys are ranked No. 20 in the Baseball Weekly/ESPN Coaches Poll and No. 24 in Collegiate Baseball this week. OSU is one of six Big 12 teams ranked in the Top 30 in the country by the various polls. The highest ranking Big 12 team in any of the polls is Baylor at No. 8 by Baseball America.
On Deck
After this weekend's series the Cowboys return home to close out the month of March. OSU will play Conference USA foe Memphis in a midweek series starting on March 26. After the two-game set, Big 12 opponent Kansas comes to Stillwater for a three-game series starting on Friday, March 29.
Recapping Louisville
Junior Chris Reilly pitched Oklahoma State past Louisville in a 5-2 win in the first game of a doubleheader, but the Cowboys lost the nightcap 10-2 Wednesday afternoon at Reynolds Stadium.
Reilly cruised through eight innings and had a 5-0 lead with one out in the ninth before Cardinal designated hitter Mark Jurich hit a two-run homer to ruin the shutout bid. Reilly threw the first complete game by a Cowboy pitcher this season to improve to 3-0 on the year. He limited Louisville to just four hits while striking out eight and walking two.
The Cowboys jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first via a RBI single by left fielder Jos? Virgil and a two-run triple by shortstop Rob Watson. They added another run in the second on a RBI single by second baseman Nebasett Brown and closed out the scoring with a solo homer by designated hitter Zach Cates in the sixth.
The Cardinals offense came alive in game two as Oklahoma State used nine different pitchers in the contest. Louisville led 1-0 in the fourth when second baseman J.T. LaFountain put the game away with a grand slam homer to right that extended the lead to 5-0.
After the U of L scored another run in the sixth, the Cowboys came back to score two in the inning to cut the lead to 6-2. That was as close as OSU would get as the Cardinals added a run in the sixth and three in the seventh to finish out the scoring.
Mike Miller took the loss in game two to drop to 1-1 on the year. He gave up a run on four hits in 2.1 innings while walking two and striking out two.
Life of Reilly
Junior Chris Reilly transferred to Oklahoma State from Seton Hall over the summer because he wanted a chance to contribute to a team with a chance to go to Omaha. He has proven through the early part of the season that he is a pitcher with a knack for winning games. Reilly had a 10-1 record heading into the 2002 season and he has improved on that, going 3-0 this year with a 2.45 ERA after Wednesday's game one win over Louisville. He currently leads the team in wins and ERA and is second in strikeouts (23) and innings pitched (22.0).
Recapping Texas Tech
Texas Tech came to Stillwater and took two of three from the Cowboys over the weekend. The Red Raiders had solid starting pitching performances in their 9-7 win on Friday and 8-3 win on Saturday. The roles were reversed on Sunday, as Oklahoma State had a strong pitching performance by senior Nick McCurdy to defeat Tech 7-3. Rightfielder Daylon Monette continued his steady hitting, going 6-for-10 with a double, homer and four runs scored. Also faring well at the plate was second baseman Nebasett Brown who was 5-for-12 with two doubles, a homer and three runs scored.
McCurdy Makes Statement
With his team in danger of being swept at home in a conference series for the first time since 1974, senior Nick McCurdy came through with 7.2 innings of solid work against Texas Tech last Sunday. The righthander's outing was the longest of any Cowboy pitcher this season as he moved to 2-0 on the year. He gave up two runs on nine hits while striking out six and walking two against a Tech squad that was averaging 8.5 runs and 13 hits a game in the series.
Powell Provides Spark Against Tech
Senior third baseman Paul Powell provided the offensive spark the Cowboys needed in a 7-3 win over Texas Tech last Sunday. OSU trailed the game 2-1 going into the bottom of the fourth and was in need of something to happen offensively. Powell delivered with a three-run homer that gave OSU a 4-2 lead and the spark the team needed in the game. He later added an RBI single and finished the day 2-for-4 with four RBIs.
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 Monday throughout the year, Ali's schedule permitting. The most recent journal entry has Ali talking about the Texas Tech series and the upcoming week against Louisville and Kansas State.
Cowboys On The Air
Every game on the 2002 Oklahoma State baseball schedule will be broadcast on Stillwater Radio. This weekend's schedule will be split due to the NCAA Wrestling Championships. After this weekend, the rest of the Cowboy baseball schedule can be found on 93.7 FM in the Stillwater area. 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:
March 22 at Kansas State 780 AM
March 23 at Kansas State 780 AM
March 24 at Kansas State 93.7 FM
Monette Is Money
Rightfielder Daylon Monette has proven to be the most consistent offensive performer for the Cowboys this season. The Cypress Junior College transfer is batting .448 on the season and leads the team with 19 RBIs. His batting average is currently second in the Big 12 conference to Kansas State's Pat Maloney (.481).
Cowboy Notes
Daylon Monette has a seven-game hitting streaks heading into the Kansas State series ... Rob Watson has been hit by seven pitches this season which ties him for 24th on the OSU single season list ... Oklahoma State's .344 team batting average currently leads the Big 12 ... 13 of the Cowboy's 19 games in March will be played in Stillwater ... The Cowboys are one game short of the NCAA maximum of 56 games, meaning the team will be looking for a makeup game sometime in the future ... 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?).
