Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboy Baseball Hosts San Francisco In Midweek Action
April 08, 2002 | Cowboy Baseball
April 8, 2002
What's On Tap
Oklahoma State, winners of nine of its last 11 games, will begin a two-game series against San Francisco on Tuesday at 7 p.m., in the first night game at Reynolds Stadium this season. The teams will meet again on Wednesday at 6 p.m. before the Cowboys step out of league play this weekend against in-state rival Oral Roberts.
On The Mound
Sophomore Scott Baker is slated to take the mound on Tuesday for the Pokes. He missed his turn in the weekend rotation on Sunday due to the cancelled game against Baylor. He is 2-0 on the year with a 3.38 ERA in five starts this year.
Junior Mike Miller will get the nod on the hill Wednesday. He last pitched two weeks ago against Memphis in Stillwater. The Tulsa Union product is 1-1 this year with a 4.50 ERA.
About San Francisco
San Francisco is 8-27 overall this season after getting swept by West Coast Conference foe Santa Clara on the road this season.
The Dons are led offensively by leftfielder Joe Jacobitz who is fourth in the WCC with a .379 batting average. As a team, USF is batting .274 and has been outscored 332-216.
Righthander T.J. Franco (0-5) will look to snap the team's seven-game losing streak on Tuesday. He went five and 2/3 innings against No. 2 Stanford last Tuesday in the Dons 4-1 loss. He gave up four runs on five hits with four walks and four strikeouts, but the offense could only manage one run.
Recapping Baylor
Rain was the story in Waco last weekend as the Cowboys split two games with Baylor. Oklahoma State overcame a 7-0 first inning deficit to defeat the Bears 11-10 on Friday night. Third baseman Paul Powell was the hitting star for the Pokes in the win, blasting his ninth homer of the year, a grand-slam in the fifth inning that tied the game. Reliever Justin Meccage allowed just one-hit in three and 1/3 innings of relief to pick up his second win of the year. Southpaw Mike Patitucci came on in the ninth to record the final out with the winning run on first for Baylor to pick up his first career save.
The teams had to wait out a three-hour delay on Saturday and another 50 minute stoppage in the third inning of an 8-6 Baylor win. The Cowboys rallied from a 6-2 deficit with a four-run seventh to tie the game at 6-6. Designated hitter Josh Fields provided the big blow in the comeback, a three-run homer, his second homer of the year. The Bears came back to score a run in the bottom of the stanza on a balk by reliever Joe Weaver to win the game and even the series.
Sunday's contest was again delayed by rain showers in the Waco area and was cancelled at 3 p.m.
Cowboys Lead The Big 12
Oklahoma State moved into sole possession of first place in the Big 12 for the first time this season after splitting two games with Baylor over the weekend. The Pokes are 7-4 (.636) in league play which is percentage points ahead of Nebraska at 9-6 (.600). The Cornhuskers took two of three from Oklahoma while Texas took two of three from Kansas, creating a logjam in the middle of the conference standings. While the Cowboys are out of league action this weekend, Big 12 seriesof interest will be Texas at Oklahoma and Nebraska at Missouri.
On Deck
The Cowboys will take a break from league play with a three-game series against Oral Roberts. Friday and Saturday's games will be played in Stillwater at 7 p.m. and 2 p.m. respectively, while Sunday's tilt will be played in Tulsa at J.L Johnson Stadium at 3 p.m. Sunday's matinee will be carried on television in the Tulsa area on Cox Cable Channel 9. Oral Roberts is 21-8 on the season and have won 10 straight games heading into a midweek matchup against Texas-Arlington Tuesday afternoon in Tulsa.
The Polls
The Cowboys are ranked No. 17 in Collegiate Baseball, No. 19 in the Baseball Weekly/ESPN Coaches Poll and No. 24 in Baseball America. 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 Texas at No. 9 by the ESPN/Baseball Weekly Coaches Poll.
Cowboy Offense Leads The Way
During the Cowboys surge to the top of the conference standings, the catalyst has been the Oklahoma State offense. OSU has scored in double-digits in six of the last eight games and 15 contests overall this year. The Cowboys have outscored opponents by a 306-164 margin and have hit 43 homers in 30 games, a 1.43 average per game. Oklahoma State is among the Big 12 leaders in several offensive categories including batting average (.322-1st), slugging percentage (.534-1st), homeruns (43- 2nd) and runs (306- 2nd).
Oklahoma State Picks Up Win 2,000
Oklahoma State's 16-6 victory over Kansas State on March 22 marked the Cowboys 2,000th win in the 89-year history of the program. OSU is now 2,008-964-4 all-time which is the 22nd best record in the history of Division I baseball. The Cowboys .675 winning percentage is second among Big 12 schools behind Texas' .761 mark.
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 throughout his career that he is a pitcher with a knack for winning games.
Reilly is 5-0 this season and 15-1 in his three-year collegiate career. He had a 10-1 record heading into the 2002 season after going 3-0 as a freshman and 7-1 as a sophomore for the Pirates in 2000-01.
Reilly leads the Cowboys in wins (5), ERA (2.92), innings pitched (40.0), and strikeouts (34). After starting the season as a midweek starter, the Bound Brook, N.J., product has solidified his spot in the weekend rotation.
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 discussing the rainy weekend in Waco, Texas.
Cowboys On The Air
Every game for the rest of the 2002 Oklahoma State baseball season will be broadcast on Stillwater Radio 93.7 KSPI.
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.
Cowboy Notes
After starting 1-2 in the Big 12, the Cowboys have gone 6-2 since ... Oklahoma State has six starters with 20 or more RBIs and 11 players batting .300 or better ... third baseman Paul Powell is second in the Big 12 with nine homers, including six in conference game ... outfielder Daylon Monette is in the top three in the Big 12 with a .392 batting average ...the top three starters in the OSU rotation sport a combined record of 9-0, led by junior Chris Reilly, who is 5-0 with a 2.92 ERA this season and 15-1 in his career ... the Cowboys have a balanced pitching staff with eight pitchers having 20 or more innings pitched in 2002. 10 different hurlers have recorded wins this year ...16 of the Cowboys remaining 24 games on the schedule are against teams with winning records ... 10 out of the next 11 games are at home (Sunday, April 13 at Oral Roberts) ... Rob Watson has been hit by eight pitches this season which puts him seventh on the OSU single-season list ... The Cowboys are two games short of the NCAA maximum of 56 games, meaning the team will be looking for two makeup games 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?).
