Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboy Baseball Heads To Kansas
March 27, 2003 | Cowboy Baseball
March 27, 2003
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Oklahoma State (15-8, 2-1 Big 12)
vs. Kansas (21-9, 0-3 Big 12)
March 29 * 2 p.m.
March 30 * 1 p.m.
March 31 * 3 p.m.
Hoglund Ballpark (2,500) * Lawrence, Kan.
The Matchup: vs. Kansas (21-9, 0-3 Big 12)
Saturday, March 29 at 2 p.m.
Sunday, March 30 at 1 p.m.
Monday, March 31 at 3 p.m.
All-Time Series:
OSU leads 112-35 including series sweep in 2002.
Last Two Years:
Kansas 6, Oklahoma State 4 March 3, 2001 (Lawrence)
Oklahoma State 16, Kansas 5 March 4, 2001 (Lawrence)
Oklahoma State 4, Kansas 3 March 5, 2001 (Lawrence)
Oklahoma State 10, Kansas 7 March 29, 2002 (Stillwater)
Oklahoma State 12, Kansas 5 March 30, 2002 (Stillwater)
Oklahoma State 10, Kansas 2 March 30, 2002 (Stillwater)
In The Polls:
Oklahoma State is ranked No. 35 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Poll. Kansas is ranked No. 28 in Collegiate Baseball.
The Coaches:
OSU's Tom Holliday is 262-134 in his seventh season in Stillwater.
KU's Ritch Price is 21-9 in his first season in Lawrence.
Radio:
KSPI 93.7 FM
Rex Holt (Play-by-Play) is in his 21st season.
What's On Tap
Oklahoma State, winners of four of its last five contests, travels to Kansas to take on the Jayhawks in a three game Big 12 series this weekend. For the second straight week, the Cowboys will play an adjusted schedule due to weather conditions. The series is postponed a day and is set to begin on Saturday at 2 p.m. Game two is scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m. with the finale set for a 3 p.m. start on Monday.
About Kansas
Kansas is 21-9 overall and 0-3 in conference play after getting swept by Missouri in Columbia last weekend. The Jayhawks jumped out of the gate with early success, including a three-game series sweep over LSU in Baton Rouge. They were ranked as high as No. 17 by Collegiate Baseball but have fallen to No. 28 in the most recent poll.
Leftfielder Casey Spanish leads the team with a .405 batting average with five homers and 30 RBIs. The Jayhawks are third in the Big 12 in hitting with a .313 batting average to go along with 28 homers and 210 runs scored in 30 games.
KU's pitching staff is ranked sixth in the Big 12 with a 3.97 ERA. The Jayhawks probable rotation for the weekend are lefties Kevin Wheeler (4-0, 4.02 ERA) Josh Duran (2-2, 4.71 ERA) and Ryan Knippschild (5-2, 3.22 ERA).
Pitching Staff Leads The Big 12
Entering the season, the Cowboy coaching staff believed that pitching would be one of the strengths of this year's team and that has proven to be true through the first 23 games. Oklahoma State leads the Big 12 with a 2.88 team ERA and is the lone school to have an ERA of under 3.00 entering this weekend's action.
ERA Games
1. Oklahoma State 2.88 23
2. Nebraska 3.22 22
3. Texas 3.55 29
4. Texas A&M 3.61 29
5. Baylor 3.74 28
Jaramillo Named Big 12 Player Of The Week
Oklahoma State sophomore catcher Jason Jaramillo of Franksville, Wis., was selected as Phillips 66 Big 12 Conference Baseball Player of the Week after leading the Cowboys to two wins over Texas.
Jaramillo knocked in 11 of Oklahoma State's 13 runs in the two Cowboys' wins over No. 8 Texas over the weekend. He was 2-for-3 with a homer and four RBIs during OSU's 4-3 win over Texas last Saturday.
The Wisconsin resident topped that performance with a 3-for-4, three-homer, seven-RBI day in the Oklahoma State's series-clinching win on Monday. For the weekend he was 5-for-10 (.500) with a double, four homers, four runs and 11 RBI.
In addition he was recently named to the Johnny Bench Award Watch List. The award, to be given out at the end of June, honors the best catcher in collegiate baseball.
Jaramillo enters this weekend's series against Kansas with a .347 batting average and four homers and 14 RBIs. He has also thrown out nine of 29 baserunners attempting to steal this season.
Cowboys Take Series From Texas
Oklahoma State got off to a great start in Big 12 play by taking two of three from Texas last weekend in Stillwater. The defending national champion Longhorns entered the series ranked as high as No. 8 in the polls and led the conference with a 3-0 ledger.
The Cowboys got stellar pitching in the first game behind starter Scott Baker's 7.1 innings of work in a 4-3 win. He scattered six hits over that time and allowed just one run to earn the victory. Closer Daniel Rew picked up the first of what would be two saves in the series. Catcher Jason Jaramillo accounted for all four OSU runs with a homer and double in the contest.
UT broke open a 3-2 ball game with 12 runs in the final six frames to ease to a 15-3 win in game two. It was the first time all season Oklahoma State allowed an opponent to reach double figures in runs.
The rubber game was filled with intense play and clutch situations as the Cowboys came away with a 9-5 victory to claim the series. Jaramillo once again paved the way offensively, while the relief duo of Shane Hawk and Rew sealed the deal.
The series win marked the first time since 1999 that the Pokes had taken a series from Texas.
Hawk Eyes Wins
Junior lefthander Shane Hawk has put together a case as one of the top relievers in the Big 12 with his stellar play this season.
After going 3-4 with a 5.10 ERA as a sophomore in 2002, the Midwest City has improved dramatically on those numbers and carries a 5-0 record and 0.99 ERA into this weekend's series with Kansas.
His numbers put him among the league leaders in wins and ERA, which is unique coming from a player who has made nine relief appearances this year. Hawk has struck out 28 batters with only 11 walks in 27.1 innings pitched and is limiting opponents to just a .216 batting average.
OSU Uses Late Rally To Get Past Texas-Arlington
Designated hitter Mario Matulich broke a 2-2 tie contest with a RBI single to right as Oklahoma State squeaked past Texas-Arlington, 3-2, on Tuesday.
The Cowboys trailed 2-1 in the bottom of the eighth when pinch-hitter Kenny Hansley led off the inning with an infield hit. Shortstop Chris Gutierrez bunted him to second and a balk by Maverick starter Pierce Loveless advanced him to third. Center fielder Lyndsey Simmons knocked Hansley in with a bloop single to left center to tie the game. Third baseman Josh Fields then singled and first baseman John Urick walked to load the bases for Matulich's game-winning base knock.
Cowboy ace Scott Baker picked up the win in relief to improve to 5-3 on the year. The Shreveport, La., native struck out two and gave up one hit in 1.2 innings of work in his first career relief appearance.
Baker averted a game-tying situation in the ninth when second baseman Chris Taylor led off the stanza with a double to right center. Third baseman Ryan Roberts followed with a line shot to the left side that was stabbed by OSU shortstop Chris Gutierrez who threw to third to get Taylor out. Baker then struck out left fielder Hunter Pence and got center fielder Robby Deevers to foul out to second to end the game.
Cowboy Notes
The Cowboys have won five of the last six meetings against KU ... with another win this season KU will match its win total of a year ago ... OSU is third in the Big 12 in fielding percentage with a .969 mark ... Shane Hawk and Scott Baker are tied for second in the league in wins with five ... Baker made his first career relief appearance against UTA (3/25) and came away with the win ... Jos? Virgil is tied for fifth in the Big 12 with nine stolen bases ... Daniel Rew is tied for sixth in the Big 12 with three saves ... Rew has yet to be scored upon in 16.0 innings this season ... First baseman John Urick is hitting a lofty .667 (8-for-12) in Big 12 play ... Cory Von Tungeln is 2-for-4 in his last two games with a homer and double ... Jason Jaramillo's seven RBIs in win over Texas (3/24) was the most by a Cowboy this year ... With the cancelled Wake Forest game, the Cowboys have 57 games on the schedule, one over the NCAA limit ... Pitcher Scott Baker is listed as the No. 26 prospect in Baseball America's 2003 Top 100 College Prospects; southpaw Shane Hawk is also listed at No. 83 ... Hawk's 0.94 ERA is the best in the Big 12.
On Deck: Arkansas-Little Rock
After the Kansas series the Cowboys will head home to open a 11-game home-stand starting with Arkansas-Little Rock on April 2 at 6 p.m.
The Trojans are 17-9 on the year after falling to Louisiana-Monroe, 19-8, on March 25. UALR will face New Mexico State in Sun Belt Conference action this weekend in Las Cruces, N.M.
Brian's Baseball Diaries
Senior infielder Brian Kraft is keeping a running journal throughout the 2003 season. The diary will be published on Oklahoma State's official website: www.okstate.com usually every Thursday and Monday throughout the year, Brian's schedule permitting. In the most recent journal entry "Krafty" talks about the series win over Texas and close contest against Texas-Arlington.
Baker Named To Rotary Award Watch List
Junior pitcher Scott Baker is on the initial watch list of the Rotary Award, given to the top player in college baseball.
Baker has picked up a pair of wins over the week to improve to 5-3 on the year with a 2.76 ERA. He allowed only one run in 7.1 innings of work in the Cowboys 4-3 win over Texas on March 23. The righthander then made his first career relief appearance against Texas-Arlington on March 25 and pitched 1.2 innings of scoreless relief to pick up the win.
The Shreveport, La., native recorded a career-high nine strikeouts in a 4-3 loss to North Carolina State on March 14. He allowed four runs, three earned, in seven innings of work.
Baker went seven innings against Miami (Ohio) on March 7 and allowed just four hits with five strikeouts and no walks to improve to 3-2 on the year. Against Nicholls State on March 1, Baker allowed one run on six hits over seven innings of work with three strikeouts and two walks in the 17-1 win.
He was tabbed as the first Phillips 66 Big 12 Conference Baseball Pitcher of the Week after he pitched the first seven innings of OSU's 9-0 shutout of 18th-ranked Stetson on Feb. 8. He had a career-high eight strikeouts against the hard-hitting Hatters, allowed five hits and walked two before yielding to relief man Daniel Rew.
He was named a third-team preseason All-American by Baseball America after going 6-3 last season with a 4.23 ERA in 13 starts. The second-team All-Big 12 pick led the team with three complete games and struck out 47 batters in 76.2 innings pitched.
The Shreveport, La., native was a Cape Cod League All-Star for the Orleans Cardinals over the summer and helped lead them to the league championship series. He went 3-1 with a 1.61 ERA in nine starts for the Cardinals and struck out 52 in 56 innings pitched.
After the successful summer campaign in the Cape, Baseball America rated Baker as the 15th best pro prospect to come out of that league.
