Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State Hosts Baylor
April 10, 2003 | Cowboy Baseball
April 10, 2003
Oklahoma State-Baylor Series Notes in PDF Format
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No. 17/19/22/25 Oklahoma State (22-9, 7-2 Big 12)
vs. No. 16/20/21 (23-13, 6-6 Big 12)
Friday, April 11 * 6 p.m.
Saturday, April 12 * 2 p.m.
Sunday, April 13 * 2 p.m.
Reynolds Stadium (4,000) * Stillwater, Okla.
All-Time Series:
OSU leads 25-14 and have won three of the last four meetings. The teams split two games last season in Waco as the third game was cancelled due to rain. The Cowboys are 8-7 all-time against the Bears in Stillwater.
Last Two Years:
Baylor 6, Oklahoma State 5 April 27, 2001 (Stillwater)
Baylor 7, Oklahoma State 5 April 28, 2001 (Stillwater)
Oklahoma State 15, Baylor 5 April 29, 2001 (Stillwater)
Oklahoma State 18, Baylor 4 May 16, 2001 (Oklahoma City)
Oklahoma State 11, Baylor 10 April 5, 2002 (Waco)
Baylor 8, Oklahoma State 6 April 6, 2002 (Waco)
In The Polls:
Oklahoma State is ranked No. 17 in Collegiate Baseball, No. 19 by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers, No. 22 in Baseball America and No. 25 in the Sports Weekly/ESPN Coaches Poll. Baylor is ranked No. 16 in Baseball America and the Coaches Poll; No. 20 by the NCBWA and No. 21 in Collegiate Baseball.
The Coaches:
OSU's Tom Holliday is 269-135 in his seventh season in Stillwater. He is 13-9 vs. BU.
BU's Steve Smith is 321-193-1 in his ninth season in Waco. He is 9-13 vs. OSU.
Radio:
KSPI 93.7 FM
Rex Holt (Play-by-Play) is in his 21st season.
What's On Tap
Oklahoma State, winners of five in a row, continues its 10-game homestand this weekend against Baylor in a three-game Big 12 Conference series. The Cowboys and Bears will open on Friday at 6 p.m. at Reynolds Stadium. Game two is set for a 2 p.m. start on Saturday, while Sunday's finale is also at 2 p.m.
About Baylor
Baylor is 23-13 overall and 6-6 in league play after getting swept by Texas last weekend. The Bears carry a four game losing streak into Stillwater after dropping a 10-8 decision to Texas-Arlington on Tuesday. BU opened the season strong, posting a 14-3 record through March 7, and were ranked as high as No. 6 in the national rankings. Baylor is 2-7 in its last nine games.
Senior designated hitter Ross Bennett leads the team with a .402 batting average to go along with four homers and 40 RBIs. Third baseman Michael Griffin is the top power source with seven homers, 15 doubles and 38 RBIs while hitting at a .371 clip. Baylor is batting .312 as a team, second in the league, and is averaging seven runs a game heading into the weekend.
Senior righthander Steven White (3-2, 4.18 ERA) is the clubs ace and brings a 22-12 career record into his start on Friday. He leads the conference with 72 strikeouts in 64.2 innings. The rest of the Bears rotation is still to be determined. BU sports a team 4.13 ERA with 285 strikeouts and 131 walks in 324.2 innings.
Pokes Move Into First Place In The Big 12
With the sweep of Kansas State, Oklahoma State is now in first place in the Big 12 due to its .778 conference winning percentage. The Cowboys are followed closely by Nebraska and Texas who both have identical 9-3 league marks and .750 win percentages. The Big 12 is the only conference in America to have eight teams with 20 or more wins and six teams were ranked in the various polls this week. In fact, nine of the 10 conference squads are/have been ranked at one point during the season. According to Boyd Nation's most recent pseudo-RPI, the Big 12 is the second best conference in the nation this year behind the SEC. Nation also has the Cowboys RPI at No. 28.
Cowboys Rally Past Arkansas State
Oklahoma State rallied from an early 3-0 deficit to defeat Arkansas State 8-3 Wednesday afternoon at Reynolds Stadium.
The Indians scored a run in the first, second and third innings to take a 3-0 lead on Cowboy starter Jimmy Rhodes. The Cowboys scored two runs in the bottom of the third on RBI singles by centerfielder Jose Virgil and first baseman John Urick to cut the lead to 3-2.
OSU took the lead for good in the fourth, taking advantage of an error and RBI single by Chris Gutierrez to plate two runs.
The Pokes added a run in the seventh on a sacrifice fly by catcher Jason Jaramillo that plated first baseman John Urick who had reached earlier on a triple. OSU scored three more insurance runs in the eighth to put the game away. Jaramillo and Urick both had RBI singles in the inning.
Urick went 3-for-5 at the plate with two RBIs while designated hitter Mario Matulich also recorded three base knocks on the afternoon.
Reliever Justin Ottman pitched 2.1 innings of scoreless relief to pick up the win and moved to 2-0 on the year.
Cowboys Sweep Kansas State
Oklahoma State dominated on offense and on the mound in a three-game series sweep of Kansas State last weekend.
The Cowboys defeated the Wildcats 10-1 on Friday, 11-1 on Saturday and held off a late KSU rally to win 11-9 on Sunday to complete the sweep.
Catcher Jason Jaramillo hit two homers and had five RBIs to lead the Pokes in the win on Friday. Scott Baker continued his recent run of success with an eight-inning three-hit performance to pace the Pokes on the mound.
First baseman John Urick had a three-run homer and ended with five RBIs in the win on Saturday. The Cowboys got an efficient performance by southpaw Spencer Grogan who scattered six hits over seven innings and allowed just one unearned run.
The Pokes jumped out to an early 6-0 lead in Sunday's game sparked by a three-run homer by second baseman Kenny Hansley, his first of the year. The Wildcats did not fold, however, and cut what was an 11-4 advantage to 11-9 with five unearned runs in the seventh. They had runners on second and third with two outs in the ninth but Daniel Rew struck out centerfielder Terry Blunt to end the game. Shane Hawk picked up his sixth win of the year and Rew earned his fifth save in the win.
As a team, OSU hit .362 with four homers and 32 RBIs in the series while also sporting an 1.67 ERA.
Virgil And Baker Nab Big 12 Honors
Junior pitcher Scott Baker and senior outfielder Jos? Virgil were named the Big 12 Pitcher and Player of the Week for their outstanding performances last week the conference office announced today.
Baker struck out a career high 11 batters and limited Kansas State to just three hits in an 10-1 win on Friday night. The Shreveport, La., native went a season-best eight innings and won for the fourth straight time to move to 7-3 on the year.
Virgil set the table for the Cowboy offense over the weekend going 9-for-12 at the plate with eight runs scored and two stolen bases in the series sweep of Kansas State. He currently has an 11-game hitting streak (started the season with a 15-game skein) and is hitting .500 in nine Big 12 games. For the week in five games, the Phoenix, Ariz., native went 12-for-18 (.667) with three doubles, three stolen bases, three RBI and 10 runs scored, batting in the two-hole.
The Four-J's Lead The Attack
Keying the recent offensive success are the 2-5 hitters in the lineup: Jos? Virgil, Josh Fields, John Urick and Jason Jaramillo. The four players have helped the Cowboys win nine of their last 10 games with their perfomance at the plate and in the field.
Virgil, the Big 12 Player of the Week opened the season with a 15-game hitting streak and now has a 12-game hitting streak heading into the weekend. His torrid offensive performance last week vaulted him into second place on the team with a .361 batting average. The senior also leads the team in runs scored (34), stolen bases (14-for-14), and walks (20).
Fields, who led the team with a .383 batting average in 2002, has put together a solid sophomore campaign as the everday starter at third base. He went 5-for-12 (.417) with five runs and five RBIs against Kansas State last weekend and is now batting .339 with two homers and 23 RBIs.
Urick, a junior-college All-American last year, has been the most consistent offensive performer all season for the Cowboys. He leads the team with a .391 batting average heading into the weekend and has posted a .486 average in six conference games. The Blue Springs, Mo., product leads the team with 13 multi-hit games this season and also boasts a team-best .466 on base percentage.
Jaramillo, a Johnny Bench Award Candidate, is the team's top power source with seven homers and 29 RBIs. He sparked the Cowboys to a series sweep over Texas with four homers against the Longhorns, including three in the series clinching win in game three. The Wisconsin native has turned it on offensively during league play, with all seven of his homers and 23 RBIs coming in nine conference games.
Super Mario
Junior designated hitter Mario Matulich is another player who has enjoyed recent success offensively for the Cowboys. The Manatee JC product, has played almost exclusively at DH this season and carries an 11-game hitting streak into the weekend. With his three hit day against Arkansas State on Wednesday, he moved his season batting average over the .300 mark for the first time this season. Matulich is currently batting .311 with four homers and 25 RBIs overall and is 14-for-40 with two homers and nine RBIs in league play.
In the three game series against Kansas State, Matulich went 4-for-11 with his first collegiate triple. He joins the "Four-Js" as the only Pokes to hit over .300 this season.
Cowboy Notes
OSU is hitting at a .326 clip in league play with 17 of its 29 homers in the nine games ... Spencer Grogan has won in his last two starts and is 2-1 with a 4.00 ERA in league play ... Shane Hawk's six wins this season is more than the five he had in his first two years ... The Cowboys will play 16 of their 19 games in April in the state of Oklahoma ... First baseman John Urick is seventh in the Big 12 with a .391 batting average ... OSU is second in the conference with a 3.28 ERA ... OSU is tied for first (with Texas) in the league with 39 double plays ... With the cancelled Arkansas State game last Tuesday, OSU is now at the NCAA maximum of 56 games ... 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 0.87 ERA is the best in the Big 12.
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 won in his last four appearances and is now 7-3 on the year with a 2.82 ERA.
He was named Big 12 Pitcher of the Week with his career-high 11 strikeout performance against Kansas State last Friday. He pitched eight innings and and allowed just three hits in picking up his seventh win, a new single season high. It was the second time this season he has won the award.
Baker went seven innings in his last outing against Kansas on March 29 and gave up four runs on seven hits while whiffing nine.
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 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.
On Deck: Texas-Pan American
After the Baylor series the Cowboys will close out its 10-game homestand with a pair of contests against Texas-Pan American on April 15-16. The Broncs are 17-20 on the year and will take on Oral Roberts in a three-game series this weekend in Tulsa before heading to Stillwater
Join The Cowboys In College Station
The Cowboy Baseball Club is sponsoring a bus trip to College Station to watch Oklahoma State take on Texas A&M in Big 12 baseball action next weekend (April 18-20).
The trip costs $150 per person and includes two nights stay at the Hampton Inn and tickets for the three-game series.
The bus will depart Oklahoma City on Friday, April 18 at 10 a.m. and will arrive back in OKC after Sunday's contest.
Interested fans should call the Baseball Office at (405) 744-5849.
Don't miss out on this FANtastic opportunity to catch big-time college baseball.
Brian's Baseball Diaries
Senior shortstop 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 Kansas State and the upcoming reunion with friends from Baylor.
