Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Host Longhorns In Big 12 Opener
April 15, 2003 | Cowboy Baseball
About Texas
Texas is 18-8 and 3-0 in conference play after sweeping Missouri at home last weekend. The Longhorns lost to Southwest Texas, 3-1, on Tuesday before heading to Stillwater.
UT returns six positional starters and four All-Americans from last year's NCAA championship squad that finished 57-15.
Senior outfielder Dustin Majewski leads the team with a .379 batting average to go along with five homers and 38 RBIs. Second baseman Tim Moss is hitting .368 with 11 stolen bases in 16 attempts this season. As a team, Texas has a .302 batting average with 22 homers and 182 runs scored in 26 games.
The Longhorn rotation for the weekend is senior righthander Danny Muegge on Saturday and sophomore southpaw J.P. Howell on Sunday. Monday's starter is to be determined.
7 R Danny Muegge 4-2 5.12
17 L J.P. Howell 4-0 1.41
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 19 games. Oklahoma State leads the Big 12 with a 2.21 team ERA, including a 1.48 mark in the last 11 contests. All 12 pitchers that have seen action this season boast an ERA of 3.38 or better, with lefthander Shane Hawk leading the way with a 0.74 ERA. OSU is the lone school to have an ERA of under 3.00 entering this weekend's action.
1. Oklahoma State 2.21
2. Nebraska 3.35
3. Texas 3.36
4. Texas A&M 3.42
5. Baylor 3.97
Hawk Claws Opponents
Junior southpaw Shane Hawk was the winning pitcher in both of Oklahoma State's victories in North Carolina. Hawk allowed one run in three innings of work against Princeton on March 15 and came back to pitch 4.1 innings of scoreless relief in the Cowboys 2-1 win over Duke on March 17. The Midwest City product is having his finest season in an OSU uniform posting a 4-0 record and 0.74 ERA in seven relief appearances. He has struck out 26 batters in 24.1 innings pitched while walking 10 and limiting batters to a .193 batting average. The durable hurler has been scored upon just twice this season and could see action as a starter the rest of the way.
Cowboys Split Four Games In N.C.
Oklahoma State saw strong pitching performances by its staff and the opponents as well in splitting four games in North Carolina. The Cowboys lost a pair of one-run games to North Carolina State (4-3) and Old Dominion (2-1) and defeated Princeton (6-3) and Duke (2-1). The Pokes were scheduled to take on Wake Forest on Tuesday, but the game was cancelled due to rain.
OSU had a a 3-1 lead going into the bottom of the sixth inning against N.C. State before starting pitcher Scott Baker gave up a three-run homer to rightfielder Joe Gaetti. Baker struck out a career-high nine batters but took the loss to drop to 3-3 on the year. The loss also saw the end of centerfielder José Virgil's 15-game hitting streak as he went 0-for-4 on the afternoon.
The Cowboys rebounded from the loss by breaking a 2-2 tie with four runs in the bottom of the seventh to beat Princeton 6-3. Reliever Shane Hawk picked up the win with three innings of work while first baseman John Urick led the team with a 2-for-4 performance at the plate. Old Dominion sophomore righthander Justin Verlander handcuffed Oklahoma State in a 2-1 win last Sunday. Verlander struck out nine and scattered five hits in the complete game effort. OSU starter Spencer Grogan was the tough luck loser, giving up two runs in the first inning, before blanking the Monarchs the next five innings.
Third baseman Josh Fields delivered a RBI single in the top of the eighth inning that broke a 1-1 tie against Duke last Monday. Hawk picked up his second win of the trip to move to 4-0 on the year.
Gutierrez Wins Shortstop Job
Freshman Chris Gutierrez opened the season as the backup at short and was expected to be a valuable defensive performer in 2003. The Orlando, Fla., native has proven to be much more both offensively and defensively and has moved into the starter's role. Gutierrez has four multi-hit games this season and is tied for the team lead with three multi-RBI games. He has played in 18 games with 15 starts and is batting .341 with 10 RBIs. The Boone High School product has also made several dazzling plays in the field and is second on the team with 37 assists.
Cowboy Notes
Oklahoma State is 7-5 against Texas in Stillwater ... OSU currently leads the Big 12 with a 2.21 ERA in 19 games ... With the cancelled Wake Forest game, the Cowboys have 57 games on the schedule, one over the NCAA limit ... Shortstop Chris Gutierrez is hitting .379 in the last 11 games ... Jason Jaramillo has thrown out six of 14 baserunners in the last 11 games ... OSU has posted a 1.48 team ERA in the last 11 games with 104 strikeouts and 33 walks in 97 innings pitched ... 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 0.74 ERA is the best in the Big 12 ...Josh Fields leads the team with seven multi-hit games.
Looking Ahead-Schedule Change
Due to the alterations to the Texas series, Oklahoma State has made a schedule switch with Texas-Arlington. OSU was scheduled to travel to Arlington to play the Mavericks on Tuesday, March 25, but instead the game will be moved to Stillwater. The two teams were scheduled to meet again on April 22 in Stillwater, but will now play the game in Arlington.
Schedule Adjustment
March 25 Texas-Arlington 3 p.m. Stillwater, Okla.
April 22 Texas-Arlington 3 p.m. Arlington, Texas
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. The Shreveport, La., native recorded a career-high nine strikeouts in a 4-3 loss to North Carolina State in his last start on March 14. He allowed four runs, three earned, in seven innings of work. He enters this weekend with a 3-3 record and 3.19 ERA.
Baker went seven innings in his last start 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.
