Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboy Baseball Heads To Texas Tech
May 15, 2003 | Cowboy Baseball
Oklahoma State (30-21, 12-12 Big 12)
vs. Texas Tech (29-23, 7-16 Big 12)
Friday, May 16 • 7 p.m.
Saturday, May 17 • 7 p.m.
Sunday, May 18 • 1 p.m.
Dan Law Field (5,050) • Lubbock, Texas
All-Time Series:
Oklahoma State and Texas Tech are tied 14-14 all-time with the Red Raiders winning four of the last six meetings. The Cowboys are 4-5 against Tech in Lubbock.
Last Two Years:
Texas Tech 2, Oklahoma State 0 March 23, 2001 (Lubbock)
Texas Tech 10, Oklahoma State 2 March 24, 2001 (Lubbock)
Oklahoma State 2, Texas Tech 1 March 25, 2001 (Lubbock)
Texas Tech 9, Oklahoma State 7 March 15, 2002 (Stillwater)
Texas Tech 8, Oklahoma State 3 March 16, 2002 (Stillwater)
Oklahoma State 7, Texas Tech 3 March 17, 2002 (Stillwater)
In The Polls:
Neither team is ranked.
The Coaches:
OSU’s Tom Holliday is 277-147 in his seventh season in Stillwater. He is 8-10 vs. Texas Tech.
TTU’s Larry Hays is 1349-729-3 overall and is in his 17th season in Lubbock. He is 10-8 vs. OSU.
Radio:
KSPI 93.7 FM
Rex Holt (Play-by-Play) is in his 21st season.
On Deck:
Western Illinois (Reynolds Stadium) May 19 at 7 p.m.
Big 12 Tournament (SBC Bricktown Ballpark- OKC) May 21 (TBA)
What’s On Tap
Oklahoma State concludes the conference portion of the regular season this weekend against Texas Tech in Lubbock. The Cowboys and Red Raiders will hook up on Friday at 7 p.m. and at the same time on Saturday before closing out the series on Sunday at 1 p.m. The series is critical for both teams, as OSU is trying to move up in the Big 12 standings while Tech is trying to finish in eighth, thereby qualifying for the conference tournament next week in Oklahoma City.
About Texas Tech
Texas Tech is 29-23 and 7-16 in league play and will conclude with its first losing record in Big 12 games ever and first since finishing 15-19 in the Southwestern Conference in 1992. The Red Raiders are coming off a three-game series sweep over Wofford last weekend in Lubbock. They were swept by Oklahoma in their last Big 12 series two weekends ago in Norman.
TTU is fourth in the conference with a .317 team batting average, while leading the league with 103 stolen bases in 138 attempts.
Senior outfielder Scooter Jordan leads the team with a .374 batting average with 14 stolen bases. Junior first baseman Christian Colonel, the current Big 12 Player of the Week, is one of the top power sources with six homers and 43 RBIs, while center fielder Cody Fuller provides the top speed threat with 28 stolen bases in 31 attempts.
The Red Raiders are ninth in the league with a 5.60 team ERA. Tech will go with senior right handers Nathan Fouts (4-5, 6.28 ERA) on Friday, Dusty Buck (4-3, 4.66) on Saturday and junior righty Steve Gooch (4-4, 4.24 ERA) on Sunday.
Conference Finish Scenarios
Oklahoma State can finish as high as fourth in the Big 12 and as low as tied for sixth depending on the results of this conference finale weekend. The following is the best and worst case scenarios for OSU, since there are a multitude of ways they can finish fifth or remain in sixth:
Fourth: OSU sweeps Texas Tech, Nebraska sweeps Baylor, Oklahoma wins two against Missouri.
T-Sixth: Tech sweeps OSU, Oklahoma sweeps Missouri. OU would be the sixth seed in the Big 12 tournament based on winning the regular season series over the Cowboys.
Offensive Fire Power
The Cowboys head into this weekend’s showdown with Texas Tech as one of the top offensive clubs in the country.
OSU leads the conference in homers (68) and is in second place in batting average (.320), slugging percentage (.512) and third in on base percentage (404).
The average is No. 21 in the country and the highest the Pokes have averaged since the 1999 season (.324). The team’s 7.8 runs per game average is No. 3 in the conference and No. 26 in the nation.
Seven of the nine Cowboy starters are hitting over .300, with five of them hitting over .340. The power numbers have been evenly distributed with five players with eight or more homers, led by first baseman John Urick’s 13 round-trippers.
Jaramillo Rounding Out Stellar Sophomore Year
Catcher Jason Jaramillo’s 8-for-13 (.615) showing against Nebraska last weekend vaulted him into second place on the team and fifth in the Big 12 conference with a .391 batting average this season. The clear favorite for first-team All-Big 12 performer behind the dish, has built upon a solid freshman season in which he was an honorable mention Freshman All-American.
This season he is a candidate for the Johnny Bench Award, given to the top collegiate catcher in the country and has also been invited to the USA Baseball Trials in June.
He is second on the team with 17 doubles while also pounding seven of his eight homers in league play. Defensively, the Franksville, Wisc., product has thrown out 16 runners in 62 attempts while also picking off a team-best five.
Virgil Steps Up
.301 and .283. Those were the batting averages of senior center fielder José Virgil in his first two seasons at Oklahoma State. The coaching staff raved about his athletic ability and believed that he would one day excel at all phases of the game.
This season, the Phoenix, Ariz., native has put all of the pieces of the puzzle together and is vying for All-American and All-Big 12 honors.
Virgil leads or is tied for the team lead in seven different offensive categories. He leads the team in batting average (.393), runs (57), hits (83), doubles (23), RBIs (50) and stolen bases (14). He is averaging .40 doubles per game, which is first in the Big 12 and No. 11 in the nation.
He has hit safely in 47 of 51 games played this season, including a 15-game hitting streak and a 17-game hitting streak. He carries a current 14-game streak heading into Friday’s contest.
Virgil’s .433 mark in conference games is fourth in the Big 12 heading into the weekend.
Virgil’s Big 12 Overall Statistical Rankings
Batting Average: .393 (3rd)
Hits: 82 (5th)
Home Runs: 10 (T-7th)
Doubles: 23 (T-1st)
Stolen Bases: 15 (7th)
Total Bases: 137 (5th)
On Base Percentage: .471 (T-7th)
Slugging Percentage: .662 (4th)
Five Cowboys Receive Academic Honors
Oklahoma State had five members of its baseball team named to the Academic All-Big 12 First Team the conference office announced on Tuesday.
Seniors Kenny Hansley, Brian Kraft and Mike Miller along with juniors Daniel Rew and Joe Weaver all made the first team for the Cowboys.
Weaver, a secondary education major, made the first team for the second straight year, while Miller, a general business major, made the list for the second time in three years.
Kraft, Hansley and Rew all received the award for the first time in their careers.
OSU and Baylor both had five first-teamers, which was second best in the conference behind Nebraska.
Western Illinois Added To The Slate
With the Southern two-game series canceled, the Cowboys have added a game against Western Illinois for next Monday at 7 p.m. at Reynolds Stadium. The Leathernecks will be in Tulsa to take on Oral Roberts over the weekend and will stay in Oklahoma as the Golden Eagles also host the Mid-Con Tournament next week. With the game addition, OSU is on schedule to finish the regular season with 55 games, one shy of the 56-game maximum.
Cowboys To Consider For Post Season Honors
Oklahoma State has several players worthy of consideration for postseason honors. Offensively, OSU has been led throughout the season by the middle of the order: José Virgil, Josh Fields, John Urick and Jason Jaramillo. All four players are hitting over the .350 mark and are among, if not, the top players at their position in the Big 12.
On the pitching staff, starter Scott Baker and relievers Shane Hawk and Daniel Rew have led the charge on the mound. Hawk has been among the league leaders in ERA this season while Rew has five saves as the Cowboy closer. More on Baker can be found later in the notes.
Cowboy Notes
The Pokes .320 team batting average is second in the Big 12, while Texas Tech is fourth at .317 ... TTU’s 5.60 ERA is ninth in the conference, OSU’s 4.58 ERA is fifth ... The Cowboys have four players among the Top 20 batters in the conference, led by José Virgil who is fourth with a .393 mark ... OSU is hitting at a .324 clip in league play (second in Big 12) with 43 of its 69 homers in the 24 games ... Jason Jaramillo is second in the conference with seven homers in 21 Big 12 contests ... With two more conference wins, the Cowboys will have a .500 or better conference mark for the 26th consecutive season ... OSU’s win over Missouri on May 4 gave the Pokes 30 wins in a season for the 26th straight year ... Daniel Rew’s five saves is tied for seventh best in a single season at OSU ... José Virgil’s 23 doubles is tied for 10th best in school history ... With one more win Scott Baker will become the first Cowboy since Ryan Graves in 1996 to win 10 games in a season ... Baker is first in the conference in wins (9) and fourth in the conference with a 3.43 ERA ... The Cowboys last series win at Texas Tech came during the 1999 season ... Oklahoma State is No. 39 in the most recent Pseudo-RPIs (www.boydsworld.com) ... OSU have/will have played 23 regular season contests against teams in the Top 50 of the RPIs ... 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.
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 wild weekend series against Missouri and Senior Day.
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., product threw his second complete game of the year in the Pokes 7-4 win over Missouri on May 2. He scattered eight hits and allowed four runs, one earned, while striking out seven to pick up his ninth win of the year. He is now 9-4 on the year with a 3.43 ERA and is a candidate for the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year Award. The nine wins is tops in the Big 12 and tied for 16th best in the country.
Baker pitched the Cowboys first complete game of the season in an 8-3 win over Oklahoma on April 25. He allowed three runs, two earned, on four hits while striking out nine and walking two.
He did not factor in the decision in his start against Texas A&M on April 18. He gave up four runs on 11 hits in 5.1 innings of work and left with the game tied at 4-4.
Baker had a four-game win streak snapped against Baylor on April 11. He was named Big 12 Pitcher of the Week with his career-high 11 strikeout performance against Kansas State on April 4. He pitched eight innings 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 right-hander 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.
