Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Host Missouri In Important Big 12 Series
May 02, 2003 | Cowboy Baseball
No. 26 Oklahoma State (28-17, 10-8 Big 12)
vs. No. 24 Missouri (30-15, 12-8 Big 12)
Friday, May 2 • 7 p.m.
Saturday, May 3 • 7 p.m.
Sunday, May 4 • 2 p.m.
Reynolds Stadium (4,000) • Stillwater, Okla.
All-Time Series:
Oklahoma State leads 121-62, with eight straight wins over Missouri heading into the weekend. The Cowboys have won the last 13 meetings in Stillwater dating back to 1993. The two teams did not play in 1999 and 2000 due to weather cancellations.
Last Two Years:
Oklahoma State 6, Missouri 4 February 24, 2001 (Stillwater)
Oklahoma State 7, Missouri 2 February 25, 2001 (Stillwater)
Oklahoma State 5, Missouri 4 February 26, 2001 (Stillwater)
Oklahoma State 8, Missouri 5 May 3, 2002 (Columbia)
Oklahoma State 12, Missouri 11 May 4, 2002 (Columbia)
Oklahoma State 15, Missouri 1 May 5, 2002 (Columbia)
In The Polls:
Oklahoma State is ranked No. 26 by Collegiate Baseball and No. 33 by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. Missouri is ranked No. 24 by CB and No. 27 by the NCBWA.
The Coaches:
OSU’s Tom Holliday is 275-143 in his seventh season in Stillwater.
MU’s Tim Jamieson is 280-209-1 in his ninth season in Columbia.
Radio:
KSPI 93.7 FM
Rex Holt (Play-by-Play) is in his 21st season.
What’s On Tap
Oklahoma State (28-17) looks to get back on the winning track this weekend as Missouri (30-15) comes to town for a three-game Big 12 series. The Cowboys, losers of four straight, are in fifth place in the Big 12 and trail the Tigers who are in fourth with a 12-8 league mark. The teams will open on Friday at 7 p.m. and continue on Saturday at 7 p.m The series finale and OSU’s “Senior Day” is slated for Sunday at 2 p.m. Several promotional giveaways are lined up for this weekend and include: Robin Ventura Bobblehead Dolls on Friday, Pete Incaviglia Bobbleheads on Saturday and Mike Henneman, Incaviglia and Mickey Tettleton Baseball Jerseys on Sunday.
About Missouri
Missouri has rebounded from a 24-29 record and ninth place finish in the Big 12 a year ago and has surpassed both overall and conference win totals entering this weekend.
The Tigers were swept by Texas in Austin to open league play, but since that time have swept Kansas and Kansas State while taking series from Texas Tech and Baylor. They lost two of three to Texas A&M at home last weekend.
Missouri is led in hitting by senior center fielder Jayce Tingler, who is second in the conference with a .407 batting average. Junior catcher Brad Flanders is also among the league leaders with a .361 average to go along with six homers and 38 RBIs. As a team, Mizzou is third in the conference with a .316 batting average to go along with 39 homers and a league leading 396 runs scored.
Yukon, Okla., product Justin James is the ace of the staff with a 6-5 record and 4.50 ERA. He has 67 strikeouts in 78 innings this season, second best in the Big 12. As a team, MU is fifth in the conference with a 4.60 ERA, including 347 strikeouts in 393.0 innings.
Probable Starters
No. R/L Player
44 R Justin James
40 R Garrett Broshuis
27 R Derek Roper
Cowboy Notes
Missouri has seven players from Oklahoma on their roster ... The Pokes .317 team batting average is second in the Big 12, while Mizzou is third at .316 ... OSU’s 4.29 ERA is fourth in the conference ... Offensively. OSU is also second in the league in homers (57) and slugging percentage (.493) ... The Cowboys have four players among the Top 20 batters in the conference, led by José Virgil who is fourth with a .396 mark ... OSU is hitting at a .317 clip in league play (third in Big 12) with 31 of its 57 homers in the 18 games ... Jason Jaramillo leads the conference with seven homers in 18 Big 12 contests ... Scott Baker is fourth in the conference with a 3.44 ERA ... Oklahoma State has never lost three straight games at Reynolds Stadium ... The last time the Cowboys lost consecutive non-conference regular season games at home was against Lamar in 1984 ... Oklahoma State is No. 35 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 ... After this weekend, the Pokes will close out the regular season with six of eight games on the road ... Seniors José Virgil, Kenny Hansley, Brian Kraft and Cory Von Tungeln will be recognized prior to Sunday’s contest ... 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.
Down The Stretch
The Cowboys enter the stretch run of May with 11 games remaining on their regular season slate. After closing out the five-game homestand against Missouri on Sunday, the Pokes will take the week off for finals before heading on the road for the final two conference series.
OSU will play second-place Nebraska in Lincoln starting on Saturday, May 10 at 6:35 p.m. and continuing on Sunday, May 11 at 2 p.m. and Monday, May 12 at 1 p.m. The Huskers are 35-11 overall and 15-6 in Big 12 action and will step out of league play this weekend with a three-game set against Louisiana Lafayette on the docket.
The Pokes will close out its home slate against Southern on May 13 and 14 at 6 p.m. both days. They will then end the regular season with a three-game series against Texas Tech the weekend of May 16-18.
Virgil Steps Up
.301 and .283. Those were the batting averages of senior centerfielder 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 (.396), homers (9), runs (52), hits (72), doubles (18), RBIs (44) and stolen bases (14).
He has hit safely in 41 of 45 games played this season, including a 15-game hitting streak and a 17-game hitting streak, that ended against Texas A&M on April 18.
Virgil’s .453 mark in conference games is second in the Big 12 heading into the weekend.
Recapping Western Carolina
Western Carolina proved to be more than a capable mid-week foe in picking up two wins over Oklahoma State by 12-5 and 15-9 margins.
The Catamounts used a nine-run seventh inning to get past Oklahoma State in Tuesday’s game and then scored 13 runs in the final four frames in Wednesday’s win. They left Stillwater with a seven-game win streak and 31-14 overall record.
Cowboys To Consider For Postseason 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 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.
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 Bedlam series and the great atmosphere.
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 pitched the Cowboys first complete game of the season in an 8-3 win over Oklahoma last Friday. He allowed three runs, two earned, on four hits while striking out nine and walking two. Baker is now 8-4 on the year with a 3.44 ERA and is a candidate for the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year Award.
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 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.
