Cowboy Baseball Heads To Nebraska This Weekend

No. 35 Oklahoma State (30-18, 12-9 Big 12)
vs. No. 8/10/11 Nebraska (36-13, 15-6 Big 12)
Saturday, May 3 • 6:35 p.m.
Sunday, May 4 • 2:05 p.m.
Monday, May 5 • 1:05 p.m.
Hawks Field at Haymarket Park (8,486) • Lincoln, Neb.

All-Time Series:
Oklahoma State leads 104-61, but Nebraska has won nine of the last 10 meetings. The Cowboys are 34-27 against the Huskers in Lincoln, but are 1-5 in the last two trips.

Last Two Years:
Nebraska 9, Oklahoma State 7 May 5, 2001 (Lincoln)
Nebraska 10, Oklahoma State 8 May 5, 2001 (Lincoln)
Nebraska 20, Oklahoma State 2 May 6, 2001 (Lincoln)
Nebraska 7, Oklahoma State 1 May 17, 2001 (Oklahoma City)
Nebraska 10, Oklahoma State 5 May 19, 2001 (Oklahoma City)
Nebraska 5, Oklahoma State 2 April 19, 2002 (Stillwater)
Oklahoma State 8, Nebraska 4 April 20, 2002 (Stillwater)
Nebraska 10, Oklahoma State 3 April 21, 2002 (Stillwater)

In The Polls:
Oklahoma State is ranked No. 35 by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. Nebraska is ranked No. 8 by Baseball America and by the ESPN/Sports Weekly Coaches Poll, No. 10 by Collegiate Baseball and No. 11 by the NCBWA.

The Coaches:
OSU’s Tom Holliday is 277-144 in his seventh season in Stillwater. He is 8-12 vs. Nebraska
NU’s Mike Anderson is 36-13 in his first season in Lincoln.

Radio:
KSPI 93.7 FM
Rex Holt (Play-by-Play) is in his 21st season.

TV:
College Sports Television/Saturday Only
(Direct TV) Channel 610

Internet:
www.okstate.com
Webcast/Live Video With Audio From Nebraska Radio

What’s On Tap
Oklahoma State starts the home stretch of its 2003 regular season with a three-game series against Nebraska in Lincoln. The Cowboys, in fifth place in the Big 12, will take on the second place Huskers starting on Saturday, May 10, at 6:35 p.m. The teams will square off again on Sunday at 2:05 p.m. and Monday at 1:05 p.m. Both squads took the week off for final exams which was also the reason the series was pushed to a Saturday opener.

About Nebraska
Nebraska, fresh off back-to-back College World Series appearances, have put together a solid campaign under first-year head coach Mike Anderson. The Huskers are ranked in the Top 10 of the three major polls and are four wins away from posting their fifth straight 40-win season. They stepped out of league play last weekend at home against Louisiana-Lafayette and dropped two out of three to the Ragin Cajuns, the first series loss at Haymarket Park.
First baseman Matt Hopper, a candidate for Big 12 Player of the Year honors, leads the Nebraska offensive club with a .365 average and a conference leading 17 homers and 50 RBIs. Outfielder Curtis Ledbetter is another power threat on the team with 12 homers and 42 RBIs along with a team best 12 doubles. NU is hitting .307 as a team with 61 homers and 369 runs in 49 games.
Junior southpaw Aaron Marsden is the team’s ace, sporting a 6-2 record and 2.39 ERA in 12 starts this season. He has three complete games and has struck out 83 batters in 83 innings this year. Righthander Quinton Robertson is the No. 2 man on the staff, with a 7-1 record and 3.92 ERA in 12 appearances. The Huskers sport an impressive team ERA of 3.49, second best in the Big 12, with 351 strikeouts in 428.2 innings.

Offensive Fire Power
Oklahoma State’s series win over Missouri showcased the offensive powerhouse that the Cowboys have become since the Big 12 opening series against Texas on March 21. The Pokes scored 35 runs in the three game series against the Tigers last weekend with nine homers, 12 doubles and three triples while batting at a .411 clip. The weekend series propelled the club into first place in the conference in homers (66) and second place in batting average (.323).
The average is No. 23 in the country and the highest the Pokes have averaged since the 1999 season (.324). The team’s eight runs per game average is No. 3 in the conference and No. 21 in the nation.
Eight of the nine Cowboy starters are hitting over .300 for the first time this season, with five of them hitting over .350. The power numbers have been evenly distributed with five players with eight or more homers, led by first baseman John Urick’s 12 round-trippers.

Urick Named Big 12 Player Of The Week
Junior first baseman John Urick of Blue Springs, Mo., was chosen as Phillips 66 Big 12 Conference Player of the Week, in voting by a select panel of media covering Big 12 baseball for games played from Apr. 29-May 5.
Urick helped the Cowboys win 2-of-3 in a series against No. 20 Missouri with a major power surge. He hit a team-high five home runs during five contests last week with 11 RBI. The Cowboys' slugger had a pair of two-homer games against Western Carolina and MU, scored seven runs, was 9-for-18 (.500) at the dish and raised his team-leading totals to 12 homers and 48 RBI to accompany a .370 batting average.

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 (.394), homers (10), runs (55), hits (78), doubles (21), RBIs (48) and stolen bases (14). He is averaging .44 doubles per game, which is first in the Big 12 and No. 22 in the nation.
He has hit safely in 44 of 48 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. He carries a current 11-game streak heading into Saturday’s contest.
Virgil’s .440 mark in conference games is fourth in the Big 12 heading into the weekend.

Virgil’s Big 12 Rankings (Overall Statistics)
Batting Average: 394 (3rd)
Hits: 78 (4th)
Home Runs: 10 (T-6th)
Doubles: 21 (2nd)
Stolen Bases: 14 (T-7th)
Total Bases: 131 (6th)
On Base Percentage:.472 (7th)
Slugging Percentage.662 (4th)

Cowboy Notes
The Pokes .323 team batting average is second in the Big 12, while Nebraska is fourth at .309 ... NU’s 3.49 ERA is second in the conference, OSU’s 4.42 ERA is fourth ... The Cowboys have four players among the Top 20 batters in the conference, led by José Virgil who is fourth with a .394 mark ... OSU is hitting at a .331 clip in league play (second in Big 12) with 40 of its 66 homers in the 21 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 21 doubles is tied for 14th 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 3.20 ERA ... The Cowboys last series win at Nebraska came during the 1997 season ... Oklahoma State is No. 36 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.

Recapping Missouri
Oklahoma State used solid pitching in game one and a 15-run sixth inning outburst in game three to take two from Missouri last weekend.
Cowboy hurler Scott Baker tossed his second straight complete game in the 7-4 win over the Tigers on May 2. The Pokes rallied from a 4-2 deficit with a three-run sixth inning to pick up the win and snap a four-game losing streak. Scott Kirby was the hitting star in the game with a 3-for-4 night at the plate.
OSU got behind early against Mizzou in game two and trailed 10-3 after three innings, but made a valiant comeback before falling 14-11. John Urick had two homers in the game while Chris Gutierrez recorded the Cowboys first five-hit game since 2001. Utility player Shawn Callahan flashed solid skills on the mound, holding the Tiger offense in check with 2.1 innings of hitless, scoreless relief to close out the game.
The Pokes trailed 5-2 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning in game three, before exploding for 15 runs including five homers in the stanza. OSU closed out the series with a 17-7 seven-inning run rule win in a contest for the ages. The club set Big 12 single inning records for: runs (15), homers (5), RBI (13), hits (12) and total bases (32).

Down The Stretch
With a week off for finals, the Cowboys close out the regular season with six of eight games on the road.
OSU takes on Nebraska this weekend then closes out the home slate against Southern on May 13 and 14 at 6 p.m. both days. The Pokes will then end the regular season with a three-game series against Texas Tech the weekend of May 16-18.

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 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 3.20 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 10th 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 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.

Oklahoma State University Athletics

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