Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboy Baseball Heads To Fort Worth
February 18, 2004 | Cowboy Baseball
Oklahoma State (2-1) vs.
TCU (1-4) • Furman (1-1) • Dallas Baptist (6-1)
Southwest Diamond Classic
Thursday, February 19-Saturday, February 21
LaGrave Field (6,100) • Fort Worth, Texas
The Matchups:
vs. TCU (1-3) • Thursday, Feb. 19 at Noon
vs. Furman (1-1) • Friday, Feb. 20 at 2 p.m.
vs. Dallas Baptist (5-1) • Saturday, Feb. 21 at 4 p.m.
All-Time Series:
Oklahoma State leads TCU 10-5. The Cowboys won the last meeting 21-7 on April 13, 1999.
Oklahoma State and Furman have never met on the baseball diamond.
Oklahoma State leads Dallas Baptist 2-0. The Cowboys won the last meeting by a 7-4 margin on April 22, 1970.
Polls:
Oklahoma State is ranked No. 35 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Poll.
The Coaches:
OSU's Frank Anderson is 2-1 in his first season as head coach.
TCU's Jim Schlossnagle is in his first season in Fort Worth and is 78-50 in three seasons as a head coach. Furman's Ron Smith is 239-296-3 in 11 seasons and Dallas Baptist's Mike Bard is 41-26 in three seasons as the head man for the Patriots.
Radio:
KSPI 93.7 FM(Thursday and Friday)
KSPI 780 AM (Saturday)
Rex Holt (Play-by-Play) is in his 22nd season.
What's On Tap
Oklahoma State heads south to play in the Southwest Diamond Classic, hosted by Dallas Baptist, at LaGrave Field in Fort Worth. The Cowboys will open the tournament against TCU on Thursday at noon and will then take on Furman on Friday at 2 p.m. OSU will then close out the slate against tourney host DBU on Saturday at 4 p.m. The winner of the tournament will be awarded the Deja Blue Cup.
Thursday, Feb. 19
Oklahoma State vs. TCU, Noon
Dallas Baptist vs Furman, 4 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 20
Oklahoma State vs. Furman, 2 p.m.
Dallas Baptist vs. TCU, 6 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 21
TCU vs. Furman, Noon
Oklahoma State vs. Dallas Baptist, 4 p.m.
About TCU
TCU is 1-4 on the season after getting blanked by Texas-Arlington 11-0 on Tuesday. The Horned Frogs were swept by Texas State in doubleheader action last Sunday and enter Thursday's game riding a four game losing streak.
The Horned Frogs return nine letterwinners, but just one starter from last year's team that finished 35-22 and in second place in Conference USA.
Senior designated hitter Chris Neuman is the top returning power threat for TCU after hitting 16 homers with 49 RBIs a year a go. He currently leads the squad with a homer and five RBIs.
Senior righthander Clayton Jerome is the ace of the staff and a preseason All-American after going 9-4 with a 2.34 ERA last season. So far in two starts in 2004, he is 0-1 with a 3.60 ERA.
The Cowboys and Horned Frogs will hook up again next Tuesday (Feb. 24) at 4 p.m. in Stillwater.
About Furman
Furman is 1-1 on the year after splitting a pair of games against High Point over the weekend. The Paladins are coming off a 32-24 season in 2003 and a fourth place finish in the Southern Conference.
They have a veteran offensive ballclub with six starters returning from last year, including senior catcher Derek Norman who went 4-for-8 in the two games against High Point.
Reliever Ryan Hodinka factored in both decisions over the weekend. He allowed two unearned runs in three innings of work and picked up the win in game one of the series and was then tagged with the loss in game two.
About Dallas Baptist
Dallas Baptist has gotten off to a fast start with a 6-1 record on the year. The Patriots are making the move to Division I in baseball and have taken on a schedule filled predominantly with D-I schools. Last season DBU claimed the National Christian College Athletic Association's National Championship and claimed the Heartland Conference Championship as well.
Junior outfielder Ryan Olivo, who played last season at Oklahoma State, is off to a hot start for the Patriots and leads the team with a .571 batting average to go along with two homers and 11 RBIs through six games.
Sophomore righthander Lance Broadway leads the team with a 2-0 record and 1.10 ERA, and has struck out 20 batters in 16.1 innings of work.
Dallas Baptist has two other players who were on the OSU roster in 2003, Chris McCulloch who is hitting .267 in six games and outfielder Craig Bartosh who is expected to see time as a reliever.
Preseason All-Americans
Two Cowboys received some early honors in the college baseball world and are expected to lead the team after stellar sophomore seasons. Catcher Jason Jaramillo and third baseman Josh Fields were named preseason All-Americans by various publications.
Jaramillo, the leading returning hitter in the Big 12, was named a third-team pick by both Collegiate Baseball and Baseball America. Fields was a first-team choice in Baseball America, and is the leading returning home run hitter for the Pokes. Both players enter the 2004 season with .366 career batting averages, which ranks them among the top Cowboy hitters in the school history.
Wright Shines On Opening Weekend
Freshman infielder Ty Wright certainly proved he belonged in the everyday lineup after a strong opening weekend against Eastern Michigan.
The Tyler, Texas, native went 6-for-13 (.462) with two doubles and two RBIs on the weekend and vaulted from the six hole, where he started on opening day, to the two spot in the batting order.
Wright enters this weeks action second on the team in average and first on the team in doubles.
Pitching Staff Sparkles
The Cowboy pitching staff as a whole had a strong weekend showing against Eastern Michigan. Friday's starter Scott Richmond allowed just one earned run in five innings of work and left the game with a 3-2 lead.
Southpaw Spencer Grogan also allowed just one earned run in 5.1 innings in Saturday's 5-2 win over the Eagles. Senior Daniel Rew came on in relief and pitched 3.2 innings of flawless relief. He blanked EMU and did not allow a hit while striking out five.
Five Cowboy pitchers combined to hold Eastern Michigan to just one hit in the Cowboys 11-1 win in the series finale. Starter DeWayne Carver allowed the run in two innings of work, and was followed by newcomers Dane Mason and Damian Salcedo. Sophomore Thomas Cowley then continued the shutout for two innings, before freshman Brent Weaver closed out the game with a scoreless eighth.
In 26 innings of work, Oklahoma State allowed just six earned runs while striking out 22 with eight walks. The Pokes 2.08 ERA is tops in the Big 12 heading into this weeks action.
Cowboy Notes
OSU will play nine of its next 11 on the road ... Josh Fields is second in the conference with a .556 batting average ... Daniel Rew is among nine pitchers in the Big 12 who have not allowed a run this season ... Freshman Ty Wright is tied for fifth in the league with a .462 batting average ... Scott Kirby carries a five game hit streak into the weekend ... Jason Jaramillo carries am eight game hit streak into the tournament.
On Deck
Oklahoma State heads home to take on TCU on Tuesday, Feb. 24 at 4 p.m. before heading back on the road to DeLand, Fla. The Cowboys will take part in the News-Journal Invitational, hosted by Stetson. The Cowboys will open against South Florida on Friday, Feb. 27 at 1 p.m., before taking on Stetson on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 6 p.m. OSU will then close out the tournament against Virginia Tech on Sunday, Feb. 29 at 11 a.m.
Baseball America Tidbits
The Cowboys had several mentions in Baseball America's College Preview in January. Oklahoma State is picked to finish fifth in the Big 12 and make the NCAA tournament in 2003. Catcher Jason Jaramillo, third baseman Josh Fields and shortstop Chris Gutierrez were listed as All-Big 12 picks. Jaramillo is listed as the third best professional prospect in the Big 12 for the 2004 draft, with Fields in fifth. Both are among the top 30 junior prospects in the nation, with seniors Rod Allen and Travis Ingle also garnering attention in the senior class. Jaramillo is also regarded to have the best arm among the catchers in the conference.
Broadcast Info
Every Oklahoma State game will be broadcast this season on the KSPI network of stations. Rex Holt, host of the extremely popular “The Game” talk radio show, will once again call all of the action for the Cowboys.
Both Thursday's and Friday's games can be heard on 93.7 FM, with Saturday's game switching over to the 780 AM due to basketball coverage.
This season, fans can also catch the audio action for free on the internet through www.okstate.com. All of the Cowboy home games and select road games will also have a live video feed through the Cowboy MVP subscription service through www.okstate.com.
Rew's Rankings
This season, senior hurler Daniel Rew, will share his thoughts through a baseball diary that can be viewed on the baseball home page at www.okstate.com. This week, Rew talks about the season opener and shares his Valentine's Day thoughts.
Big 12 Coaches Poll
The Big 12 coaches recently conducted their preseason coaches poll and 2003 College World Series participant and Big 12 tournament champion Texas was the near unanimous choice to finish first in 2004. Oklahoma State garnered 49 points and is picked to finish fifth.
Oklahoma State and USA Baseball
USA Baseball ranked Oklahoma State No. 21 in a recent study that ranks the Top 50 Collegiate Baseball Programs that have produced USA Baseball National Team players since 1984.
The Cowboys have produced six members on the team during the 20-year span which is the third most among Big 12 schools, behind Texas A&M and Texas.
Coach Anderson Radio Show
Fans can listen to coach Frank Anderson on his weekly radio show every Monday from 5:30-6:30 p.m. on 93.7 KSPI FM. The show will be hosted by Rex Holt and will take place at Freddie Paul's Steakhouse in Stillwater.
Coach Anderson will also have a weekly television show that will debut later in the season.
New To Allie P.
Fans may notice some cosmetic changes that have happened since the 2003 season ended. During the offseason, all of the field level brick was painted green and black padding was added to the right and leftfield line brick walls. The infield was also leveled, with grass added to the baselines.
A new state of the art scoreboard is on its way and should be functional and ready to go in March. Next season, the Cowboys will move over to the third base dugout where new lockerrooms will be built with much more room available.
