Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State Hosts Texas-Arlington
March 23, 2004 | Cowboy Baseball
Oklahoma State (15-7) vs.
Texas-Arlington (14-9)
March 23
Reynolds Stadium (4,000) • Stillwater, Okla.
The Matchups:
vs. Texas-Arlington • Tuesday, March 23 at 4 p.m.
All-Time Series:
Oklahoma State leads 12-3.
Last Five Meetings:
March 25, 2003 Oklahoma State 3, Texas-Arlington 2 Stillwater
March 12, 2002 Oklahoma State 6, Texas-Arlington 2 Stillwater
Feb. 19, 1995 Oklahoma State 4, Texas-Arlington 2 Arlington
Feb. 19, 1994 Texas-Arlington 6, Oklahoma State 4 Arlington
March 17, 1993 Oklahoma State 17, Texas-Arlington 3 Stillwater
Polls:
Oklahoma State is ranked No. 33 in the NCBWA.
Texas-Arlington is unranked.
The Coaches:
OSU's Frank Anderson is 15-7 in his first season as head coach.
UTA's Jeff Curtis is 80-63 in three seasons in Arlington.
Radio:
KSPI 93.7 FM
Rex Holt (Play-by-Play) is in his 22nd season.
What's On Tap
Oklahoma State carries its three-game winning streak into a Tuesday afternoon matchup against Texas-Arlington. The Cowboys will close their four-game homestand at 4 p.m. before opening Big 12 play against Texas this weekend.
About Texas-Arlington
Texas-Arlington is 14-9 on the year after taking two of three from Sam Houston State in Arlington over the weekend. The Mavericks went 37-25 last year and finished third in the Southland Conference. They are 3-0 against Big 12 teams this season, with wins over Baylor and Oklahoma (twice).
Leftfielder Hunter Pence leads the team with a .450 batting average with three homers and 22 RBIs. As a team, UTA is batting .333 with 17 homers and 175 runs scored in 23 games.
Junior righthander Chris Reed (0-0) is slated to take the hill on Tuesday. He will be making his fourth start of the year and has a 6.55 ERA in five appearances. As a team, UTA sports a 4.07 ERA with 170 strikeouts in 208 innings.
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.
Tuesday's game can be found on 93.7 FM.
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.
Texas A&M Corpus-Christi Recap
Oklahoma State rebounded from a pair of midweek losses to No. 5 Arizona State in Tempe to sweep a three-game set against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
The Cowboys used eighth inning rallies in the first two games of the series, winning 8-4 and 7-5, before closing out with an 11-2 decision on Sunday.
On Friday, the game was tied 4-4 in the eighth, when a fielding miscue sparked the Pokes to score four runs in the stanza. Junior DeWayne Carver pitched 6.1 innings of shutout ball in relief to pick up the win.
Oklahoma State trailed 4-2 going into the eighth on Saturday, and rallied to score five runs in the inning to take a 7-4 lead. TAMCC added a run in the ninth to close out the scoring. Reliever Daniel Rew picked up the win to move to 4-1 on the year.
Spencer Grogan gave up two first inning runs, before finding his groove and holding the Islanders scoreless the rest of the way in Sunday's win. The junior southpaw picked up his team leading fifth win of the year as the Cowboy offensive attack came alive with 17 hits on the afternoon.
Jason Jaramillo had a monster weekend, going 6-for-11 with two homers, two doubles and 10 RBIs in the three games. Ty Wright also fared well, going 6-for-13 with two doubles and three runs scored, while Carver and Grogan combined to give up one earned run in 15.1 innings pitched.
Cowboy Notes
Oklahoma State batted .348 as a team in five games last week, boosting the season average to a high of .339 ... The Cowboys have outscored their opponents 44-16 in the eight and ninth innings this year ... The combination of Daniel Rew and Spencer Grogan have gone 9-2 with a 2.59 ERA ... The pitching staff has two complete games, tying the mark set in 58 games last year ... Thomas Cowley pitched in three games last week, including his first career start, and struck out seven batters in 7.2 innings of work ... OSU has won five of its last six home games ... nine of the Cowboys next 11 games are against teams from Texas.
Allen Sets The Tone
Senior outfielder Rod Allen has proven to be a key piece of the offensive attack as the Cowboys leadoff man this year. Allen was a torrid 10-for-16 against Louisiana Tech and went 5-for-14 against Texas A&M Corpus Christi last weekend. The senior is batting .500 over his last six games, with his batting average standing at .357 overall on the year. He also has a 12-game hitting streak entering Tuesday's contest.
The Culver City, Calif., product has also shown a knack for the clutch base hit and is tied for second on the team with 23 RBIs. Through the first third of the year, he has proven to be a power source and base stealing threat, as he is tied for the team lead in both categories, while also displaying fine defensive abilities in the outfield.
Allen has proven to be one of the top all-around performers for the Cowboys this year and should be a significant contributor once Big 12 play begins this weekend.
Newcomers Making Offensive Contributions
Rod Allen is not the only Cowboy newcomer making significant contributions to this year's team. Junior Rusty Ryal and freshman Ty Wright have proven through the first part of the season that they are offensive performers who deserve to play every day.
Ryal is currently third on the team and ninth in the Big 12 with a .382 batting average, while Wright is fifth with a .363 mark. Ryal shared time at second base earlier in the season, but has since claimed the spot and has started in 16 of 20 games played to date. He has played a solid second, with just one error in 72 chances.
Wright has started all 22 games this season and made his debut in centerfield this weekend. The Tyler, Texas opened the year as the starting first baseman after playing shortstop and in the outfield in high school. He is one of the Pokes top base stealing threats with five swipes this season and is a definite player to watch as he develops during his career.
Carver Carves Up Opponents
Another newcomer who is having success is junior righthander DeWayne Carver. The Dayton Beach Community College product had his most productive outing of the season in relief against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi last Friday. Carver pitched 6.1 innings of scoreless relief and picked up his second win of the year. He struck out three and gave up four hits and lowered his ERA to 1.02 in the process. Going into the weekend, he has 14 strikeouts and seven walks in 17.2 innings of work.
On Deck
Oklahoma State will open Big 12 play against conference leader Texas for the second consecutive year. The Cowboys and Longhorns will open the three-game set in Austin on Friday at 6:15 p.m. and will continue on Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.
Texas (26-3) is ranked No. 1 in the ESPN/Sports Weekly Coaches Poll, No. 2 in Baseball America and No. 3 in Collegiate Baseball. The Longhorns took two of three from Oklahoma in both teams conference opener last weekend in Norman.
Infielder Curtis Thigpen leads the team with a .381 batting average through 28 games, while Seth Johnston is the top power hitter with four homers. UT is hitting .286 as a team with 177 runs scored and 63 stolen bases in 29 games.
The Longhorn pitching staff boasts a 2.44 ERA, tops in the Big 12, to go along with seven shutouts this year. Junior southpaw J.P. Howell (5-1) is the ace of the staff with a 1.69 ERA and 51 strikeouts in 42.2 innings.
Texas has the midweek off before hosting the Cowboys this weekend.
Jaramillo Named To Bench Award List
Junior catcher Jason Jaramillo was named to the Johnny Bench Award Watch List recently, marking the third time in his career he has made the list. The award recognizes the top catcher in the country in a ceremony after the baseball season in Wichita, Kan.
Jaramillo was a semifinalist last season after leading the Cowboys with a .385 batting average. He was invited to the Team USA trials and spent the summer helping lead the Orleans Cardinals to the Cape Cod League championship with current teammate Rod Allen.
The Franksville, Wisc., product has battled through a sore ankle and had his best week of the year to date in five games last week. He went 10-for-20 with two homers, two doubles and 11 RBIs against Arizona State and Texas A&M Corpus Christi. The junior nearly doubled his RBI total as he entered the week with 12.
Currently Jaramillo is second on the team with a .393 batting average to go along with four homers and 23 RBIs.
Defensively, Jaramillo has picked off one runner while throwing out seven of 21 base runners in 21 games.
