Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboy Baseball Hosts Texas A&M
April 02, 2004 | Cowboy Baseball
Oklahoma State (18-10, 1-2 Big 12) vs.
No. 9/14/18 Texas A&M (25-6, 3-3 Big 12)
April 2-4 • 7 p.m., 1 p.m., 2 p.m.
Reynolds Stadium (4,000) • Stillwater, Okla.
The Matchups:
vs. Texas A&M
Friday, April 2 at 7 p.m.
Saturday, April 3 at 1 p.m.
Sunday, April 4 at 2 p.m.
All-Time Series:
Oklahoma State leads 22-17 in a series that dates back to 1916.
Last Two Years:
April 20, 2003 Texas A&M 4, Oklahoma State 2 College Station
April 19, 2003 Oklahoma State 10, Texas A&M 9 College Station
April 18, 2003 Texas A&M 7, Oklahoma State 5 College Station
May 12, 2002 Oklahoma State 7, Texas A&M 2 Stillwater
May 11, 2002 Texas A&M 4, Oklahoma State 1 Stillwater
May 10, 2002 Texas A&M 11, Oklahoma State 2 Stillwater
Polls:
Oklahoma State is ranked No. 34 in the NCBWA.
Texas A&M is ranked No. 9 by BA, No. 14 by ESPN/Sports Weekly and No. 18 by CB and NCBWA.
The Coaches:
OSU’s Frank Anderson is 18-10 in his first season as head coach.
A&M’s Mark Johnson is 829-390-2 in 20 years in College Station.
Radio:
KVRO 98.1 FM (Friday)
780 AM (Saturday)
KSPI 93.7 FM (Sunday)
Rex Holt (Play-by-Play) is in his 22nd season.
What’s On Tap
Oklahoma State hosts Texas A&M this weekend in the Cowboys home conference opener. The teams will open play on Friday at 7 p.m. and will continue on Saturday at 1 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.
About Texas A&M
Texas A&M is ranked as high as No. 9 in the national polls and comes to Stillwater with an overall record of 25-6 and a conference mark of 3-3. The Aggies defeated Texas State, 10-5, on Tuesday and defeated Texas-San Antonio 11-1 on Wednesday. A&M opened conference play two weekends ago and lost two of three to Baylor, before rebounding and going 2-1 against Texas Tech last weekend.
Freshman third baseman Austin Boggs leads the Aggies with a .397 batting average to go along with four homers and 30 RBIs. Senior outfielder Cory Patton is the top RBI man with 36 in 30 games played. As a team, Texas A&M is fourth in the conference with a .310 batting average to go along with 19 homers and 251 runs scored.
A&M will throw left-handers Jason Meyer (5-0, 1.12 ERA) on Friday and Zach Jackson (6-1, 3.32 ERA) on Saturday. As a team, the Aggies sport a 4.07 ERA with 240 strikeouts in 274 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.
Friday’s game will be broadcast on KVRO 98.1 FM, Saturday’s game can be heard on KSPI 780 AM, while Sunday’s contest will be on the flagship 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.
Cowboy Notes
Oklahoma State is second in the Big 12 in team batting average at .322 ... Spencer Grogan is tied for the Big 12 lead with six wins on the year ... Scott Kirby is tied for the conference lead with three triples on the year ... Daniel Rew is tied for third in the league in saves with three ... OSU is currently playing five games in the next six days ... Oklahoma State finished 10-8 in the month of March ... A&M has won four of the last six meetings versus OSU ... This weekend features the top two freshmen hitters (statistically) in the conference in Austin Boggs (.397) and Ty Wright (.363) ... Brett McDonald struck out a career-high six in the Cowboys win over SEMO on Tuesday ... Tommy Keefer made his season debut Tuesday and allowed three earned runs in three innings of work ... OSU has outscored its opponents in seven of nine innings this season ... opponents have outscored the Pokes 31-22 in the first, and 25-8 in the seventh.
Grogan Named Big 12 Pitcher Of The Week
Junior southpaw Spencer Grogan was named Big 12 Pitcher of the Week by a select panel of media, the Big 12 announced on Tuesday.
Grogan helped the Cowboys snap Texas' 17-game home winning streak (16-0 in 2004) by nearly pitching a complete game in OSU's 3-2 win in 10 innings on Saturday. He went 9.2 innings and was a strike away from pitching his second consecutive complete game (nine innings, one earned run vs. Texas A&M-CC on 3/21). He scattered 11 hits in the contest and allowed just two runs (one earned) with two walks and four strikeouts. He picked up his second consecutive win and is now 6-1 overall. He has allowed just two earned runs in his last 18.2 innings of work (0.96 ERA).
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 currently leads the team with a .386 batting average, while Wright is third with a .363 mark. Ryal shared time at second base earlier in the season, but has since claimed the spot and has started in 22 of 26 games played to date. He has played a solid second, with just one error in 99 chances and is currently fifth in the Big 12 in batting average.
Wright has started all 28 games this season and made his debut in center field against Texas A&M Corpus Christi. The Tyler, Texas, native 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.
Fields Garnering Recognition Nationally
Junior third baseman Josh Fields has been garnering national recognition by Baseball America as one of its Player of the Year candidates.
In the most recent issue, Fields was listed as a player to watch for their annual award among six other position players.
He has also seen his professional baseball stock rise among the scouts, as he is listed as 19th best collegiate prospect at the midpoint of the season, after starting the year at 32. He is fifth among position players on the list and the top third baseman according to the magazine.
Entering the weekend series with Texas A&M, he is second on the team with a .376 batting average and is tied for the team lead in homers (five) and RBIs (27).
Jaramillo Named To Johnny 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 is currently fourth on the team with a .358 batting average to go along with four homers and 25 RBIs.
Defensively, Jaramillo has picked off two runners while throwing out nine of 26 base runners in 26 games. Recently Baseball America tabbed him as the 29th best draft-eligible prospect in college.
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 team’s trip to Austin, Texas, and the excitement about the basketball’s trip to the Final Four.
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.
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.
