Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboy Baseball To Take On Kansas State
April 22, 2004 | Cowboy Baseball
Oklahoma State (24-14, 7-4 Big 12) vs.
Kansas State (22-16, 2-10 Big 12)
April 23-25 • 7 p.m., 2 p.m., 1 p.m.
Tointon Stadium (2,331) • Manhattan, Kan.
The Matchups:
vs. Kansas State (22-16, 2-10 Big 12)
Friday, April 23 at 7 p.m.
Saturday, April 24 at 2 p.m.
Sunday, April 25 at 1 p.m.
All-Time Series:
Oklahoma State leads 137-46 in a series that dates back to 1911.
Last Two Years:
April 6, 2003 Oklahoma State 11, Kansas State 9 Stillwater
April 5, 2003 Oklahoma State 11, Kansas State 1 Stillwater
April 4, 2003 Oklahoma State 10, Kansas State 1 Stillwater
March 23, 2002 Kansas State 10, Oklahoma State 5 Manhattan
March 23, 2002 Oklahoma State 10, Kansas State 9 Manhattan
March 22, 2002 Oklahoma State 16, Kansas State 6 Manhattan
Series Notes:
Oklahoma State is 53-35 all-time in Manhattan. The Cowboys have won six of the last seven meetings and the last three series between the schools. Kansas State last series win against the Cowboys came in the 2000 season in Manhattan. OSU is 14-6 against KSU since Big 12 play started in 1997.
Polls:
Oklahoma State is ranked No. 29 by the NCBWA. Kansas State is unranked.
The Coaches:
OSU's Frank Anderson is 24-14 in his first season as a head coach.
KSU's Brad Hill is 22-16 in his first season in Manhattan. He is 523-157 in 13 years overall.
Radio:
KSPI 93.7 FM
Rex Holt (Play-by-Play) is in his 22nd season.
What's On Tap
Oklahoma State steps back into Big 12 play this weekend against Kansas State in Manhattan. The Cowboys and Wildcats will open on Friday at 7 p.m. and will play on Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.
About Kansas State
Kansas State is 22-16 on the year after defeating Sterling College 12-1 Wednesday night. The Wildcats were swept by Texas Tech last weekend in Lubbock and have lost their last 10 conference games after opening Big 12 play with a pair of wins over Missouri.
Head coach Brad Hill is in his first season at the helm of the KSU program, after a stellar career as the skipper at Central Missouri State. He compiled a 501-141 mark in 12 years at the Division II school and led them to the national title a year ago.
Right fielder Steve Murphy leads the team with a .366 batting average with three homers and 36 RBIs. The Wildcats are hitting .266 as a team, with a .196 mark in league play. Southpaw Brett Bagley (4-4, 5.24 ERA) is slated to be the starter in the opener, while right-handers Carlos Torres (5-3, 3.62 ERA) and Jim Ripley (3-4, 4.54 ERA) are slated to pitch on Saturday and Sunday.
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.
All the games for the rest of the season can be heard on KSPI 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 .314 ... Spencer Grogan leads the Big 12 in wins (9) and innings pitched (83) ... Grogan and Thomas Cowley are No. 1 and No. 2 in the Big 12 in complete games with four and two respectively ... The Cowboys recorded its first conference series sweep since taking three from Kansas State on April 4-6 of last year ... The Cowboys have never lost a Big 12 series to Kansas State ... OSU will play 11 of its next 14 games in the state of Oklahoma ... The Pokes only have two more midweek games on the schedule (vs. Western Illinois 5/18-19) ... With the final game of the Baylor series rained out, OSU is currently scheduled to finish one game under the NCAA maximum of 56 games ... Five of the Cowboys nine offensive starters are in the top 20 in the conference in batting average ... Ty Wright's walk off homer was the teams first since Jeff Salazar did it to the Jayhawks on March 29, 2002.
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's weekly television show made its debut last week on stations throughout the state. The show, co-hosted by Tom Dirato, features highlights, analysis and feature stories with the Cowboy baseball team.
The show can be seen in Stillwater on KWEM on Friday's at 8 p.m. and Saturday's at 6:30 p.m. Fans in Oklahoma City can tune in to the show on KSBI on Sunday at 8 p.m., while KSWO in Lawton will show it on Friday's at 8 p.m.
On Deck
The Cowboys are looking to pick up a game and could play at home next Tuesday. Otherwise, the next time the Pokes will take the field will be in the annual Bedlam series, starting next Thursday in Tulsa. The Cowboys and Sooners will play at 7 p.m. in all three games and as usual the first game will be in Tulsa, followed by two in Oklahoma City. Limited tickets are still available in the upper reserved section at Drillers Stadium in Tulsa. Fans can call the Drillers ticket office at (918) 744-5998. For tickets for Friday's and Saturday's games at the Southwestern Bell Bricktown Ballpark, you can call (405) 218-1000. Oklahoma currently leads the Big 12 with a 12-3 conference mark and will take on Texas Tech this weekend in Lubbock.
Grogan Putting Together Stellar Season
Junior left-hander Spencer Grogan has put together one of the top seasons on the mound, not only in the Big 12, but in the nation. The Cantonment, Fla., native threw his third consecutive complete game in the Cowboys 14-4 win over Kansas last Saturday. He improved his record to 9-1 on the year and is 4-0 in Big 12 play. He allowed four runs, two earned, on nine hits with a walk and five strikeouts in the win over the Jayhawks.
The nine wins leads the Big 12 as does his 83 innings pitched. Grogan has won in his last five starts and has gone nine innings in each of the contests.
He struck out a career high 11 batters against Baylor on April 11, while scattering 13 hits over nine innings of work.
Grogan pitched his second complete game of the year in the Cowboys 7-2 win over A&M on April 3. The Cantonment, Fla. native allowed two runs, via a homer, on 10 hits with a walk and three strikeouts against the Aggies.
Grogan helped the Cowboys snap Texas' 17-game home winning streak on March 27 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.
Ty Wright Named Big 12 Player Of The Week
Freshman designated hitter Ty Wright was named the Big 12 Player of the Week by a group of select media covering the league. Wright went 6-for-10 in the three game series against Kansas over the weekend, including a 4-for-6 performance in the Cowboys 10-8 14-inning victory in the series finale on Sunday. OSU trailed 7-3 in the eighth, before he helped ignite the late rally with a two-run single in the inning. He later ended the game with a two-run walk-off homer in the bottom of the 14th to help the Cowboys sweep the series. The Tyler, Texas, product has performed all-season long at the plate and is tied for the team lead with a .358 batting average through 38 games. That mark is also the second best mark by any freshmen in the Big 12 this season (Austin Boggs at Texas A&M is hitting at a .370 clip).
Jaramillo Named To Golden Spikes Award List
Junior catcher Jason Jaramillo was named to the Golden Spikes Award List recently by USA baseball. The honor recognizes the top amateur baseball player in the country, and Jaramillo is one of just 30 players from around the country to be on the initial list.
The Franksville, Wisc., is currently batting .345 to go along with four homers and 31 RBIs. Defensively, Jaramillo has picked off two runners while throwing out 12 of 33 base runners in 36 games. Recently Baseball America tabbed him as the 29th best draft-eligible prospect in college.
In addition, he was named to the Johnny Bench Award Watch List in March, 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.
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. This week he was added to the Golden Spikes Award Watch list as well.
In a 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.
Fields was listed as a first-round lock by ESPN's Peter Gammons in his most recent edition of Diamond Notes.
Entering the Kansas State series, he leads the team with a .358 batting average and is tied for the team lead in homers (six), while walking a team best 30 times.
Kansas Recap
Oklahoma State swept a three-game set from Kansas in Stillwater over the weekend. The Cowboys used a complete game effort by Thomas Cowley in Friday's 5-4 win over the Jayhawks. Cowley struck out a career-high 12 batters and threw his second complete game in three starts. Scott Kirby had a three-run homer and Josh Fields added a solo shot to help lead the team to victory.
OSU scored a season inning high of nine runs in the first to run away with a 14-4 win on Saturday. Every Cowboy starter scored in the inning, which proved to be more than enough for Spencer Grogan who threw his fourth complete game of the year.
The Pokes used a dramatic late rally, coming back from a four-run deficit in the final two frames of regulation to tie the game at 7-7 and send Sunday's game into extra-innings. OSU trailed 8-7 in the 14th before Rusty Ryal broke an 0-for-6 day with a single up the middle to tie the game. Ty Wright then homered to lift the Cowboys to a 10-8 win.
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 .
