Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboy Baseball Heads To Baylor
April 08, 2004 | Cowboy Baseball
Oklahoma State (20-11, 3-3 Big 12) vs.
Baylor (13-18, 4-5 Big 12)
April 9-11 • 7 p.m., 6 p.m., 2 p.m.
Baylor Ballpark (5,000) • Waco, Texas
The Matchups:
Friday, April 9 at 7 p.m.
Saturday, April 10 at 6 p.m.
Sunday, April 11 at 2 p.m.
All-Time Series:
Oklahoma State leads 26-16 in a series that dates back to 1925.
Last Two Years:
April 13, 2003 Oklahoma State 10, Baylor 7 Stillwater
April 12, 2003 Baylor 16, Oklahoma State 11 Stillwater
April 11, 2003 Baylor 18, Oklahoma State 6 Stillwater
April 6, 2002 Baylor 8, Oklahoma State 6 Waco
April 5, 2002 Oklahoma State 11, Baylor 10 Waco
Series Notes:
Baylor has won three of the last five meetings. Oklahoma State is 10-6 all-time in games in Waco. The teams played twice in 2002 in Waco, with the third game rained out. OSU is 14-11 against the Bears since the Big 12 was formed.
Polls:
Oklahoma State is ranked No. 34 in the NCBWA.
Baylor is not ranked.
The Coaches:
OSU's Frank Anderson is 20-11 in his first season as head coach.
BU's Steve Smith is 356-221-1 in 10 seasons in Waco.
Radio:
KSPI 93.7 FM
Rex Holt (Play-by-Play) is in his 22nd season.
What's On Tap
Oklahoma State starts a four-game road swing through Texas beginning with a Big 12 series against Baylor in Waco this weekend. The Cowboys and Bears will hook up on Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 6 p.m., before closing out the series on Easter Sunday at 2 p.m.
OSU will then head home for class on Monday before traveling back to the Lone Star State to take on Texas-Arlington on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
About Baylor
Baylor is 13-18 on the year after pounding Texas-Arlington 13-2 on Wednesday night. The Bears rebounded from a three-game sweep against Oklahoma two weekends ago in Norman, to take two of three from Missouri last weekend in Columbia.
Third baseman and preseason All-American Michael Griffin was named Big 12 Hitter of the Week after batting .400 with three homers and 12 RBIs last week in four games. Currently he is batting .290 overall, with a .357 average and four homers and 17 RBIs in league contests.
As a team Baylor is hitting at a .292 clip, but has improved significantly on that mark in Big 12 action with a .331 average.
The Bears sport a team ERA of 3.48 and will start righty Sean Walker (1-5, 3.97 ERA) on Friday and southpaw Trey Taylor (3-3, 4.26 ERA) on Saturday. Sunday's starter is TBA.
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 .324 ... Spencer Grogan is tied with Texas' J.P. Howell for the Big 12 lead in wins with seven on the year ... Scott Kirby is tied for the conference lead with three triples on the year ... Daniel Rew is tied for fifth in the league in saves with three ... Baylor is 3-12 in one-run games this year, while Oklahoma State is 4-2 ... OSU has outscored its opponents in seven of nine innings this season ... opponents have outscored the Pokes 33-23 in the first, and 26-10 in the seventh ... The Pokes are 3-3 in the state of Texas ... The Cowboys have won the opening game of the series against the Bears in Waco the last four trips down dating back to 1998 ... The Cowboys ninth inning rally against Texas A&M on Friday was the team's first win when trailing heading into the ninth (0-10 entering that game).
Cowley Comes On
Sophomore Thomas Cowley spent his whole freshman and part of his sophomore year as a reliever in the Cowboy bullpen, but has since made a successful transition into the starting rotation. The move culminated with the first complete game of his career, in the Pokes 4-3 win over Texas A&M last Friday. Cowley gave up three runs, one earned, on six hits with four strikeouts and a walk in also picking up his first career win.
He pitched five innings in his first start against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on March 20 and then hurled 6.1 innings against Texas in the Cowboys Big 12 opener on March 26.
The Fenton, Mo., product has lowered his ERA from 7.15 before his first start, to 4.83 entering this weekend against Baylor.
Matulich Making Strides
Senior Mario Matulich had struggled at the plate the first half of the season, after having off-season surgery that limited him in the fall.
The Mineola, N.Y. product was coming off a solid junior season as the full-time designated hitter and batted .305 with nine homers and 45 RBIs.
He opened this year as the starter at DH, but made the move to first base during the Texas series (March 26-28). Matulich entered last week with just a .225 batting average to go along with five RBIs. He had a strong week offensively in five games, batting .533 (8-for-15) with two doubles and five RBIs. In the series finale against Texas A&M last Sunday, Mario went 3-for-3 with three RBIs, boosting his season average to .279, the highest it has been since the first week of the season.
Matulich is heating up at the right time and could certainly bolster the Cowboy offense in weeks to come.
Grogan Putting Together Solid Season
Junior lefthander Spencer Grogan has quietly put together one of the top seasons on the mound in the Big 12 this year. He is tied for the league lead in wins and is among the league leaders in ERA. Heading into the series against Baylor, he is 7-1 with a 2.77 ERA in nine starts this year.
Grogan pitched his second complete game in three outings in the Cowboys 7-2 win over A&M last Saturday. The Cantonment, Fla. native allowed two runs, via a homer, on 10 hits with a walk and three strikeouts against the Aggies to move to 2-0 in Big 12 play.
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. Grogan has allowed just four earned runs in his last 27.2 innings of work (1.30 ERA). He has already surpassed his victory total of last year (three) and is 11 innings from tying his mark of 76.0 innings pitched last year.
Jaramillo Named To Golden Spikes Award List
Junior catcher Jason Jaramillo was named to the Golden Spikes Award List this week 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 list.
The Franksville, Wisc., product had a stellar weekend at the plate against Texas A&M and currently leads the team with a .383 batting average to go along with four homers and 30 RBIs. He had a career-high five hits against the Aggies last Sunday, and was one hit away from tying the school record of six.
Defensively, Jaramillo has picked off two runners while throwing out 10 of 27 base runners in 30 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.
Newcomers Making Offensive Contributions
Junior Rusty Ryal and freshman Ty Wright have proven through the first half of the season that they are consistent performers to watch on this Cowboy team.
Ryal is second on the team with a .376 batting average, while Wright is fourth with a .352 mark. Ryal has been hit a team-high seven times and is tied for second on the team in on-base percentage at .453. The Perry, Okla., native has also played a solid second base, with just two errors in 120 chances (.983 fielding percentage).
Wright has started all 31 games this season and has proven to be versatile enough to play centerfield as well as first base. The Tyler, Texas, native opened the year as the starting first baseman and after playing centerfield for a spell, is now the everyday designated hitter. He is one of the Pokes top base stealing threats with six 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 mid-point 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 Baylor, he is third on the team with a .372 batting average and is tied for the team lead in homers (five), while walking a team best 23 times.
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 Texas A&M series and this weekend.
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.
