Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboy Baseball Hosts Binghamton
February 18, 2005 | Cowboy Baseball
Oklahoma State (4-3)
vs. Binghamton (0-0)
Friday, Feb. 18 • 4 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 19 • 12:30 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 20 • Noon
Reynolds Stadium (4,000)
All-Time Series:
First ever meeting on the diamond.
Polls:
Oklahoma State is ranked No. 28 by Collegiate Baseball this week. Binghamton is not ranked.
The Coaches:
OSU’s Frank Anderson is 42-27 in his second season as head coach.
BU’s Tim Sinicki is 219-252-4 in his 13th year as head coach.
Radio:
KSPI 93.7 FM (Friday)
KSPI 780 AM (Saturday and Sunday)
Rex Holt (Play-by-Play) is in his 23rd season.
What’s On Tap
Oklahoma State looks to get back on track this weekend as Binghamton comes to town for a three game series. The Cowboys and Bearcats will open the set on Friday at 4 p.m. and then play at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday and Noon on Sunday. Of Note: The Saturday contest has been moved up from the original 2 p.m. start.
About Binghamton
Binghamton, located in Vestal, N.Y., is opening its 2005 campaign this weekend in Stillwater. The Bearcats are in their fourth year at the Division I level and are coming off of a 22-21 season and sixth place finish in the America East Conference.
BU has seven starters returning from last year’s squad, including senior shortstop Keith Ford (.272, 39 runs, 11 SB), a native of Broken Arrow. Senior first baseman Jamie Boyer is the top returning power hitter with 10 homers from a year ago, while the Bearcats hit .274 as a team with 51 homers and 289 runs scored in 43 games.
Binghamton’s rotation for this weekend will be sophomore righthander Zach Groh (4-3, 5.25 ERA), freshman southpaw Scott Diamond and junior righty Jarrod Rampey (transfer from Wofford). Last year’s team had a 5.62 ERA with 246 strikeouts and 162 walks in 344.0 innings.
Brae Wright Is Right For Oklahoma State
If his first two outings are any indication, junior lefthander Brae Wright is fitting in well at Oklahoma State after transferring from Ole Miss in the summer.
Wright held Arkansas-Pine Bluff to just one hit in five innings in his first outing of the season two weeks ago. He followed that performance with a solid performance against Houston last Saturday at the Minute Maid Classic. The Southaven, Miss., product scattered seven hits over 5.1 innings and allowed two runs with three strikeouts and two walks. He did not factor in the decision, however, as the Cowboys went on to defeat the Cougars. For the season he is 1-0 with a 1.74 ERA.
Southpaws Seeing Plenty Of Mound Time
With three lefthanders in the starting rotation, Oklahoma State has a luxury that most teams would love to have. The trio of Thomas Cowley, Brae Wright and Adam Daniels aren’t the only southpaws that have seen significant action this season.
Of the 12 pitchers that have been on the mound this season, seven have been lefthanders, and each has had some success in the first seven games. Sophomore transfer Blake Kronkosky pitched two innings of scoreless relief against Tennessee, while freshman Michael Jarman picked up a key strikeout in a pressure situation in the win over Houston. Senior David Bacon has recovered from an injury that caused him to miss the 2004 season and has allowed just a run in three innings of work in two games so far. Not to be forgotten is junior Brett McDonald who had a 1.96 ERA a year ago and has already combined on a shutout this year.
Cowboys Drop Contest To Dallas Baptist
Dallas Baptist sophomore pitcher Randal Taylor held Oklahoma State to just one run in seven innings in a 10-2 win in baseball action Tuesday night at Reynolds Stadium.
Taylor (2-0) allowed just five hits and struck out eight with two walks. The lone run he gave up was in the first inning on a RBI double by first baseman Adam Carr.
Dallas Baptist scored four runs in the second inning and knocked OSU starter Nate Melek (0-1) out of the contest. The junior righthander allowed four runs, two earned, on six hits in 1.2 innings of work.
The Pokes committed four errors that led to four unearned runs in the game. The Patriots scored a run in the fourth, four runs in the eighth and another in the ninth to make the score 10-1.
Chris Gutierrez tripled in the ninth and scored on a RBI groundout by Justin Colbert to close out the game. Adam Carr led the Pokes with three hits on the night.
Cowboy Notes
Oklahoma State is second in the Big 12 in team hitting (.339) and first in team pitching (2.95) heading into the weekend ... Adam Daniels has 12 strikeouts and just one walk in 9.2 innings pitched ... The Cowboys have outscored their opponents 22-2 in the sixth inning and 27-7 in the final four frames ... OSU has made seven errors in the past four games after committing just one in the first three ... Oklahoma State has scored first in every game played heading into the weekend ... The Pokes are 4-0 when leading from the third inning on ... catcher John Schindler and pitcher Chad Epperson are not expected to see action the rest of the year due to injury.
Minute Maid Classic Recap
Oklahoma State was one of four teams that finished 1-2 at the Minute Maid Classic over the weekend.
The Cowboys dropped the opening game to Rice, 8-4, with the big blow coming in the fourth inning as the Owls broke open a 2-2 game with six runs in the frame.
OSU rebounded with a 3-2 win against Houston in the second game of the tourney as Keanon Simon’s RBI double in the sixth proved to be the difference in the contest.
The Pokes fell behind Tennessee 6-1 after seven innings and rallied for four runs in the final two stanzas before losing 6-5 in the Sunday finale. Steve Ptak’s three-run ninth inning homer cut the lead to one, but OSU left the tying run at second base to end the game.
Senior third baseman Rusty Ryal was named to the all-tournament team after going 5-for-12 with two doubles and a run scored.
Cowboys Blast 11 Homers In Series Sweep
Oklahoma State pounded 11 homers and outscored Arkansas-Pine Bluff 55-2 in a three-game series sweep to open the 2005 campaign.
Junior first baseman Adam Carr hit a homer in all three contests and finished the weekend with nine RBIs and six runs scored. He also closed out the series on the mound with an inning of perfect relief. Several Cowboys also had stellar offensive weekends as the team combined to go 47-for-103 (.456) with 20 extra base hits.
OSU Picked To Finish Third In Big 12
Oklahoma State was picked to finish third in the Big 12 by the league coaches in a vote released by the conference office last week.
Defending Big 12 champion Texas was picked to finish first, receiving nine of the 10 conference schools vote. Oklahoma State received the other first place vote.
Each coach ranked the conference 1-9 and was not allowed to vote for their own team.
The league vote is as follows:
School (First Place Votes) Points
1. Texas (9) 81
2. Texas A&M 70
3. Oklahoma State (1) 62
4. Baylor 55
5. Nebraska 50
6. Texas Tech 39
7. Oklahoma 37
8. Missouri 30
9. Kansas 15
10. Kansas State 11
(Points are based on nine for first place, eight for second, etc.)
Broadcast Info
Every Oklahoma State game will be broadcast this season on the KSPI network of stations. Rex Holt, will once again call all of the action for the Cowboys. Former Cowboy coaching great Gary Ward will join Rex in the booth from time to time this season. The 2004 Cowboy Baseball Hall of Fame inductee is spearheading the schools effort in raising money for the renovation of Reynolds Stadium.
The games can be heard on the KSPI family of stations with this weekend’s broadcasts set for 93.7 FM on Friday and 780 AM on Saturday and Sunday.
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 started on Feb. 14 and is co-hosted by Rex Holt.
Coach Anderson’s weekly television show will begin in March on a date to be determined. The show, co-hosted by Tom Dirato, features highlights, analysis and feature stories with the Cowboy baseball team.
Baseball America Tidbits
The Cowboys had several mentions in Baseball America’s College Preview in January. Oklahoma State, ranked 23rd in their preseason poll, is picked to finish fourth in the Big 12 and make the NCAA tournament. Junior transfer pitcher Brae Wright is listed as the conference’s top newcomer and ninth best prospect for this year’s draft, while junior Chris Gutierrez is considered the best defensive shortstop in the Big 12. Junior transfer Mike Hernandez is listed as the second best newcomer in the conference after having a successful summer in the Cape Cod League.
On Deck
The Cowboys will take the week off before hitting the road to take on Texas A&M-Corpus Christi next weekend. The teams will open play on Friday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. and will continue the series at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 26 and 1 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 27. The contests will be played at Aviator Field, home of the Coastal Bend Aviators of the Central League.
Gutz World
This season shortstop Chris Gutierrez will keep a running diary online at www.okstate.com. Chris will attempt to update his diary once a week starting sometime soon. Check it out at the school’s athletic website.
Two Cowboys Play In Athens Olympics
Although the United States did not qualify for the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Oklahoma State baseball had two former players represent other countries participating in the games. Outfielder Jeff Guiel played for the Canadian Olympic team that made the semifinals, while pitcher David Rollandini played for Italy.
New To Allie P.
Fans may notice some cosmetic changes that have happened since the 2004 season ended. During the offseason, a new outfield fence was put in and artificial turf was added behind home plate. Also construction has begun on a new lockerroom that will eventually move the Cowboys over to the third base dugout. The targeted finish date for the project is this summer, but it could be finished in time to move into towards the end of the season.
