Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboy Baseball Set To Renew Rivalry With Wichita State
April 11, 2005 | Cowboy Baseball
Oklahoma State (24-13)
vs. Wichita State (27-10)
Tuesday, April 12 • 7:06 p.m.
Reynolds Stadium (4,000)
All-Time Series:
Oklahoma State leads the series 47-27 dating back to the 1914 season.
Last Five Meetings
May 30, 1999 Oklahoma State 7, Wichita State 6 (G2) Wichita
May 30, 1999 Oklahoma State 11, Wichita State 8 (G1) Wichita
April 24, 1996 Wichita State 19, Oklahoma State 4 Wichita
April 23, 1996 Wichita State 7, Oklahoma State 3 Stillwater
April 19, 1995 Wichita State 7, Oklahoma State 4 Wichita
Polls:
OSU and WSU are not ranked this week.
The Coaches:
OSU’s Frank Anderson is 62-37 in his second season as head coach and is 0-0 against Wichita State. WSU’s Gene Stephenson is 1482-475-3 in his 28th season in Wichita and is 25-22 against Oklahoma State.
Radio/TV:
93.7 FM Rex Holt (Play-by-Play) is in his 23rd season.
Cox Cable (Wichita).
What’s On Tap
Oklahoma State renews an old rivalry on Tuesday as Wichita State comes to town for a 7 p.m. tilt. The Cowboys and Shockers will meet for the first time in the regular season since 1996, which was also the last time the teams played in Stillwater.
About Wichita State
Wichita State is 27-10 on the year after sweeping Illinois State in Missouri Valley Conference action over the weekend. The Shockers are led offensively by Derek Schermerhorn who is batting at a .359 clip with a team high 11 doubles and 34 RBIs. WSU is hitting .306 as a team with 11 homers, 67 doubles and 260 runs scored in 37 games.
Junior righthander Mike Pelfrey is the team’s ace and sports a 5-2 record with a 1.68 ERA. He threw a complete-game one-hit shutout against Illinois State on Friday and could possibly see action on the mound against the Cowboys. The Shockers sport a 3.34 team ERA with 309 strikeouts and 123 walks in 326.0 innings.
Series Notes: The teams played on a yearly basis from 1985-1996 ... The teams last met in the 1999 NCAA Wichita Regional, which OSU won by taking two games from WSU on Championship Sunday ... OSU holds the all-time series lead 47-27, but the Shockers are 25-22 against the Cowboys since Gene Stephenson became coach in 1978.
Texas Tech Recap
Two huge innings by Texas Tech prevented Oklahoma State from sweeping the road series and instead the Cowboys dropped two of three, including a 10-9 heartbreaker Sunday afternoon.
The Pokes used another solid start by ace Thomas Cowley on Friday to defeat the Red Raiders 6-4. Cowley allowed two runs, one earned, on three hits in 7.1 innings of work to move to 7-2 on the year.
OSU could not overcome a seven-run first inning by Texas Tech in game two of the series on Saturday and lost 12-8. Starter Rick Rivas gave up the seven runs on seven consecutive hits before leaving the game in the first. The Cowboys rallied to cut the lead to 8-7 in the third, but Tech added single runs in the fourth and sixth innings and put the contest away with a two-run eighth.
It appeared the Cowboys were on their way to taking the series on Sunday after breaking a 3-3 tie with a six-run eighth inning. The Red Raiders did them one better though, scoring seven runs in the bottom of the inning to take the game and the series. Starter Scott Richmond pitched seven strong innings before tiring in the eighth. He allowed five runs on seven hits in 7.1 innings of work with six strikeouts and three walks and left the game with a 9-4 lead.
Several Cowboy hitters had a good weekend at the plate led by Justin Colbert who had six hits in 11 at bats (.545). Corey Brown and Jeff Parrish each hit two homers as the Pokes batted .315 as a team with six homers, eight doubles and 23 runs scored in the three games.
Cowboys Improve On 2004 Power Numbers
The Cowboy offense has surpassed several of their power numbers from 2004 with 19 games still remaining on the regular season schedule.
With the 13 homers hit against Arkansas-Pine Bluff last Tuesday, the Pokes moved ahead of the 48 hit a season ago. They added six more homers over the weekend and now have 62 for the year. The Pokes have also roped 20 triples, six more than last season, while also improving on last year’s .447 team slugging percentage with a .567 mark entering Tuesday’s game.
Adam Carr has already hit more homers than Rod Allen’s 12 of a year ago and the Cowboys have five more players that could hit double-digit homers this year.
Carr’s Five Homer Day Puts Him Into Big 12 Lead
Adam Carr’s five homer day against Arkansas-Pine Bluff catapulted him into the Big 12 lead in homers entering Tuesday’s contest. Carr has 15 homers which should be among the nation’s best when the NCAA releases its official statistics. The Felton, Calif., product’s homer total is the most by a Cowboy since Paul Powell hit 15 in 2002. Carr is currently hitting .368 with a Big 12 best 62 RBIs entering Tuesday’s game. He also leads the conference in total bases (118) and is second in hits (56), slugging percentage (.776) and triples (4).
Cowboy Notes
Oklahoma State leads the Big 12 with 62 homers, 20 triples, a .328 batting average, a .567 slugging percentage and 342 runs scored ... Chris Gutierrez leads the conference with five triples ... Justin Colbert is second in the league in walks with 30 ... Colbert is tied for second in the Big 12 in runs scored with 43, while Rusty Ryal and Adam Carr are seventh with 38 ... Mike Hernandez is tied for third in the league with 11 doubles ... Corey Brown is the top freshman hitter in the league batting at a .350 clip ... Thomas Cowley leads the conference with 69.1 innings pitched ... Adam Daniels is fourth in the league with 64 strikeouts ... Scott Richmond is second in the Big 12 in opponents batting average at .163 ... OSU is fourth in the league with a .970 fielding percentage ... Ty Wright’s inside-the-park homer against UAPB on Tuesday gave him six for the year, surpassing his freshman total of five ... Jeff Parrish’s two homers against Texas Tech gave him nine for the season, besting his previous high of eight set in 2003 at Virginia Commonwealth ... Rusty Ryal’s nine RBIs against UAPB pushed his season total to a career best 33 (28 in 2004) ... The team is 20-1 when out hitting their opponents ... All nine of the Cowboys offensive starters are hitting .300 or better entering Tuesday’s game.
Brown’s Big Bat
Freshman Corey Brown is making a push for the Big 12’s Freshman of the Year award as he continues to produce at the plate. The Tampa, Fla., product went 5-for-13 against Texas Tech with two homers, three RBI and four runs scored. He moved from the sixth spot in the batting order into the three-hole on Sunday and responded with a 2-for-4 day at the plate. He is now hitting .350 on the year with eight homers and 31 RBI, with his batting average and homer total best among freshman in the conference. Brown leads the Cowboys with a .351 average in conference games to go along with two homers and nine RBI. He has become more comfortable at the plate as the season has progressed and should continue to improve as the season winds down.
Colbert Has Solid Week
Junior second baseman Justin Colbert had a solid weekend against Texas Tech at the plate, leading the team with a .545 average in the three game set. He went 6-for-11 with a double and three runs scored and boosted his batting average 13 points to .329 on the year. He is among the league leaders in walks (30) and runs scored (43) entering Tuesday’s game.
On Deck
The Cowboys will continue its eight-game homestand with a pivotal Big 12 series against conference leader Missouri this weekend. The Tigers improved to 8-1 in Big 12 play after sweeping Texas A&M in Columbia over the weekend. Missouri is 26-6 overall and plays Southeast Missouri State on Wednesday before traveling to Stillwater.
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.
You can listen to the rest of the Cowboys’ baseball games this season on 93.7 KSPI FM in Stillwater or via the internet at www.okstate.com.
Coach Anderson Radio/TV 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 at the new Rib Crib restaurant on Perkins Road.
Coach Anderson’s weekly television show began on April 2 and will be shown on Saturday’s at 7:30 a.m. on Fox 23 in Tulsa and at 4 p.m. on Fox 25 in Oklahoma City. The show, co-hosted by Tom Dirato and Fox 23 sports director Ron Terrell, features highlights, analysis and feature stories with the Cowboy baseball team.
