Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboy Baseball Heads To Wichita State
May 16, 2005 | Cowboy Baseball
Oklahoma State (32-20, 11-13 Big 12)
at Wichita State (42-20, 14-7 Missouri Valley)
Tuesday, May 17 • 7 p.m.
Eck Stadium (7,851)
All-Time Series:
Oklahoma State leads the series 47-28 dating back to the 1914 season.
Last Five Meetings
April 12, 2005 Wichita State 2, Oklahoma State 1 Stillwater
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
Polls:
Neither team is ranked this week.
The Coaches:
OSU’s Frank Anderson is 70-44 in his second season as head coach and 0-1 against Wichita State. WSU’s Gene Stephenson is 1497-485-3 in his 28th season in Wichita. He is 26-22 against Oklahoma State.
Radio:
93.7 FM Stillwater; Rex Holt (Play-by-Play) is in his 23rd season.
What’s On Tap
Oklahoma State will close out the regular season with four games in the state of Kansas, starting with a midweek matchup against old nemesis Wichita State. The Cowboys and Shockers will play tomorrow night at 7 p.m. at Eck Stadium.
About Wichita State
Wichita State is 42-20 on the year after taking two of three from Indiana State in Missouri Valley action over the weekend. The Shockers have now won 40 or more games in all 28 seasons under Gene Stephenson.
Third baseman Derek Schermerhorn leads the team with a .335 batting average and 52 RBIs in 62 games this year, while catcher Joe Muich is the top power source with 17 doubles and nine homers on the year. WSU sports a .288 team batting average with 22 homers and 108 doubles on the year.
The Shocker pitching staff is led by ace and All-American Mike Pelfrey who is 11-2 on the year with a 1.47 ERA. He tossed his fifth complete game of the year in WSU’s 11-2 win over the Sycamores on Friday night. Righthander Jereme Foster (5-5, 4.19 ERA) is slated to get the start against Oklahoma State tomorrow night.
Series Notes: Wichita State has won five of the last seven meetings in the series ... OSU holds a 21-11 edge in games played in Wichita ... the Cowboys are 6-7 against the Shockers in postseason play ... the last time the two teams met in the regular season in Wichita was on April 24, 1996 with WSU prevailing 19-4.
Team Pitching Making Huge Strides
Frank Anderson was known as one of the top pitching coaches in the country when he was hired as Oklahoma State’s head coach two years ago and he has made his mark on the Cowboy pitching staff over the last two years. Heading into tomorrow night’s contest, Oklahoma State’s 3.55 ERA is the lowest since 1973’s 1.93 mark in 36 games. The Pokes recorded a 3.60 ERA in 41 games in 1974 which was the last time a Cowboy pitching staff had a sub 4.00 ERA. The 2005 squad’s earned run average is the lowest among OSU teams that played 50 or more games in a season with the next closest the 1980 team that sported a 4.08 mark in 53 games.
Things Still Up For In The Air In The Big 12
Every spot in the Big 12 conference standings is still up in the air heading into the final weekend of the regular season. Baylor (18-6) and Nebraska (16-8) are the two teams vying for the regular season title while Texas (14-9) and Missouri (14-10) are in a fight for the third and fourth spots. The rest of the conference standings is up in the air with five of the remaining six teams fighting for four spots in the Big 12 tournament next week in Oklahoma City.
Oklahoma could finish anywhere from fifth through eighth, while Oklahoma State could finish as high as fourth and as low as ninth. Texas Tech, Kansas, Kansas State and Texas A&M are also battling for a spot, with Tech and Kansas having one more conference win over the Wildcats and Aggies.
On Deck: Regular Season Finale At Kansas
Oklahoma State will close out the regular season with a three-game series against Kansas in Lawrence this weekend. The Cowboys and Jayhawks will open on Friday at 7 p.m. and continue on Saturday at 6 p.m., before closing out the set on Sunday at 1 p.m.
The Jayhawks are 34-25 overall and 9-14 in the Big 12 after dropping two of three to rival Missouri over the weekend. KU is in contention for a spot in the conference tournament which would be the second for the team in the last three years.
First baseman Jared Schweitzer leads the team with a .359 batting average to go along with seven homers and 28 RBIs, while outfielder A.J. Van Slyke is the top run producer with 12 homers and 55 RBIs. Kansas is hitting .290 as a team with 58 homers and 426 runs scored in 59 games this season (7.2 runs per game).
![Image Taken at [event name], [day], [month date], [year], [venue], [city]. Brayden Hartmann/OSU Athletics](https://images.sidearmdev.com/resize?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdxbhsrqyrr690.cloudfront.net%2Fsidearm.nextgen.sites%2Fokstate.com%2Fimages%2F2026%2F4%2F20%2FConover_celebration_vs._Kansas.jpg&height=340&type=webp)
