Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Begin Postseason At Big 12 Baseball Championship
May 21, 2007 | Cowboy Baseball
#3-Seed Oklahoma State (38-16, 16-11)
at the Phillips 66 Big 12 Conference
Baseball Championship
May 23-27 • Oklahoma City
AT&T Bricktown Ballpark (13,066)
Oklahoma State
The Cowboys ended the regular season with a 38-16 overall record and finished third in the Big 12 Conference standings at 16-11 in league play.
OSU is hitting a Big 12-best .329 and leads the Big 12 in runs and hits per game, and seven Cowboy regulars are hitting .300 or better. The Cowboy pitching staff has a collective 3.83 ERA, which ranks second in the conference, and their 144 walks is the fewest in the league.
Cowboys vs. The Big 12 Championship Field
OSU is the third seed at the 2007 Big 12 Baseball Championship and will compete in Pool 2. The Cowboys are 6-3 against the teams in their pool as they swept Baylor and Oklahoma and were swept by Missouri.
OSU is 11-10 vs. the tourney field. Against the teams in Pool 1, the Cowboys won 2-of-3 games against Texas A&M and Kansas State, won once against Nebraska and were swept by Texas.
In The Polls
OSU is ranked 18th in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll and 21st by both Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball.
OSU At The Big 12 Championship
OSU is 10-19 all-time at the Big 12 Championship. Under head coach Frank Anderson, the Cowboys are 5-5 in the tourney. OSU's only Big 12 Championship title came in 2004, Anderson's first season as the Cowboys' head coach.
On The Air
All OSU baseball games will be carried live by Stillwater Radio on KSPI 93.7 FM and/or 780 AM. Rex Holt, who is in his 25th season as the play-by-play voice of Cowboy baseball, will call the action, with Matt Davis providing color commentary. The radio broadcast can also be accessed via the internet at www.okstate.com (link is available under Audio Webcast). Those wishing to follow the game via live stats can also log in to www.okstate.com.
Every Big 12 Baseball Championship game can also be viewed live via webcast on the league's official website at www.big12sports.com. Sunday's title game will be televised by FSN.
OSU vs. Baylor, Wednesday, 8 p.m.
The Bears are the sixth seed with an overall record of 31-24 and a Big 12 mark of 12-15.
Players To Watch: SS Beamer Weems, OF Ben Booker, RHP Nick Cassavechia
Probable Starting Pitcher
Jeff Mandel, RHP - Senior is 6-7 with a 4.77 ERA in 14 starts
OSU vs. Oklahoma, Friday, 7:30 p.m.
The Sooners are the seventh seed with an overall record of 32-23 and an 11-16 league mark.
Players To Watch: C Jackson Williams, SS Aaron Reza, OF Joe Dunigan
Probable Starting Pitcher
TBA
OSU vs. Missouri, Saturday, 5 p.m.
The Tigers are the second seed with a 39-14 overall record and a 19-8 mark in Big 12 play.
Players To Watch: CF Evan Frey, DH Jacob Priday, RHP Kyle Gibson
Probable Starting Pitcher
Rick Zagone, LHP - Sophomore is 6-2 with a 5.14 ERA in 15 starts
Aluminum Assault
Frank Anderson called his 2006 squad the best offensive team he's had since arriving in Stillwater, but the Cowboys might be even better in 2007.
In '06, OSU led the Big 12 in extra base hits, including topping the conference in home runs, triples and slugging percentage. OSU also ranked second in team batting average (.316) and runs (443), and seven different Cowboys batted at least .300.
The Cowboys are continuing that type of production at the plate in 2007. OSU leads the Big 12 in batting average (.329), slugging percentage (.533), on-base percentage (.411), runs (442), hits (636), doubles (128) and home runs (76).
Six Cowboys — Ty Wright, Tyler Mach, Corey Brown, Keanon Simon, Matt Mangini and Rebel Ridling — are among the top 20 hitters in the Big 12, with Wright's .413 average leading the league and Mach's .408 average ranking second.
OSU is averaging 8.2 runs and 11.8 hits per contest in '07, both of which lead the Big 12. The Cowboys have had at least 10 hits in 35 games this season, with a season high of 25 vs. ASU.
Continuing The Assault
The Cowboys reached several notable marks during regular season Big 12 Conference play in 2007. Among them are:
• OSU's 17 hits in the opener at Kansas was its most against a Big 12 opponent since the Cowboys had 17 vs. Texas Tech on May 14, 2004. They also had 17 hits in the finale vs. Baylor;
• The Cowboys' 14 runs in the opener at Kansas was their most against a Big 12 opponent on the road since they scored 16 at Kansas State on April 25, 2004;
• OSU's 48 hits against Baylor were the most ever by the Cowboys in a Big 12 series. The previous high was 47 against Kansas in 1998;
• The 39 runs OSU scored against the Bears was its most in a Big 12 series since the Cowboys scored 41 in a 1999 series against Kansas State.
• The Cowboys led the Big 12 in runs (184), hits (286), doubles (58), home runs (36) and RBIs (168) in conference-only games. OSU tied for first in league games in batting average (.302) and was second in slugging percentage (.488).
We've Got A Streaker
Ty Wright has hit safely in 31-straight games, the second longest streak in OSU history. The school and NCAA record is 58 games, set in 1987 by Cowboy great Robin Ventura.
Wright's streak began on March 24 at Kansas, and he is hitting .420 (55-for-131) during that span. The hot hitting has raised Wright's batting average 17 points.
