Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Travel To Tampa For Four Games
February 26, 2008 | Cowboy Baseball
#21 Oklahoma State (4-0)
vs.
South Florida (2-1)
&
Northwestern (2-1)
Feb. 28-March 1 • 6 p.m., 6 p.m., 2 p.m., 11 a.m.
Red McEwen Field (1,500)
Oklahoma State
The Cowboys opened the season with a four-game sweep of Gonzaga in Stillwater. OSU outscored the Bulldogs 31-7 in the series and outhit the visitors by a 41-18 margin.
OSU travels to Tampa, Fla., this week for four games. Coach Frank Anderson's ballclub will face host South Florida on Thursday (6 p.m.) and Sunday (11 a.m.) and battle Northwestern on Friday (6 p.m.) and Saturday (2 p.m.)
South Florida
The Bulls are 2-1 after their season opening series against Indiana State.
Northwestern
NU won two of its three games at Cal State-Northridge on opening weekend.
In The Polls
OSU is ranked 21st by Baseball America, 24th in the NCBWA poll and No. 25 by Collegiate Baseball. Neither South Florida nor Northwestern is ranked.
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 26th season as the play-by-play voice of Cowboy baseball, will call the action, with Matt Davis providing color commentary. Radio broadcasts can also be accessed via the internet at www.okstate.com (link is available under Cowboy MVP - Live Events). Those wishing to follow this week's games via live stats can also log on to www.gousfbulls.com, where a link can be found under Live Stats.
About South Florida
The Bulls are 2-1 after opening the season at home against Indiana State. Coach Lelo Prado is in his second season at USF and led the club to a 34-26 record a year ago.
OSU is 2-4 all-time against South Florida. The last meeting came in 2004 at the News Journal Invitational in DeLand, Fla. The Cowboys won that game, 8-4.
Players To Watch:
• SS Addison Maruszak (.538, HR, 2 RBI)
• OF Mike Consolmagno (.250)
• RHP Shawn Sanford (1-0, save, 2.25 ERA in two appearances)
Probable Starting Pitchers
Thursday: Daniel Thomas, RHP
Allowed one hit in five scorless innings and had seven strikeouts in first start of '08
Sunday: Randy Fontanez, RHP
Allowed just one run on four hits in five innings in start vs. Indiana State
About Northwestern
The Wildcats are coming off an opening weekend in which they finished 2-1 on the road against Cal State-Northridge. NU was 18-36 a year ago.
This is OSU's first-ever meeting against Northwestern.
Players To Watch:
• OF Mike Kalina (.500, HR, 8 RBI)
• OF Nate Roberts (.500, HR 4 RBI)
• RHP Matt Havey (0.00 ERA, save)
Probable Starting Pitchers
TBA
Perfect Start
Oklahoma State got off to a strong start to the 2008 season with a four-game series sweep of Gonzaga at Reynolds Stadium.
Coach Frank Anderson's ballclub outscored the Bulldogs 31-7 and collected 41 hits while allowing just 18.
After the opening weekend, OSU leads the Big 12 Conference with a 1.25 ERA and three saves, and Gonzaga hit just .154 in the series.
The Cowboys also lead the league in slugging percentage (.484) and rank second in batting average (.325) and home runs (three).
Lots Of New Faces
The Cowboys' 2008 roster includes a large and talented group of newcomers, with a recruiting class that counts 18 players.
Eight of the newcomers are junior college transfers, while the class also includes six freshmen and four Division I transfers. Seven of OSU's recruits have been selected in the Major League Baseball Draft.
Among the more notable newcomers are transfers third baseman Matt Hague and catcher Luis Flores, both of whom have earned spots in the starting lineup.
Freshman Thomas Belza hit .556 as a senior at Cincinnati's Moeller High School to break Ken Griffey Jr.'s school record, while fellow frosh Rafael Thomas has blazing speed and was a high school All-American and MLB Draft pick. Another freshman, Dean Green, is seeing time as the Cowboys' designated hitter.
The group of junior college newcomers includes JUCO All-Americans Michael Dabbs, Neil Medchill and Tyrone Hambly, while Danny Brown was named one of the top prospects in the 2007 summer leagues.
