Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Travel To Texas-Arlington For Tuesday Contest
April 16, 2008 | Cowboy Baseball
#14 Oklahoma State (23-10)
at Texas-Arlington (15-20)
April 15 • 4 p.m.
Arlington, Texas
Clay Gould Ballpark (1,600)
Oklahoma State
The Cowboys are 23-10 on the season and have won five of their last six games. Up next for OSU is a Tuesday afternoon contest at Texas-Arlington before the Cowboys return home for a Wednesday night game against Mid-America Christian at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium.
Following the midweek games, the Cowboys will head to Austin, Texas, to try and win their third consecutive Big 12 Conference series when they take on Texas. OSU is tied for fourth in the league standings with Texas and Baylor, with each team sporting an 8-7 mark in league play.
OSU is hitting a collective .321, the second-highest batting average in the Big 12, while the pitching staff sports a 3.89 team ERA, which ranks third in the league.
Texas-Arlington
The Mavericks are 15-20 overall and bring a three-game winning streak into Tuesday's game. UTA has won eight of its last 10 games, and the Mavericks are 9-8 on their home field this season.
In The Polls
Oklahoma State's highest ranking is No. 14 in the NCBWA poll, which marks the highest the Cowboys have been ranked this season. The Cowboys are also ranked 18th by Baseball America and in the USA Today/ESPN coaches' poll and 25th by Collegiate Baseball.
Texas-Arlington is not ranked.
On The Air & The Web
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 www.okstate.com (link is available under Cowboy MVP - Live Events). Those wishing to follow OSU's games via live stats can log on to www.okstate.com (link is available under Cowboy MVP - Live Stats).
About Texas-Arlington
The Mavericks are 15-20 on the season and have won eight of their last 10 games. UTA is hitting .291 as a team, and its pitching staff sports a collective 5.74 ERA.
OSU is 15-4 all-time against UTA, including a 19-1 win last season in Arlington.
Players To Watch
• INF David McLeod (.398, 17 RBI)
• OF Danny Slinkman (.385, 3 HR, 37 RBI)
Probable Starting Pitcher - TBA
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 Dean Green has earned a role as the Cowboys' designated hitter.
The group of junior college newcomers includes JUCO All-Americans Michael Dabbs, Neil Medchill and Tyrone Hambly.
Home Sweet Home
Allie P. Reynolds Stadium has been home to Oklahoma State baseball since 1981, and in those 26-plus seasons the Cowboys have been nearly unbeatable on their home field.
OSU is 14-2 at home this season and is 707-146 (.829) all-time at Reynolds Stadium. The Cowboys have lost more than two consecutive games on their home turf only once.
Aluminum Assault
Over the last two seasons, OSU has established itself among the top hitting teams not only in the Big 12 Conference but nationally — a trend which is continuing in 2008.
OSU's lineup includes three of the Big 12's top 15 hitters — Donnie Webb, Matt Hague and Jordy Mercer — and the Cowboys lead the league in home runs (39) and slugging percentage (.508). They rank second in batting average at .321.
In '06, OSU led the Big 12 in homers, triples and slugging percentage, and in 2007 the Cowboys led the Big 12 in six offensive categories and ranked second in two more.
Heavy Hitters
OSU's offensive stats received a huge boost during a record setting day against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on March 19.
In the doubleheader sweep of the Golden Lions, OSU racked up 56 runs on 54 hits.
With a 34-1 win in the nightcap, the Cowboys recorded several notable achievements, including:
• OSU set a school record for hits in a game with 32;
• The Cowboys collected 33 RBIs, one shy of the school's single-game record;
• OSU also finished just one double and one triple shy of setting school marks. The Pokes racked up nine doubles and three triples;
• Freshman Thomas Belza tied school records for hits in a game (6) and runs in a game (6);
• The win marked OSU's 700th at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium.
For his performance against UAPB, Belza was named the StatStud.com National StatStud of the Day.
Heavy Hitters, Pt. II
In OSU's 19-2 win over No. 6 Nebraska on April 12, the Cowboys set a school record for hits against a Big 12 Conference opponent with 24. The previous high was 22 against Kansas State on March 7, 1997.
The Cowboys' 19 runs in that game tied for the third most against a Big 12 opponent (23 vs. K-State in 1997 and 20 vs. Iowa State in 1999).
OSU's 17-run margin of victory was also the second most against a Big 12 team, just one behind the Cowboys' 20-2 win over Iowa State on May 7, 2000.
