Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Look To Continue Winning Ways Against Utah Valley
May 01, 2008 | Cowboy Baseball
#9 Oklahoma State (32-11)
vs. Utah Valley (12-28-1)
May 2-4 • 6:30 p.m., 1 p.m. (DH), 1 p.m.
Stillwater, Okla.
Allie P. Reynolds Stadium (4,000)
Oklahoma State
The Cowboys are 32-11 on the season and have won nine-straight games, their longest win streak since winning 11 in a row during the 2006 season.
Up next, OSU hosts a four-game series against Utah Valley in a non-conference weekend series at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium. The Cowboys have won their last four weekend series.
OSU is hitting .323 as a team, which ranks second in the Big 12, while the pitching staff sports a collective 3.79 ERA, the third-best mark in the league.
The Cowboys are 13-6 against ranked teams this season, with eight of those wins coming against Top 10-ranked opponents.
Utah Valley
The Wolverines are 12-28-1 and have won five of their last eight games. UVU is 5-19-1 on the road this season.
In The Polls
Oklahoma State's highest ranking is No. 9 by Baseball America and in the USA Today/ESPN coaches' poll, which marks the highest the Cowboys have been ranked since the final polls in 1999. The Cowboys are also ranked 10th in the NCBWA poll and 12th by Collegiate Baseball.
Utah Valley is not ranked.
On The Air & The Web
All OSU baseball games are 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.
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 Utah Valley
The Wolverines are 12-28-1 on the season. UVU is hitting .288 as a team, and its pitching staff sports a collective 6.47 ERA.
OSU has never faced UVU in baseball.
Players To Watch
• 3B Jace Brinkerhoff (.343, 6 HR, 37 RBI)
• OF Scott Croshaw (.336, 3 HR, 34 RBI)
Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday: LHP Dan Christensen
1-5, 7.78 ERA, 2 CG in eight starts
Saturday, Gm. 1: RHP Aaron Brady
2-5, 6.38 ERA, 2 CG in nine starts
Saturday, Gm. 2: LHP Andy Jangard
1-4, 8.04 ERA in eight appearances
Sunday: RHP Bryan Smith
1-4, 5.51 ERA in 12 appearances
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 20-2 at home this season and is 713-146 (.830) all-time at Reynolds Stadium. The Cowboys have lost more than two consecutive games on their home turf only once.
Top 10
OSU is 8-4 this season against opponents ranked in the Top 10.
The Cowboys are ranked No. 9 in a pair of national polls this week, which marks their highest ranking since they finished the 1999 season at No. 8 in the final polls.
OSU entered the week No. 5 in the official NCAA RPI rankings.
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 14 hitters — Matt Hague, Donnie Webb and Jordy Mercer — and the Cowboys lead the league in home runs (57) and slugging percentage (.521). They rank second in batting average (.323), RBIs (334) and runs (355).
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 their 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 its second most against a Big 12 team, just one behind the Cowboys' 18-run win (20-2) over Iowa State on May 7, 2000.
Making History
With its three-game series sweep of Texas in Austin in April, OSU became the first-ever Big 12 Conference team to sweep a league series against UT on its home field.
The sweep also marked the first time the Longhorns have been swept in a three-game series at Disch-Falk Field since 1996 (Cal State-Fullerton).
vs. Utah Valley (12-28-1)
May 2-4 • 6:30 p.m., 1 p.m. (DH), 1 p.m.
Stillwater, Okla.
Allie P. Reynolds Stadium (4,000)
Oklahoma State
The Cowboys are 32-11 on the season and have won nine-straight games, their longest win streak since winning 11 in a row during the 2006 season.
Up next, OSU hosts a four-game series against Utah Valley in a non-conference weekend series at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium. The Cowboys have won their last four weekend series.
OSU is hitting .323 as a team, which ranks second in the Big 12, while the pitching staff sports a collective 3.79 ERA, the third-best mark in the league.
The Cowboys are 13-6 against ranked teams this season, with eight of those wins coming against Top 10-ranked opponents.
Utah Valley
The Wolverines are 12-28-1 and have won five of their last eight games. UVU is 5-19-1 on the road this season.
In The Polls
Oklahoma State's highest ranking is No. 9 by Baseball America and in the USA Today/ESPN coaches' poll, which marks the highest the Cowboys have been ranked since the final polls in 1999. The Cowboys are also ranked 10th in the NCBWA poll and 12th by Collegiate Baseball.
Utah Valley is not ranked.
On The Air & The Web
All OSU baseball games are 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.
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 Utah Valley
The Wolverines are 12-28-1 on the season. UVU is hitting .288 as a team, and its pitching staff sports a collective 6.47 ERA.
OSU has never faced UVU in baseball.
Players To Watch
• 3B Jace Brinkerhoff (.343, 6 HR, 37 RBI)
• OF Scott Croshaw (.336, 3 HR, 34 RBI)
Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday: LHP Dan Christensen
1-5, 7.78 ERA, 2 CG in eight starts
Saturday, Gm. 1: RHP Aaron Brady
2-5, 6.38 ERA, 2 CG in nine starts
Saturday, Gm. 2: LHP Andy Jangard
1-4, 8.04 ERA in eight appearances
Sunday: RHP Bryan Smith
1-4, 5.51 ERA in 12 appearances
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 20-2 at home this season and is 713-146 (.830) all-time at Reynolds Stadium. The Cowboys have lost more than two consecutive games on their home turf only once.
Top 10
OSU is 8-4 this season against opponents ranked in the Top 10.
The Cowboys are ranked No. 9 in a pair of national polls this week, which marks their highest ranking since they finished the 1999 season at No. 8 in the final polls.
OSU entered the week No. 5 in the official NCAA RPI rankings.
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 14 hitters — Matt Hague, Donnie Webb and Jordy Mercer — and the Cowboys lead the league in home runs (57) and slugging percentage (.521). They rank second in batting average (.323), RBIs (334) and runs (355).
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 their 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 its second most against a Big 12 team, just one behind the Cowboys' 18-run win (20-2) over Iowa State on May 7, 2000.
Making History
With its three-game series sweep of Texas in Austin in April, OSU became the first-ever Big 12 Conference team to sweep a league series against UT on its home field.
The sweep also marked the first time the Longhorns have been swept in a three-game series at Disch-Falk Field since 1996 (Cal State-Fullerton).
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