Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Begin Postseason Play At Big 12 Championship
May 20, 2008 | Cowboy Baseball
#2-Seed Oklahoma State (40-15)
at the
Phillips 66 Big 12 Conference
Baseball Championship
May 21-25 • Oklahoma City
AT&T Bricktown Ballpark (13,066)
Oklahoma State
The Cowboys enter the postseason with a 40-15 overall record and No. 6 national ranking.
OSU won its final six Big 12 Conference series to finish 18-9 and in second place in the league standings. The second-place finish ties OSU's highest since the formation of the Big 12. The Cowboys also finished the 2006 season in second place with an 18-9 mark.
The Cowboys are in Pool 2 at this week's Big 12 Baseball Championship and will face No. 7-seed Kansas State (Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.), sixth-seeded Baylor (Thursday at 7:30 p.m.) and No. 2- seed Nebraska (Saturday at 4 p.m.) in pool play.
The Cowboys are 13-7 against ranked teams this season, with eight of those wins coming against Top 10-ranked opponents.
OSU is hitting a Big 12-best .329 as a team, and the Cowboys lead the league in six other offensive categories. The pitching staff sports a collective 3.81 ERA, the lowest mark in the league, and tops the conference with 19 saves.
OSU At The Big 12 Baseball Championship
OSU is 10-22 all time at the Big 12 Baseball Championship and has lost eight-straight games in the tourney dating back to 2005. OSU won the Big 12 Championship title in 2004 in Frank Anderson's first season as the Cowboys' head coach.
In The Polls
Oklahoma State's highest ranking is No. 6 in the USA Today/ESPN coaches' and NCBWA polls, which marks the highest the Cowboys have been ranked this season. The Cowboys are also ranked No. 7 by Baseball America and 10th by Collegiate Baseball.
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).
Video of every game of the Big 12 Baseball Championship will be streamed live on the internet at www.big12sports.com, and audio from the web casts will also be broadcast on XM Radio (Ch. 241). FSN will televise Sunday's title game.
About Kansas State
The Wildcats are 27-27 overall and finished seventh in the Big 12 standings at 11-16. KSU is hitting .261 as a team, and its pitching staff sports a collective 5.08 ERA.
OSU lost two of its three games against the Wildcats this season in Manhattan.
Players To Watch
• 1B Justin Bloxom (.286, 8 HR, 48 RBI)
• RHP Daniel Edwards (5-3, 10 saves, 2.72 ERA)
About Baylor
The Bears are 31-24 overall and finished sixth in the Big 12 standings at 11-16. BU is hitting .286 as a team, and its pitching staff sports a collective 5.11 ERA.
OSU dropped two of its three games at then No. 10 Baylor to open Big 12 play.
Players To Watch
• OF Aaron Miller (.302, 12 HR, 45 RBI)
• RHP Willie Kempf (5-2, save, 4.00 ERA)
About Nebraska
The Cornhuskers are 39-12-1 overall and finished third in the Big 12 standings at 17-9-1. NU is hitting .319 as a team, and its pitching staff sports a collective 4.90 ERA.
OSU won 2-of-3 games against the Huskers last month in Stillwater.
Players To Watch
• 2B Jake Opitz (.327, 7 HR, 42 RBI)
• RHP Johnny Dorn (5-1, 2.55 ERA, 93 Ks)
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 26-4 at home this season and is 719-148 (.829) all-time at Reynolds Stadium. The Cowboys have lost more than two consecutive games on their home turf only once.
Top 10
OSU is 8-5 this season against opponents ranked in the Top 10.
The Cowboys are ranked No. 6 in this week's USA Today/ESPN coaches' and NCBWA polls, marking their highest ranking of the season and their highest in more than a decade.
OSU has been ranked in the Top 10 in the national polls for four consecutive weeks.
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.
The Cowboys' lineup includes six of the Big 12's top 20 hitters, and OSU leads the league in batting average (.329), hits (638), home runs (76), RBIs (421), triples (27), slugging percentage (.533) and runs (450).
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 (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).
at the
Phillips 66 Big 12 Conference
Baseball Championship
May 21-25 • Oklahoma City
AT&T Bricktown Ballpark (13,066)
Oklahoma State
The Cowboys enter the postseason with a 40-15 overall record and No. 6 national ranking.
OSU won its final six Big 12 Conference series to finish 18-9 and in second place in the league standings. The second-place finish ties OSU's highest since the formation of the Big 12. The Cowboys also finished the 2006 season in second place with an 18-9 mark.
The Cowboys are in Pool 2 at this week's Big 12 Baseball Championship and will face No. 7-seed Kansas State (Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.), sixth-seeded Baylor (Thursday at 7:30 p.m.) and No. 2- seed Nebraska (Saturday at 4 p.m.) in pool play.
The Cowboys are 13-7 against ranked teams this season, with eight of those wins coming against Top 10-ranked opponents.
OSU is hitting a Big 12-best .329 as a team, and the Cowboys lead the league in six other offensive categories. The pitching staff sports a collective 3.81 ERA, the lowest mark in the league, and tops the conference with 19 saves.
OSU At The Big 12 Baseball Championship
OSU is 10-22 all time at the Big 12 Baseball Championship and has lost eight-straight games in the tourney dating back to 2005. OSU won the Big 12 Championship title in 2004 in Frank Anderson's first season as the Cowboys' head coach.
In The Polls
Oklahoma State's highest ranking is No. 6 in the USA Today/ESPN coaches' and NCBWA polls, which marks the highest the Cowboys have been ranked this season. The Cowboys are also ranked No. 7 by Baseball America and 10th by Collegiate Baseball.
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).
Video of every game of the Big 12 Baseball Championship will be streamed live on the internet at www.big12sports.com, and audio from the web casts will also be broadcast on XM Radio (Ch. 241). FSN will televise Sunday's title game.
About Kansas State
The Wildcats are 27-27 overall and finished seventh in the Big 12 standings at 11-16. KSU is hitting .261 as a team, and its pitching staff sports a collective 5.08 ERA.
OSU lost two of its three games against the Wildcats this season in Manhattan.
Players To Watch
• 1B Justin Bloxom (.286, 8 HR, 48 RBI)
• RHP Daniel Edwards (5-3, 10 saves, 2.72 ERA)
About Baylor
The Bears are 31-24 overall and finished sixth in the Big 12 standings at 11-16. BU is hitting .286 as a team, and its pitching staff sports a collective 5.11 ERA.
OSU dropped two of its three games at then No. 10 Baylor to open Big 12 play.
Players To Watch
• OF Aaron Miller (.302, 12 HR, 45 RBI)
• RHP Willie Kempf (5-2, save, 4.00 ERA)
About Nebraska
The Cornhuskers are 39-12-1 overall and finished third in the Big 12 standings at 17-9-1. NU is hitting .319 as a team, and its pitching staff sports a collective 4.90 ERA.
OSU won 2-of-3 games against the Huskers last month in Stillwater.
Players To Watch
• 2B Jake Opitz (.327, 7 HR, 42 RBI)
• RHP Johnny Dorn (5-1, 2.55 ERA, 93 Ks)
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 26-4 at home this season and is 719-148 (.829) all-time at Reynolds Stadium. The Cowboys have lost more than two consecutive games on their home turf only once.
Top 10
OSU is 8-5 this season against opponents ranked in the Top 10.
The Cowboys are ranked No. 6 in this week's USA Today/ESPN coaches' and NCBWA polls, marking their highest ranking of the season and their highest in more than a decade.
OSU has been ranked in the Top 10 in the national polls for four consecutive weeks.
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.
The Cowboys' lineup includes six of the Big 12's top 20 hitters, and OSU leads the league in batting average (.329), hits (638), home runs (76), RBIs (421), triples (27), slugging percentage (.533) and runs (450).
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 (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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