Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Ready For Midweek Action
April 20, 2009 | Cowboy Baseball
#25 Oklahoma State (25-15)
at Wichita State (20-18)
April 21 • 7 p.m.
Eck Stadium (7,851) • Wichita, Kan.
vs. #30 Missouri State (23-14)
April 22 • 6:30 p.m.
Stillwater, Okla. • Allie P. Reynolds Stadium (4,000)
• • •
Oklahoma State
The Cowboys are 25-15 on the season after winning four of their five games last week in Stillwater.
OSU returns to midweek action Tuesday night when the Cowboys travel to Wichita, Kan., to take on Wichita State. The Cowboys will then host Missouri State Wednesday night before returning to Big 12 Conference action this weekend at Texas A&M.
With seven regulars in the starting lineup hitting .304 or better, OSU sports a .308 team batting average on the season and ranks among the Big 12 leaders in several offensive categories.
OSU's pitching staff has a collective 4.66 ERA and is tied for the Big 12 lead with 11 saves. The Cowboys' staff has also racked up 364 strikeouts, which ranks second in the league.
Wichita State/Missouri State
Wichita State is 20-18 on the season and has lost six-straight games. The Shockers sport a collective .275 batting average and a 4.54 team ERA.
Missouri State is 23-14 and will bring a five-game winning streak into Wednesday's game. The Bears are hitting .287 as a team, and their pitching staff has a combined 4.05 ERA.
In The Polls
Oklahoma State is ranked No. 25 in the NCBWA poll.
Wichita State is unranked. Missouri State is ranked 30th 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 27th 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 Audio/Video - Live Events). Those wishing to follow OSU's games via live stats can also log on to www.okstate.com (link is available under Audio/Video - Live Stats).
About Wichita State
The Shockers are 20-18 on the season, including a 2-7 mark against ranked teams.
OSU is 50-28 all time against Wichita State. Last season, the Cowboys were 1-2 against the Shockers, picking up a regular season win in Stillwater before losing a pair of games in the NCAA Stillwater Regional.
Players To Watch
• DH Taylor Brown (.381, 9 RBI)
• 1B Clinton McKeever (.350, 5 HR, 34 RBI)
• SS Tyler Grimes (.318, 5 HR, 21 RBI)
Probable Starting Pitcher
LHP Brian Flynn
1-3, 6.35 ERA in eight appearances
About Missouri State
The Bears are 24-11 on the season, which includes a 4-3 win over OSU in Springfield on April 8.
OSU is 4-1 all time against Missouri State.
Players To Watch
• 3B Brayden Drake (.381, 4 HR, 27 RBI)
• C Dallas Hord (.333, 5 HR, 20 RBI)
• OF Ben Carlson (.322, 10 HR, 35 RBI)
Probable Starting Pitcher
TBA
Home Sweet Home
Allie P. Reynolds Stadium has been home to Oklahoma State baseball since 1981, and in those 28-plus seasons the Cowboys have been nearly unbeatable on their home field.
The Cowboys are 738-157 (.825) all-time at Reynolds Stadium and have lost more than two consecutive games on their home turf only once (six in a row in May 2007).
OSU is 17-7 at Reynolds Stadium in 2009.
200 Club
With the Cowboys' season-opening win over BYU, Frank Anderson became the fifth head coach in OSU history to reach 200 career victories. He is the third-fastest coach to reach the milestone in Stillwater behind Gary Ward and Tom Holliday.
Anderson is in his sixth season at OSU and owns an overall career record of 223-122. The Cowboys are 83-63 in Big 12 Conference play under Anderson.
Aluminum Assault
Over the last several seasons, OSU has established itself among the top hitting teams not only in the Big 12 Conference but on a national scale.
Through their first 40 games of the 2009 season, the Cowboys rank among the Big 12's best in runs (309), hits (425), triples (16), home runs (52), RBI (291), slugging percentage (.506) and on-base percentage (.391).
Last season, OSU led the Big 12 in three offensive categories — batting average (.326), slugging percentage (.531) and home runs (89). The Cowboys finished second in the league in runs, hits, triples and RBIs.
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.
Kings Of The Hill
OSU also had one of the top pitching staffs in college baseball in 2008, and the '09 version has been solid as well.
Each of the Cowboys' weekend starters has at least four wins in 2009, and the pitching staff leads the Big 12 in saves (11) while ranking second in strikeouts (364).
Last season, the Cowboys led the Big 12 with a 3.98 team ERA and also topped the league with 21 saves. The staff returned seven pitchers who made at least eight appearances and worked 15 or more innings in '08.
OSU's 3.98 ERA in '08 marked the first time since 2005 the Cowboys' finished the season with a team ERA under 4.00. The '05 and '08 seasons are the only two since 1974 that OSU has had an ERA of less than 4.00.
