Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Host Alabama A&M
March 22, 2010 | Cowboy Baseball
March 22, 2010
Oklahoma State (12-2)
vs. Alabama A&M (10-9)
March 23-24 • Stillwater, Okla.
Allie P. Reynolds Stadium
Tues. (DH) - 4 p.m. & 6:30 p.m.
Wed. - 1 p.m.
Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State is 12-2 on the season and has won eight-straight games, marking the Cowboys' longest winning streak since 2008. The Cowboys look to extend that streak with three midweek games against Alabama A&M at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium. The series opens Tuesday at 4 p.m. with the first game of a doubleheader and will conclude with a single game Wednesday at 1 p.m.
OSU head coach Frank Anderson is in his seventh season at the helm of the Cowboys and has led the club to 245 wins in his career. The Pokes are coming off a season in which they finished 34-24 and advanced to the finals of the NCAA Clemson Regional. With that showing, OSU became the only Big 12 Conference team to advance to a Regional championship round each of the last four seasons.
OSU leads the Big 12 with a .354 team batting average, with seven of the Cowboy regulars in the starting lineup hitting .300 or better, and the pitching staff sports a collective 3.73 ERA.
About Alabama A&M
Alabama A&M is 10-9 on the season. The Bulldogs opened the season by winning 10 of their first 11 games but have dropped eight-straight games since.
The Bulldogs, who have never faced OSU, are coached by Kevin Belliard, the son of former major leaguer Rafael Belliard. Belliard took over for Demetrius Mitchell, who resigned last week.
Up Next For The Cowboys
OSU opens Big 12 Conference play Friday at Kansas State in a game that will mark the league opener for both teams.
On The Air & The Web
All OSU baseball games are carried live by Stillwater Radio and will air on KSPI 93.7 FM or 780 AM. Rex Holt, who is in his 28th season with Cowboy baseball (15th as the play-by-play voice), will call the action, with Matt "Chief" Davis providing color commentary.
Radio broadcasts and live stats can also be accessed via www.okstate.com (links are available under Schedule/Results).
Home Sweet Home
Allie P. Reynolds Stadium has been home to Oklahoma State baseball since 1981, and in those 29 seasons the Cowboys have been nearly unbeatable on their home field.
The Cowboys are 749-159 (.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 9-0 at home in 2010.
200 Club
With the Cowboys' 2009 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 seventh season at OSU and owns an overall career record of 245-134, which includes an 88-71 mark in Big 12 play.
Cowboys In The Clutch
OSU is hitting .429 with runners in scoring position this season. The Pokes also sport a .311 average with two outs and have collected 35 two-out RBIs.
No Thanks
A trio of Cowboys from last season's club was selected in the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft but spurned pro ball to return to Stillwater.
Tyler Lyons was a 10th-round pick of the New York Yankees, Thomas Keeling was a 20th-round choice of the Yankees and Kevin David was selected in the 35th round by the Chicago Cubs.
Eleven players on the OSU roster have been Major League Baseball Draft picks. That marks the second-highest total in the Big 12, trailing only Texas' 13.
Triple Threat
Several Cowboys are swinging hot bats heading into the weekend.
Sophomore third baseman Mark Ginther is hitting .414 on the season and leads OSU with three homers and 20 RBIs. He also leads the Big 12 with an .776 slugging percentage.
Ginther was named to the Dairy Queen Classic All-Tournament team after going 5-for-11 (.455) with five RBIs and a 1.091 slugging percentage in three games.
Senior center fielder Dusty Harvard hit .500 (6-for-12) with four RBIs in four games last week. He is fourth on the Cowboys with a .373 batting average.
Freshman Dane Phillips leads OSU and ranks second in the Big 12 with a .458 batting average. He has hit safely in 12 of the Cowboys' 14 games this season.
The Thief
Junior second baseman Davis Duren leads the Big 12 with 12 stolen bases. Against Oklahoma Christian, Duren swiped four bags, the most by a Cowboy since 2004 and one shy of the school's single-game record.
Last season, Duren was 14-of-15 on stolen base attempts to lead the Cowboys.
Duren is tied for the team lead with three homers, and he ranks second in RBIs (19) and third in batting average (.375).
Season Over For The Closer
Oklahoma State sophomore closer Randy McCurry suffered a season-ending elbow injury while throwing his warm-up pitches in OSU's season opener vs. USC.
McCurry tied OSU's single-season record with 10 saves in 2009. In a team-high 28 appearances as a freshman, he was also 4-1 with a team-best 2.16 ERA and 54 strikeouts in 41.2 innings of work.
Vote For Cowboy Greats
To commemorate the final year of the College World Series being played in Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium in 2010, the NCAA is creating a CWS Legends Team, and six former OSU Cowboys are nominated for the team.
The Legends Team will represent those student-athletes who had the best CWS performances in the 60 years the CWS has been played at Rosenblatt Stadium. OSU's nominees for the team are third baseman Robin Ventura (1986-87), catcher Mike Day (1982-85), designated hitter Pete Incaviglia (1983-85), outfielder Wayne Weatherly (1966-68), pitcher Tom Borland (1954-55) and shortstop Danny Thompson (1968).
Fans can vote online for players they think should be selected as members of the CWS Legends team at www.ncaa.com.
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