Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboy Baseball Opens 2011 Season
February 16, 2011 | Cowboy Baseball
Feb. 16, 2011
OSU Game Notes vs. Bryant in PDF Format
Oklahoma State
vs. Bryant
. . .
Feb. 18-20 • Stillwater, Okla.
Allie P. Reynolds Stadium (4,000)
Fri. - 4 p.m./Sat. - 2 p.m./Sun. - Noon
Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State opens the 2011 baseball season with a three-game series against Bryant beginning Friday at 4 p.m. The Cowboys and Bulldogs will also be in action Saturday at 2 p.m. before the series finale Sunday at noon.
The Cowboys are coming off a 2010 season in which they finished 29-26. Five starters return from that ballclub, led by All-Big 12 second baseman Davis Duren, and OSU has added a host of newcomers in a recruiting class that has been ranked as high as 15th nationally.
OSU head coach Frank Anderson is entering his eighth season at the helm of the Cowboys and has led the club to 262 wins and five NCAA Tournament appearances in his career. During a four-year span from 2006-09, OSU was the only Big 12 Conference team to advance to an NCAA Regional championship round each season.
About Bryant
The Bulldogs were 34-22 last season and won the Northeast Conference title. Bryant is in the "transition period" to NCAA Division I status after making the move from the Division II level so last year's club was ineligible for postseason play (this year's squad is also ineligible).
Four starters from a year ago return for Bryant, including Freshman All-American Kevin Brown, who hit .355 with six home runs, 40 RBIs, 23 doubles and seven triples as a rookie. The Bulldogs also return a pair of standouts on the mound in right-handers Mark Andrews (3-1, 12 saves, 2.73 ERA) and Peter Kelich (9-1, 4.23).
Bryant, which is located in Smithfield, R.I., is led by first-year head coach Steve Owens, who spent the last 11 seasons at LeMoyne and led that program to 11-straight winning seasons.
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 29th season with Cowboy baseball (16th 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).
Additionally, all OSU home games are available to watch online via paid subscription at okstate.tv.
Home Sweet Home
Allie P. Reynolds Stadium has been home to Oklahoma State baseball since 1981, and in those 30 seasons the Cowboys have been nearly unbeatable on their home field.
OSU is 763-169 (.819) all-time at Reynolds Stadium and has lost more than two consecutive games on their home turf only twice (six in a row in May 2007; three straight in 2010).
The Cowboys were 23-10 at home in 2010.
300 Club
OSU head coach Frank Anderson is on the verge of becoming the third coach in Cowboy history to reach 300 wins. Gary Ward (953 wins) and Toby Greene (318) are the only two previous OSU coaches to reach that mark.
Anderson is in his eighth season at OSU and owns a career record of 262-155, which includes a 96-87 mark in Big 12 play. He ranks fourth on OSU's all-time coaching wins list, 19 wins shy of third-place Tom Holliday's 281.
New Faces
OSU's 33-man 2011 roster includes 18 newcomers -- 12 junior college transfers, five high school players and one Division I transfer.
Five of the Cowboy newcomers were selected in last June's Major League Baseball Draft, highlighted by freshman right-handed pitcher Jason Hursh, who was a sixth-round pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Also among OSU's freshman class is Nate Sorenson, a scholarship quarterback for the Cowboy football team who was a 40th-round pick of Pittsburgh following his prep career.
The group of JUCO newcomers includes MLB draftees Chris Marlowe and Blake Barnes, who will challenge for OSU's closer role, and infielder Zach Johnson, who also turned down pro ball and could play several positions for the Cowboys.
No Thanks
A pair of Cowboys from last season's club was selected in the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft but spurned pro ball to return to Stillwater.
Davis Duren was a 13th-round pick of the Houston Astros, while Mike Strong was selected in the 22nd round by the Oakland A's. Strong was also drafted in 2009 after two JUCO seasons.
Twelve 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' 16.
Heavy Hitters Return
OSU sported a .307 team batting average in 2010, which tied for second highest in the Big 12 Conference. The Cowboys ranked third in the league in doubles (128) and sacrifice flies (31).
Among the Cowboys' five returning starters, four of those hit .320 or better a year ago:
• Senior Davis Duren led OSU and ranked fifth in the Big 12 with a .383 batting average, which included a .373 clip in conference play. The second baseman and leadoff hitter led the Cowboys with 88 hits and ranked second with 55 RBIs.
• Junior third baseman Mark Ginther hit .320 and led the Cowboys in home runs (12) and RBIs (58).
• As a freshman, Dane Phillips hit .337 and was third on the team with 18 multi-hit games. He also turned in a 15-game hitting streak, the second longest by a Cowboy last season.
• In his first season with the Cowboys, JUCO transfer Luis Uribe ranked among the Big 12 leaders in batting average (.355) and slugging percentage (.584).
Strong Armed
OSU returns nearly 60 percent of its wins on the mound from 2010, and pitchers who combined for five of the club's six saves. Among those hurlers are:
• Brad Propst - A converted infielder, Propst was 2-1 with two saves and a 3.91 ERA last season. In his first-career start vs. UMass, he tossed a complete game shutout.
In his first season at OSU in 2009, Propst appeared in 15 games on the mound, all in relief, and was 1-1 with a 2.20 ERA. In 28.2 innings of work, he recorded 25 strikeouts.
• Andrew Heaney - A year ago, this lefty became the first freshman to lead OSU in wins since 2001. In 16 outings (10 starts), he was 5-4 with a save. Three of his wins and the save came in Big 12 play.
• Mike Strong - A two-time MLB Draft pick, the southpaw was 4-3 with 66 strikeouts in 64.1 innings last season. In 16 appearances, opponents hit just .254 against him.
• Kevin Chambers - As a freshman, Chambers compiled four wins and 44 strikeouts in 34.0 innings. Against Alabama A&M, he racked up 15 Ks in six innings, just one shy of OSU's single-game record.
• Ian McCarthy - This sophomore missed the first 16 games of his freshman season but had two wins and a pair of saves in 16 games.
High Marks
Earlier this month, Baseball America ranked the top 50 players in each college class for the 2011 season. The players were ranked on the basis of their pro potential. Among the Cowboys ranked were:
Davis Duren - #12 senior
Mike Strong - #24 senior
Andrew Heaney - #26 sophomore
Jason Hursh - #23 freshman
The Thief
Senior second baseman Davis Duren led the Big 12 with 29 stolen bases as a junior in 2010. That total ranked 40th nationally and was the most by a Cowboy since Roberto Lopez had 33 in 1994.
Against Oklahoma Christian, Duren swiped four bags, the most by a Cowboy since 2004 and one shy of OSU's single-game record.
Duren was 29-of-34 on stolen base attempts last season and is 43-of-49 in his career.
At the plate, Duren led OSU with a .383 batting average and 88 hits from his leadoff spot in the lineup. He also racked up 55 RBIs.
Duren had career-long hitting streaks of 16, 14 and 11 games as a junior.
Flashing The Leather
Over the last several seasons, OSU's defense has turned in some of the top fielding performances in program history.
The Cowboys have recorded a fielding percentage over .970 just six times in its history, and five of those have come in the last six seasons.
OSU made history in 2010 when the Cowboys set a school record with a .978 fielding percentage, a mark which also ranked fifth nationally.
Last year's performance marked the third-straight year that OSU had tied or set the school record for fielding percentage after the Cowboys had a .974 fielding percentage in 2008 and a .976 fielding percentage in 2009.
OSU's '08 and '09 fielding percentages led the Big 12.
