Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Look To Continue Winning Ways
March 10, 2011 | Cowboy Baseball
March 10, 2011
OSU Game Notes vs. New Mexico in PDF Format
Oklahoma State (9-3)
vs. New Mexico (3-10)
. . .
March 11-13 • Stillwater, Okla.
Allie P. Reynolds Stadium (4,000)
Fri. - 6:30 p.m./Sat. - 2 p.m./Sun. - 1 p.m.
Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State is 9-3 on the season and is back in action this weekend at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium against New Mexico. Friday's series opener is set for 6:30 p.m. with Saturday's game at 2 p.m. and Sunday's finale at 1 p.m. The Cowboys have won three-straight games, including capturing the 2011 Dairy Queen Classic championship in Tucson, Ariz., last weekend.
The Cowboys rank second in the Big 12 Conference in batting average (.332) and ERA (2.50), and their starting lineup includes four of the top 14 hitters in the league.
OSU head coach Frank Anderson is in his eighth season at the helm of the Cowboys and has led the club to 271 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 New Mexico
The Lobos are 3-10 after opening the season with eight-straight losses. Five of UNM's losses have been by two runs or less. The team sports a .270 batting average and a 5.95 ERA.
Expected to start on the mound for the Lobos this weekend are: RHP Gera Sanchez (Fri.), RHP Jake McCasland (Sat.) and LHP Rudy Jaramillo (Sun.)
UNM is led by fourth-year head coach Ray Birmingham, who guided the Lobos to an NCAA Regional appearance in 2010.
OSU is 4-1 all time against New Mexico. The two teams last met on February 15, 1997 in the Grand Canyon Tourney in Phoenix, which resulted in an 8-1 win for the Cowboys.
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 31 seasons the Cowboys have been nearly unbeatable on their home field.
OSU is 770-170 (.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 are 7-2 at home in 2011.
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 271-161, which includes a 96-90 mark in Big 12 play. He ranks fourth on OSU's all-time coaching wins list, 10 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 has nailed down the starting spot at first base.
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.
Through 12 games in 2011, the Cowboys have made just nine errors and sport a .981 fielding percentage.
Putting Up Zeroes
OSU's opening weekend starting pitching rotation of Brad Propst, Andrew Heaney and Jason Hursh did not allow a run in 19.0 innings of work against Bryant.
The trio also combined for 13 strikeouts, and the Bulldogs' combined batting average against them was .191.
Propst and Heaney were key parts of shutout wins in the first two games of the series. In fact, Bryant did not score over the first 25.1 innings of the series and managed just one run total in three games.
Heaney continued his scoreless stretch against Cal Poly as he blanked the Mustangs for eight innings. He allowed just four hits in that game, and opponents are now hitting just .160 against him thus far in 2011.
OSU sports a 2.50 team ERA, which ranks second in the Big 12, and leads the league with four shutouts.
Southpaw Slinging On Saturdays
Andrew Heaney had a solid freshman season a year ago, but in his first three outings of 2011, he's stating his case as one of the Big 12's top pitchers.
Heaney is 3-0 and tied for the league lead in wins, and he ranks second in innings pitched (23.1) and opponent batting average (.160). He did not allow a run in his first 16.0 innings of work and has given up just one on the year. The sophomore has also recorded 16 strikeouts and just two walks.
Blizzards For Everybody
After winning the 2011 Dairy Queen Classic last week in Tucson, Ariz., the Cowboys had six players named to the All-Tournament Team: first baseman Zach Johnson, shortstop Hunter Bailey, outfielders Gabe Weidenaar and Luis Uribe, designated hitter Dane Phillips and pitcher Andrew Heaney.
Weidenaar was named the tourney's Most Outstanding Player after leading the Cowboys with nine hits in the tourney, including a 4-for-6 effort in a win over Minnesota that clinched the championship for OSU, while Uribe earned the Silver Stick Award as the top hitter in the tournament with a 7-for-10 effort.
In addition, Weidenaar was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week on Monday for games played Feb. 28-March 6.
Short Hops
• The Cowboys are hitting .346 (55-for-159) with runners in scoring position.
• OSU sophomore Dane Phillips is third in the Big 12 with a .706 slugging percentage. The Cowboys rank second in the league with a .494 team slugging percentage.
• Through the first 12 games, nine different position players have made their OSU debuts while 10 different pitchers have toed the pitching rubber for the first time as Cowboys.
• Four Cowboys - Dane Phillips, Gabe Weidenaar, Zach Johnson and Luis Uribe - rank among the top 14 hitters in the Big 12.
• OSU has turned 15 double plays this season, which ranks as the second most in the conference.
