Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Set To Battle St. Gregory's
March 07, 2011 | Cowboy Baseball
March 7, 2011
OSU Game Notes vs. St. Gregory's in PDF Format
Oklahoma State (8-3)
vs. St. Gregory's (4-11)
. . .
March 8 • 4 p.m. • Stillwater, Okla.
Allie P. Reynolds Stadium (4,000)
Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State is 8-3 on the season and returns to Stillwater for a Tuesday contest against in-state foe St. Gregory's at 4 p.m. at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium. The Cowboys are fresh off winning the 2011 Dairy Queen Classic championship in Tucson, Ariz., where they bounced back after a tourney opening loss to win two-straight games and claim the title. Following the midweek contest against the Cavaliers, OSU will host a three-game weekend series against New Mexico, then be back in action at home against Central Arkansas next Tuesday before opening Big 12 Conference play March 18 at Kansas.
The Cowboys rank second in the Big 12 Conference in batting average (.326) and ERA (2.73), and their starting lineup includes four of the top 13 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 270 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 St. Gregory's
An NAIA team from Shawnee, Okla., St. Gregory's is 4-11 on the season and has lost eight-straight games.
The Cowboys and Cavaliers have met once before on the diamond, that coming last season in Stillwater and resulting in a 9-4 OSU win.
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 769-170 (.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 6-2 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 270-161, which includes a 96-90 mark in Big 12 play. He ranks fourth on OSU's all-time coaching wins list, 11 wins shy of third-place Tom Holliday's 281.
Smooth Transitions
Several newcomers have had immediate impacts for the Cowboys in 2011.
JUCO transfers Gabe Weidenaar, Hunter Bailey and Zach Johnson have each earned starting spots and rank among OSU's top performers thus far.
A native of Montana, Weidenaar is second on the Cowboys and fourth in the Big 12 with a .447 batting average. In the season opening series vs. Bryant, the switch hitter was 7-for-10 at the plate. He has hit safely in 10 of OSU's 11 games this season and also picked up a save on the mound in the series finale against Cal Poly.
Not to be outdone is Zach Johnson, who has started 10 games at first base for the Cowboys. He has hit safely in all 10 outings and leads the club in RBIs (12) while ranking third with a .375 batting average.
Bailey has been the Cowboys' starting shortstop in 10 games. In a three-game stretch vs. Cal Poly, he went 4-for-10 with a pair of doubles and two RBIs, and he followed that by earning all-tournament honors at the Dairy Queen Classic last week.
Another newcomer, freshman Jason Hursh, has twice found himself in the weekend pitching rotation as the Cowboys' Sunday starter.
A right-hander and former sixth-round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Hursh is 1-0 with a 1.69 ERA in his first two collegiate starts.
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 .336 (48-for-143) with runners in scoring position.
• OSU sophomore Dane Phillips is fourth in the Big 12 with a .717 slugging percentage. The Cowboys rank second in the league with a .492 team slugging percentage.
• Through the first 11 games, eight 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 13 hitters in the Big 12.
• OSU has turned 12 double plays this season, which ranks as the third most in the conference.
