Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Host Texas Tech In Key Big 12 Series
April 19, 2012 | Cowboy Baseball
April 19, 2012
Oklahoma State (19-17, 5-7)
vs. Texas Tech (22-17, 3-9)
Friday, April 20, 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 21, 2 p.m.
Sunday, April 22, 1 p.m.
Stillwater, Okla. • Allie P. Reynolds Stadium (4,000)
Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State is back at home for Big 12 Conference action this weekend when the Cowboys take on Texas Tech at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium, where they have won 16 of their 19 games this season. OSU is 19-17 on the season and in fifth place in the Big 12 standings with a 5-7 league record.
Led by .300 hitters Robbie Rea and Trey Whaley, the Cowboys are hitting .266 as a team, while the pitching staff sports a 3.12 ERA. In conference play, OSU is hitting .248 with a 3.20 team ERA.
With a host of newcomers on the roster, 18 different players have made their OSU baseball debuts in 2012. The Cowboys are coming off a 2011 season in which they were 35-25, including finishing fourth in the Big 12 Conference standings at 14-12, and earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament Nashville Regional.
OSU head coach Frank Anderson is in his ninth season at the helm of the Cowboys and has led the club to 316 wins and six NCAA Tournament appearances in his career.
The Cowboys are led by a senior class that includes All-Big 12 performers Jared Womack and Gabe Weidenaar, along with four-year starter Mark Ginther.
About Texas Tech
Texas Tech is 22-17 overall and one of four teams tied for the sixth spot in the Big 12 standings with a 3-9 league mark. The Red Raiders are hitting .305, while their pitching staff sports a 3.88 ERA. In conference games, TTU is hitting at a .248 clip and has a 5.25 ERA.
Expected to start on the mound for Texas this weekend are: Fri. - RHP John Neely 3-4, 4.58 Sat. - RHP Duke Von Schamann, 5-3, 1.76 Sun. - RHP Trey Masek, 1-3, 2.91
OSU is 30-25 all time against Texas Tech. Last season, the Cowboys won the series opener against the Red Raiders in Lubbock but dropped the next two games.
Watch, Listen, Follow
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 30th season with Cowboy baseball, will call the action, with Matt "Chief" Davis providing color commentary.
GameTracker live stats for all games can be found at www.okstate.com. Additionally, live online video and audio for all home games not televised can also be accessed at okstate.com (a fee is involved with this service). Video/audio/live stats links are all available on the OSU baseball page under Schedule.
Home Sweet Home
Allie P. Reynolds Stadium has been home to Oklahoma State baseball since 1981, and in those 31-plus seasons the Cowboys have been nearly unbeatable on their home field.
OSU is 804-179 (.818) 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 16-3 at home in 2012.
300 Club
With the Cowboys' series opening win over Bowling Green State, OSU head coach Frank Anderson become just 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.
In his ninth season at OSU, Anderson owns a career record of 316-200, which includes a 115-109 Big 12 mark.
New Faces
OSU's 35-man 2012 roster includes 24 newcomers -- 16 junior college transfers, seven high school players and a Division I transfer.
The group includes JUCO All-Americans Victor Romero and Robbie Rea, as well as Jarrett Higgins, who had a record 64 stolen bases in two seasons at San Jacinto JC.
A talented freshman class includes high school All-American Zach Fish, a 24th-round pick in last year's MLB Draft after hitting 47 home runs as a prep, and Gage Green, a versatile player who can play multiple positions and was a prep star in Texas.
Arizona State transfer Kyle Ottoson is a four-time MLB Draft pick who is currently in the Cowboys' weekend starting pitching rotation.
High Marks
A pair of Cowboys have been ranked among college baseball's best by Baseball America.
Andrew Heaney is listed as the 45th-best overall prospect for the 2012 MLB Draft and the third best-prospect in the Big 12. The southpaw is also rated as the 20th-best player in this year's college baseball junior class.
Third baseman Mark Ginther is considered the 16th-best player in this season's senior class and the 13th-best overall prospect in the conference.
Sophomore right-hander Jason Hursh, who will miss the 2012 season with an injury, is considered the Big 12's sixth-best prospect for the 2013 MLB Draft.
Seniority
Despite the influx of newcomers and youth, OSU has a strong senior class of six proven players.
• Third baseman Mark Ginther is a career .300 hitter who started 148 games for the Cowboys in his first three seasons.
• Shortstop Hunter Bailey started 59 games at year ago and was one of the Cowboys' top hitters down the stretch.
• Catcher Jared Womack and utility player/relief pitcher Gabe Weidenaar were both 2011 All-Big 12 Second Team selections.
• Blake Barnes' 23 relief appearances were second-most on the team last season.
• Transfer Kyle Ottoson was 3-1 in 15 appearances with Arizona State in 2011.
Aluminum Assault
Over the last decade, OSU has established itself among the top hitting clubs in the Big 12.
In the last seven seasons, OSU has led the conference in home runs five times. During that same span, the Cowboys have twice topped the league in batting average and finished second on four occasions.
In 2012, the Cowboys rank second in the Big 12 with 22 home runs.
Flashing The Leather
OSU has recorded a fielding percentage over .970 just seven times in its history, and six of those have come in the last seven years. And the Cowboys are on pace to do it again with a .977 mark that ranks second in the Big 12 this season.
The Cowboys made history in 2010 when they set a school record with a .978 fielding percentage, a mark that ranked fifth nationally.
From 2008-10, OSU tied or set the school record for fielding percentage every year. The Cowboys led the Big 12 in that category in 2008 and 2009.
In 2011, the Cowboys sported a .974 fielding percentage; they also led the Big 12 and ranked third nationally with 73 double plays.
Strong Armed
OSU's pitching staff ranks second in the Big 12 with a 3.12 ERA and four shutouts. The Cowboys lead the league with 322 strikeouts, and they also rank near the top of the NCAA with 9.05 strikeouts per nine innings.
Of the eight pitchers on OSU's staff with at least eight appearances, each of them has an ERA of 3.97 or lower, led by Kyle Bagnell (0.00) and Andrew Heaney (2.14).
In 2011, the Cowboys turned in a 3.79 ERA, the lowest for an OSU team since 1974. That staff also tossed seven shutouts, the most by an OSU group since 1986.
Complete-ly Dominant
With back-to-back shutouts vs. Alabama A&M (March 9) and Houston (March 16), Andrew Heaney became the first OSU pitcher to record consecutive shutouts since Matt Smith in 1998. He is also the first Cowboy since Tyler Lyons in 2008 to post two-straight complete games.
Heaney turned in his third consecutive complete game in a 3-2 win over Missouri.
In those three games, the lefty was 3-0 with 0.67 ERA and 34 strikeouts and did not issue a walk.
Fixture At The Hot Corner
Mark Ginther started 115 straight games for the Cowboys the last two seasons at third base and is back for his senior season after spurning a professional contract with the Chicago White Sox, who drafted him in the 14th round last June.
In 188 career games, Ginther is hitting .302 with 31 home runs, 124 RBIs and a .518 slugging percentage. His 47 doubles are tied for 10th all time at OSU.
Ginther entered the 2012 season as the Big 12's active career leader in games played (152), at-bats (583), hits (178), triples (7), homers (27), RBIs (110) and total bases (313).
As a junior, Ginther was named honorable mention All-Big 12 after hitting .292 and ranking second on OSU with 10 home runs.
Slinging Southpaw
Junior lefty Andrew Heaney highlights OSU's starting pitching rotation in 2012, and he's having a career year.
In his nine starts this season, Heaney is 5-1 with three complete games (two shutouts) and a 2.14 ERA. Named a midseason All-American by Baseball America, he has racked up 85 strikeouts in 67.1 innings and has recorded eight or more strikeouts in seven of his nine appearances.
Heaney has compiled a 17-9 record in 45 career appearances for the Cowboys, including 28 starts. In 2010, he became the first freshman to lead OSU in wins (with 5) since 2001, and a year ago he was 7-4 on the hill.
Over the summer, Heaney was pegged as a top pro prospect in the Cape Cod League after going 4-3 with a 3.38 ERA and racking up 46 strikeouts in 45 innings.
Mr. Versatility
Senior Gabe Weidenaar did a little bit of everything for the Cowboys in 2011, and his versatility is paying dividends again this year.
A native of Montana, Weidenaar was named to the 2011 All-Big 12 Second Team as a utility player. The switch hitter started 54 games in the outfield and one at first base and hit .280, and he also allowed just one earned run in 15 relief appearances on the mound. As a hurler, he ranked second on the team with three saves while compiling a 0.42 ERA and striking out 18 in 21.2 innings.
This season, Weidenaar has played in the outfield and at first base and has made four appearances on the mound.
Record-Setting Rea
JUCO transfer Robbie Rea has been one of OSU's most consistent hitters this season, with 13 multi-hit games and five multi-RBI efforts on his resumé.
Rea's brief time in Stillwater was highlighted by a record-setting performance in the first game of a March 10 doubleheader against Alabama A&M. In that contest, the Cowboy second baseman was 5-for-5 at the plate with three home runs, two doubles and nine RBIs.
With the three homers, Rea became just the 10th Cowboy in history to homer three times in a game, a feat that has been achieved just 13 times in OSU history and hadn't been done since 2009.
Rea's 16 total bases also tied a Big 12 record, and his nine RBIs in the game were one short of the OSU record and also fell one shy of the Big 12 record.
Rea is hitting .326 and is among the Big 12 leaders in hits (47), homers (5), doubles (13) and total bases (75).
Thievery
Last season, no OSU player finished with more than six stolen bases. In 28 games this year, junior Jarrett Higgins already has 15 steals (on 19 attempts). And with 25 steals, the Cowboys are only four away from their 2011 season total.
Mowing 'Em Down
Chase Stevens has been one of the Cowboys' most impressive newcomers on the mound in 2012.
In 13 appearances, Stevens is 3-4 with a 3.38 ERA and has racked up 57 strikeouts in 40.0 innings. A right-hander who came to OSU after two years at Seminole State JC, he ranks among the NCAA leaders in strikeouts per nine innings (12.82), and opponents are hitting just .191 against him, which ranks second in the Big 12.
In his first career start, against Dallas Baptist, he struck out 10 in seven innings for the win and followed that by racking up 13 Ks in five innings of relief against Bowling Green State, including a stretch in which he struck out 10-straight Falcons.
Fab Frosh
Zach Fish's first hit as a Cowboy was a grand slam vs. Dallas Baptist, and the freshman from Michigan has continued to provide power in the OSU lineup as he is among the team leaders in home runs (4), doubles (9), slugging percentage (.452), RBIs (21) and total bases (56).
Spending time in right field and as the Cowboys' DH, Fish had a 14-game hitting streak earlier this season, the third longest in the Big 12 in 2012.
Fellow freshman Wes Jones has started 30 games at first base and is hitting .253 with 14 RBIs
Short Hops
Robbie Rea is OSU's leading hitter in Big 12 Conference play with a .327 average, while Jarrett Higgins, Gabe Weidenaar and Jared Womack share the team lead with six RBIs apiece vs. league foes ... Blake Barnes has pitched in six of the Cowboys' 12 conference games and is 2-1 with a save and a 1.35 ERA ... OSU has recorded 49 two-out RBIs on the season; its opponents have 51 ... the Cowboys are hitting .259 with runners in scoring position; their opponents are at .249.
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