Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Set To Clash With Ohio State
May 07, 2012 | Cowboy Baseball
May 7, 2012
#25 Oklahoma State (28-18)
vs. Ohio State (27-20)
Tuesday, May 8, 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday, May 9, 6:30 p.m.
Stillwater, Okla.
Allie P. Reynolds Stadium (4,000)
Oklahoma State
Winners of 10 of its last 11 games, Oklahoma State returns home for a pair of midweek games against Ohio State at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium. The Cowboys and Buckeyes will square off at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday and conclude the series Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. The Cowboys are 28-18 overall and in a three-way tie -- along with Texas and Texas A&M -- for second place in the Big 12 Conference standings with a 13-8 mark on the strength of winning three-straight league series. OSU faces Texas A&M in its final Big 12 series of the season May 17-19 in Stillwater.
Led by Robbie Rea and Trey Whaley, the Cowboys are hitting .271 as a team, while the pitching staff sports a 2.92 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 is now the second-winningest coach in program history. He has led the club to 325 wins and six NCAA Tournament appearances in his career.
About Ohio State
Ohio State is 27-20 overall, which includes a 6-11 mark on the road. The Buckeyes are hitting .270 and own a 4.33 ERA.
In Tuesday's game, right-hander Brett McKinney (4-5, 3.34) is expected to start on the mound with Wednesday's starter yet to be determined.
OSU is 1-4 all time against Ohio State. Last season, the Cowboys traveled to Columbus, Ohio, for a midweek series and defeated the Buckeyes 16-3 before losing the finale by a 3-2 margin. OSU also lost to Ohio State in 1994 at the Gator/Louisville Slugfest in Gainesville, Fla., and twice in the 1966 College World Series, including an 8-2 loss in the NCAA championship game.
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 be accessed via 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 808-179 (.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 20-3 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 325-201, which includes a 123-110 Big 12 mark.
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 .979 mark that is the best in the Big 12 and ranks sixth nationally 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 is second in the Big 12 with a 2.92 ERA and leads the league with 394 strikeouts, six shutouts and a .229 batting average by its opponents. The Cowboys are also among top 10 in the NCAA in strikeouts per nine innings (8.64) and hits allowed per nine innings (7.51) and WHIP (1.16).
Of the nine pitchers on OSU's staff with at least nine appearances, each of them has an ERA of 3.65 or lower, led by Kyle Bagnell (0.00) and Andrew Heaney (1.65).
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.
Heaney added his fourth complete game and third shutout on May 4 against Oklahoma. In that game, he struck out seven and allowed just one walk and three hits. Only two Sooners advanced past first base, and he retired 13-straight batters to end the game.
With three shutouts, Heaney is tied for fifth on OSU's career list, two shy of all-time leader John Farrell.
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 198 career games, Ginther is hitting .298 with 31 home runs, 133 RBIs and a .506 slugging percentage. His 48 doubles rank10th 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 12 starts this season, Heaney is 7-1 with four complete games (three shutouts) and a 1.65 ERA. Named to the Golden Spikes Award Watch List, he ranks second in the NCAA with 109 strikeouts in 93.0 innings and has recorded eight or more strikeouts in nine of his 12 appearances.
Heaney has compiled a 19-9 record in 48 career appearances for the Cowboys, including 31 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.
Two-Way Talent
Randy McCurry has emerged as a force at the plate as well as the mound.
On April 22, the junior served as the Cowboys' starting pitcher and DH vs. Texas Tech and delivered a double in his first at bat of the year. He's remained in the DH role over the last eight games and is 10-for-28 with a home run and seven RBIs. He's also 3-2 with a 3.33 ERA in 11 pitching appearances..
McCurry is two years removed from Tommy John surgery after he suffered a season-ending elbow injury in OSU's 2010 season opener. As a freshman in 2009, he tied OSU's single-season record with 10 saves. In a team-high 28 appearances, he was also 4-1 with a team-best 2.16 ERA and 54 Ks in 41.2 innings.
Thievery
Last season, no Cowboy finished with more than six stolen bases. In 35 games this year, Jarrett Higgins has 17 steals (on 22 attempts). And with 32 steals, OSU has already surpassed its 2011 season total of 29.
Record-Setting Rea
JUCO transfer Robbie Rea has been one of OSU's most consistent hitters this season, with 17 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 .328 and is among the Big 12 leaders in hits (58), home runs (5), doubles (15) and total bases (88).
Shot In The Arms
OSU's pitching rotation got a boost this season with the addition of left-hander Kyle Ottoson. The senior transferred from Arizona State and can play for the Cowboys in 2012 due to the Sun Devils being ineligible for NCAA postseason play.
In 11 appearances this season (10 starts), Ottoson is 4-6 and has maintained a 3.65 ERA. He has worked a least seven innings in five of his last seven starts, three of those in Big 12 play.
Ottoson has been drafted in each of the last four MLB Drafts and is coming off a season at ASU in which he was 3-1 with a 3.38 ERA and had 48 strikeouts in 53.1 innings.
The Century MarK
With 109 strikeouts, Andrew Heaney is the first OSU pitcher to reach 100 Ks in a season since Matt Smith racked up 114 in 2000.
Mowing 'Em Down
Chase Stevens has been one of OSU's most impressive pitchers in 2012.
In 17 appearances, Stevens is 5-4 with a 3.15 ERA and has racked up 69 strikeouts in 54.1 innings. A right-hander who came to OSU from Seminole State JC, he ranks eighth in the NCAA in strikeouts per nine innings (11.43), and opponents are hitting just .191 against him, which ranks third 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 with 13 Ks in five innings of relief vs. Bowling Green, including a stretch in which he struck out 10 in a row.
Barnes Baffling Big 12
Blake Barnes has made a team-high 21 appearances this season and has become a stopper out of the bullpen in Big 12 play.
A senior right-hander, Barnes has pitched in 11 of the Cowboys' 21 conference games and is 4-1 with two saves and a 0.95 ERA. He has 24 strikeouts in 28.1 innings, and league opponents are hitting just .210 against him.
In a team-high 21 appearances, Barnes is 5-3 with three saves and a 2.83 ERA.
Short Hops
OSU has recorded 76 two-out RBIs on the season; its opponents have 61 ... the Cowboys are hitting .274 with runners in scoring position; their opponents .240.
