Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Tangle With Bears Tuesday
March 25, 2013 | Cowboy Baseball
March 25, 2013
OSU Game Notes - Central Arkansas
#18 Oklahoma State (19-4)
vs. Central Arkansas (18-6)
Tuesday, March 26, 6:30 p.m.
Stillwater, Okla. • Allie P. Reynolds Stadium (4,000)
Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State returns to midweek action Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. when the 18th-ranked Cowboys host Central Arkansas at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium, where they have lost just three times this season. OSU, which is coming off a two-game split with Baylor in a weather-shortened series, brings a 19-4 record into Tuesday's contest. Following the UCA game, the Cowboys close out their unprecedented 26-game homestand with Texas in a three-game series that begins Thursday night.
The Cowboys sport a .306 team batting average, which ranks second in the Big 12, while their pitching staff leads the league with a 2.58 ERA.
OSU, which entered the 2013 season as the eighth winningest program in NCAA history with a .664 winning percentage, in its 102nd season of baseball and the program's first under head coach Josh Holliday, a former star for the Cowboys in the 1990s.
The Cowboys are coming off a 2012 season in which they finished 32-25 overall, which included coming in fifth in the Big 12 Conference standings with a 13-11 mark.
A pair of All-Big 12 performers in Robbie Rea and Randy McCurry lead a group of 15 returning letterwinners from 2012, while 19 newcomers round out the OSU roster.
OSU was picked by league coaches to finish fifth in the Big 12 race. Oklahoma was tabbed as the favorite.
About Central Arkansas
Central Arkansas brings an 18-6 record to Stillwater. The Bears were ranked as high as No. 23 nationally last week but fell out of the rankings after being swept in a three-game series at Oral Roberts over the weekend. Led by Forrestt Allday (.407, HR, 21 RBIs), the Bears are hitting .270, while the pitching staff sports a 2.39 ERA.
Expected to start on the mound for the Bears is left-hander Zach Barr, who is 2-0 with a 1.64 ERA in nine appearances this season.
OSU won its only previous meeting with UCA, which came in 2011 in Stillwater. The Cowboys won that game, 5-3.
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 31st 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 32 seasons the Cowboys have been nearly unbeatable on their home field.
OSU is 829-186 (.817) all time at Reynolds Stadium and has lost more than two consecutive games on their home turf only three times (six in a row in 2007; three straight in 2010 and 2012).
The Cowboys are 17-3 at home in 2013.
Grab A Snickers
After opening the season at New Mexico, the Cowboys won't be going anywhere for a while. On Feb. 19, OSU opened a 26-game homestand at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium as the Cowboys will not return to the road until an April 2 game at Oklahoma.
In April and May, OSU will play just seven games on its home field.
Comeback Cowboys & A Little Bit Of Irony
In the second game of the New Mexico series, OSU faced an eight-run deficit after seven innings. Trailing 14-6, the Cowboys rallied for four runs in the eighth and ninth to force extra innings and then won the game with a run in the 13th.
The eight-run deficit marked the largest OSU had overcome to win a game since April 6, 1997, when the Cowboys trailed Texas, 11-0, after 4 1/2 innings in Stillwater before rallying for, ironically, a 15-14 win. Josh Holliday was also a part of that game, playing catcher and third base for the Cowboys and going 1-for-4.
Coming from behind has continued to be a trend for the Cowboys -- nine of OSU's wins this season have come in games in which it has trailed.
It's A Walk Off
The Cowboys have picked up three walk-off wins this season, all coming within the same week. Two of the victories came in the 10th inning.
The first came against Missouri State when Randy McCurry drew a bases-loaded walk in the 10th to bring home the winning run. In its series win over Loyola Marymount, OSU had two walk-off wins. In the opener, Tanner Krietemeier delivered a 10th-inning, walk-off home run, and in the series finale, it was a single by Zach Fish that plated the deciding run with two outs in the ninth.
Aluminum Assault
OSU ranks second in the Big 12 Conference with a .306 team batting average, and the Cowboys' offense tops the league in slugging percentage (.451), runs (158), doubles (50), home runs (18) and RBIs (144).
Nationally, OSU ranks among the NCAA leaders in doubles, slugging percentage, hits, home runs and ERA.
Dynamic Duo
A big reason for the Cowboys' huge offensive numbers is the production of a two-headed monster in the middle of the lineup in the form of Tanner Krietemeier and Zach Fish.
Krietemeier's .393 batting average leads the Cowboys and ranks fourth in the Big 12, and the junior first baseman also ranks among the top 10 in the conference in hits (35), runs (22), homers (3), RBIs (22), total bases (51), on-base percentage (.451) and slugging percentage (.573).
Fish, a sophomore, is hitting .363 and ranks second in the Big 12 in home runs (5), doubles (9), RBIs (26), total bases (59) and slugging percentage (.648).
Want more superlatives from this duo?
• Krietemeier has hit safely in 16-straight games, the longest streak by an OSU player since 2011 (Zach Johnson). During the streak, he is 24-for-64 (.375) with three homers, 14 RBIs and five doubles.
• Krietemeier has reached base safely in 17-straight games.
• Both players have 10 multi-hit games this season, the most by any Cowboy.
• Fish leads the Cowboys with seven multi-RBI games and has collected four RBIs in a game twice.
• Last week, Fish was named the Big 12 Player of the Week and NCBWA National Hitter of the Week after hitting .600 (12-for-20) with eight RBIs in five games during the week of March 11-17.
• Krietemeier is hitting .432 (16-for-37) with runners in scoring position; Fish is 15-for-40 (.375).
Strong-Armed
OSU has also been impressive on the mound in 2013, led by veterans Randy McCurry and Vince Wheeland along with newcomers Tyler Nurdin, Brendan McCurry, Alex Hackerott and Kyle Gehrs.
• OSU sports a Big 12-best 2.58 team ERA, and nine Cowboy hurlers with at least four appearances have an ERA of 3.44 or lower.
• Vince Wheeland is 5-0 in 12 appearances and his five wins are the second most in the Big 12.
• Jason Hursh's 1.23 ERA ranks third in the league, while Wheeland's 1.96 ERA is eighth. Hursh has not allowed an earned run in his last 17.1 innings, while Wheeland has hurled 13.1 consecutive scoreless innings.
• Brendan McCurry is 3-1 with two saves and has allowed one earned run in 10 outings (16.0 IP).
Thievery
A year ago, OSU's opponents stole over twice as many bases (77) as the Cowboys (38). Things are quite different in 2013 as the Cowboys have already racked up 41 steals and their opponents just 16. Gage Green leads the Cowboys with nine steals, while Zach Fish, Aaron Cornell and Jarrett Higgins have swiped six bags apiece. The last time OSU topped 100 stolen bases in a season was 1999 (117).
Coach Holliday Radio Show
OSU head coach Josh Holliday discusses all things Cowboy baseball during a weekly radio show throughout the 2013 season.
The show is hosted by the voice of Cowboy baseball, Rex Holt, and will air live from the Old School Bagel Cafe in Stillwater Mondays from 6-7 p.m. on KSPI 93.7 FM. Fans can also listen to the show online at okstate.tv.
