Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Begin Postseason In Bricktown
May 20, 2013 | Cowboy Baseball
May 20, 2013
OSU Game Notes - Big 12 Championship
#2-seed Oklahoma State (39-14)
at the Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship
May 22-26 • Oklahoma City
Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark (9,066)
Oklahoma State
On the strength of winning its last four Big 12 Conference series, Oklahoma State finished in second place in the league standings and will be the No. 2 seed at this week's Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship at Oklahoma City's Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. The 12th-ranked Cowboys open tourney play Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. against seventh-seeded TCU. OSU finished with a 13-10 record in conference play and owns the best overall record in the league at 39-14 overall, with their 39 wins marking the program's highest total since 2008 when the Cowboys finished with 44.
The Cowboys rank second in the Big 12 with a .289 batting average, while their 2.79 team ERA is the third lowest in the league.
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 finished 32-25 last season, 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 led a group of 15 returning letterwinners from 2012, while 19 newcomers round out the OSU roster.
Cowboys At The Big 12 Championship
Oklahoma State is making its 15th appearance at the Big 12 Baseball Championship and is 13-27 all time. The Cowboys, who have lost their last four games at the Big 12 Championship, won their only tourney title in 2004.
The Big 12 Championship Field
Oklahoma State is in Division 2 of this year's double-elimination Big 12 tourney field, along with third-seeded West Virginia, sixth-seeded Kansas and seventh-seeded TCU. The Cowboys are 4-5 against teams in their division; they lost 2-of-3 on the road to both TCU and Kansas, while they won twice in three games against West Virginia in Stillwater. The teams in Division 1 of this year's tourney include top-seeded Kansas State, No. 4-seed Oklahoma, No. 5-seed Baylor and No. 8-seed Texas Tech.
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.
Additionally, every game at the Big 12 Baseball Championship will air live on television. All games save the Sunday's championship will air on Fox College Sports, with Chad McKee and Jay Payton on the call. Sunday's title game will be on FSN with Bob Licht and Jack Lazorko in the booth.
Links to 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.
Winning
The goal of college baseball coaches and players is to make it to the College World Series in Omaha, and the OSU coaching staff has plenty of experience in that regard.
The Cowboys' staff of Josh Holliday, Rob Walton and Marty Lees has combined to make 12 CWS appearances as either a player or coach.
Holliday played on a pair of CWS teams at OSU (1996 & 1999) and has coached in the CWS as an assistant at Georgia Tech (2006), Arizona State (2009) and Vanderbilt (2011).
Walton spent four seasons as a pitcher at OSU from 1983-86, and each of those Cowboy teams appeared in the CWS.
As an assistant coach at Oregon State, Lees helped lead the Beavers to Omaha three-straight years from 2005-07, with two of those trips resulting in national championships (2006 & 2007).
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
In January, despite his having not yet coached a game, Baseball America named OSU's Josh Holliday the nation's top college head coach under the age of 40. The top 10 list was compiled based on the voting of coaches and scouts.
In addition, Marty Lees came in at No. 6 on Baseball America's list of the nation's top 10 college assistant coaches. That list was compiled from the votes of 70 Division I head coaches across the country, as well as the input of more than a dozen scouts. Coaches with prior D-I head coaching experience, such as OSU pitching coach Rob Walton, were excluded from the list.
Baseball In Their Blood
Baseball -- and Oklahoma State -- is definitely a family affair for Josh Holliday.
Josh's father, Tom, served as an OSU assistant coach for 19 years then took over as the Cowboys' head coach from 1997-2003, leading the program to its last College World Series appearance in 1999. Tom is currently in his seventh season as the associate head coach at North Carolina State
Josh's younger brother, Matt, is an outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals. In nine major league seasons, Matt has been named to six All-Star teams.
Josh's uncle, Dave Holliday, was an OSU assistant coach from 1981-88 and has since held a variety of roles in Major League Baseball, including his current spot as a professional scout for the Atlanta Braves. Dave's son, Heath, is a senior catcher for the Cowboys this season.
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 836-190 (.815) all time at Reynolds Stadium and has lost more than two consecutive games on their home turf only four times (six in a row in 2007; three straight in 2010, 2012 and 2013).
The Cowboys are 24-7 at home in 2013.
Grab A Snickers
After opening the season at New Mexico, the Cowboys didn't go anywhere for a while. On Feb. 19, OSU opened a 26-game homestand -- which finished at 24 after two cancellations -- at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium, and the Cowboys did not return to the road until the April 5 contest at Kansas.
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 -- 17 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 four walk-off wins this season, three of those coming within the same week. Three of the victories were of the extra-inning variety.
The first came on March 5 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. The Cowboys also walked off against Wichita State, with Zach Fish's 12th-inning, RBI double giving them the victory.
Awards Watch
Several Cowboys are or have been on watch lists for national awards in 2013, including:
• Pitcher Jason Hursh is one of 60 players on the midseason watch list for the Golden Spikes Award, which is given to the nation's top amateur player.
• Vince Wheeland was one of 41 players on the College Baseball Hall of Fame's 2013 Pitcher of the Year Award Watch List.
• Shortstop/pitcher Randy McCurry was one of 25 players on the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award Watch List.
• Victor Romero is one of 15 semifinalists for the Johnny Bench Award given to the top collegiate catcher.
Two-Way Talent
Randy McCurry has proven to be valuable with his arm and his bat during his OSU career and earned All-Big 12 Second Team honors as a utility player a year ago. Now a fifth-year senior, McCurry is continuing that trend in 2013 and was named to the initial John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award Watch List.
Used mostly as a reliever during his career, McCurry's 70 appearances are tied for fifth on OSU's all-time list, and he is 12-9 with 12 saves and a 2.84 ERA, with his 12 saves ranking fourth in program history.
His career offensive numbers include 25 doubles, 58 RBIs and a .296 batting average in 95 games.
McCurry is three 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.
Back On The Bump
Two years ago, Jason Hursh was a highly touted freshman for the Cowboys, coming to Stillwater after a standout prep career that culminated with him being a sixth-round pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft.
In his first collegiate season, the hard-throwing right-hander made 10 appearances, including four starts, and was 1-1 with a 2.73 ERA. But the native Texan was forced to miss the 2012 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
Following the successful procedure, Hursh is back for his redshirt sophomore season in 2013 and proving to be one of the aces of the Cowboys' staff. With a fastball in the mid- to upper 90s in his repertoire, Hursh is listed by Baseball America the as fourth-best prospect in the Big 12 for the 2013 Major League Baseball Draft and came in at No. 22 on MLB.com's list of top draft prospects for this June's draft.
Named to the midseason Golden Spikes Award watch list, Hursh is 6-4 with a 2.78 ERA and three complete games in 14 starts this season, and he has 79 strikeouts in 97.0 innings to rank third in the Big 12. During a four-game stretch earlier this season, he tossed 17.2 scoreless innings.
Wheeland And Dealin'
Cowboy junior Vince Wheeland was one of 41 players on the College Baseball Hall of Fame's 2013 Pitcher of the Year Award Watch List.
A right-hander, Wheeland is 8-1 with a save in a team-high 26 appearances this season. His eight wins are tied for the most among Big 12 pitchers, and he is sixth in the league with a 1.79 ERA.
In 65.1 innings of work, Wheeland has recorded 60 strikeouts, which ranks 10th in the Big 12. He also ranks seventh in the league in opponent batting average at .224.
Making A Sacrifice
Freshman Donnie Walton's 16 sacrifice bunts this season are tied for the most in a single season in OSU history. Walton currently shares the record with Fred Ocasio, who had 16 in 1993.
Clutch When It Counts
Over its last 15 games, OSU is 12-3 and is hitting .329 (53-for-161) with runners in scoring position, with 35 of the Cowboys' 71 RBIs during that span coming with two outs. On the season, OSU is hitting .305 with runners in scoring position (their opponents are at .230) and have 113 two-out RBIs. With 20 two-out RBIs (of his 40 total), Zach Fish leads a group of five Cowboys who have double-digit two-out RBI totals.
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 .329 batting average leads OSU and ranks 10th in the Big 12, and the junior first baseman ranks among the top 10 in the conference in hits (68), runs (38), doubles (13), RBIs (41) and total bases (97).
Fish ranks in the top 10 in the Big 12 in home runs (7), doubles (16), RBIs (40) and total bases (99).
Want more superlatives from this duo?
• Krietemeier has hit safely in 44 of OSU's 53 games this season. He had an 18-game hitting streak snapped in the second game of the Texas series, a streak that marked the longest by an OSU player since 2008 (Rebel Ridling, 20). During the streak, he hit .361 (26-for-72) with three homers, five doubles, 16 RBIs and a .583 slugging percentage.
• Krietemeier has 19 multi-hit games to lead the Cowboys, while Fish's 17 rank third.
• Krietemeier is hitting .380 (30-for-79) with runners in scoring position, while Fish is at .329 (24-for-73).
• Fish leads the Cowboys with 11 multi-RBI games and has collected four RBIs in a game twice.
• Fish was named the Big 12 Player of the Week (March 18) and NCBWA National Hitter of the Week (March 19) after hitting .600 (12-for-20) with eight RBIs in five games during the week of March 11-17.
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, Mark Robinette, Brendan McCurry, Alex Hackerott and Kyle Gehrs.
• OSU sports a 2.79 team ERA, which is the third lowest in the Big 12, and eight Cowboy hurlers with at least seven appearances have an ERA of 3.53 or lower.
• The Cowboys have recorded seven shutouts this season. Weekend starters Jason Hursh, Nurdin and Robinette each have at least one, while eight different pitchers have been a part of a shutout performance.
• Nurdin's 1.76 ERA ranks fifth in the Big 12, and he is second in shutouts (2) and complete games (2).
• Brendan McCurry is 6-2 with a 1.52 ERA, and his eight saves rank fourth in the Big 12. He allowed only one earned run in his 14 first outings (22.2 IP) before giving up three in the ninth in a loss at TCU.
• Hackerott has allowed just one run in 17.1 innings. He is 1-0 with 19 strikeouts in 14 appearances.
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 racked up 73 steals and their opponents just 37. Gage Green leads the Cowboys with 13 stolen bases, while Aaron Cornell has swiped 11.
Fear The 'Stache
Saulyer Saxon ranks second on the Cowboys in batting average (.324) and on-base percentage (.421). The junior became a regular in the OSU starting lineup on March 20 and was one of the Cowboys' top performers in Big 12 play, hitting at a .303 in conference games.
The Color Of Money
OSU has won 12 of its last 15 games and during that stretch, sophomore Gage Green is hitting a team-high .341 with seven RBIs, which includes a 7-for-10, two-RBI showing in the Bedlam Series. Green ranks second on the Cowboys with a .324 average in Big 12 Conference play.
In The Polls
OSU has been ranked in at least one national poll for 12-straight weeks. The Cowboys No. 12 ranking in this week's NCBWA poll is their highest of the season and marks the program's highest since they were No. 11 in the USA Today/ESPN coaches poll on March 16, 2009.
