Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Set To Open 2014 Season
February 13, 2014 | Cowboy Baseball
Feb. 13, 2014
OSU Game Notes - UTA/Hilton Invitational
#18 Oklahoma State
at the UTA/Hilton Invitational
Feb. 14 vs. Incarnate Word - 11 a.m.
Feb. 15 vs. Stephen F. Austin - 11 a.m.
Feb. 16 vs. UT Arlington - 3 p.m.
Arlington, Texas • Clay Gould Ballpark (1,600)
Oklahoma State
The second year of the Josh Holliday head coaching era begins Feb. 14 in Arlington, Texas, as Oklahoma State opens the 2014 season at the UTA/Hilton Invitational. The Cowboys begin their 103rd season against Incarnate Word Friday at 11 a.m. before closing out the tourney with Stephen F. Austin Saturday at 11 a.m. and host UT Arlington at 3 p.m. on Sunday.
OSU is coming off a 41-19 season in which the Pokes finished second in the Big 12 Conference standings and advanced to the finals of the NCAA Louisville Regional. Six position starters and seven pitchers return from that ball club, including eight players who earned all-conference recognition, and the Cowboys' recruiting class was ranked among the top five in the nation.
In 2013, OSU finished second in the Big 12 with a .283 team batting average, while its pitching staff sported a 3.04 ERA, the lowest by a Cowboy pitching staff since 1973.
The UTA/Hilton Invitational Field
Incarnate Word enters its first season of competition at the Division I level in 2014. A year ago, the Cardinals finished with a 26-26 mark. Coach Danny Heep's club returns 12 letterwinners, including seven starters, from a year ago. OSU has never faced UWI on the diamond.
Stephen F. Austin is coming off a 28-29 campaign a year ago and returns three starters in 2014. OSU is 8-0 all time against SFA, with the last meeting coming in a midweek series in Stillwater in 1994. The Cowboys won those two games, 22-9 and 5-0.
Tourney host UT Arlington finished 2013 with a 31-27 mark and won its second-straight conference title. Seven position starters and 18 letterwinners return from that club, led by All-American outfielder Matt Shortall. OSU is 17-5 all time against UTA, with the last meeting resulting in a 10-1 win by the Cowboys in Stillwater during the 2010 season.
Watch, Listen, Follow
All OSU baseball games are carried live by Stillwater Radio. Friday's game will air on KSPI 93.7 FM with Saturday's and Sunday's contests on KGFY 105.5 FM. Rex Holt, who is in his 32nd season with Cowboy baseball, will call the action, with Matt "Chief" Davis providing color commentary.
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.
In The Polls
OSU is nationally ranked in four preseason polls. The Cowboys are ranked 18th by USA Today and Collegiate Baseball, 19th in the NCBWA poll and 23rd by Perfect Game.
The Cowboys were been ranked in at least one national poll for the final 14 weeks of 2013. The Cowboys peaked at No. 12 in the NCBWA poll on May 20, which marked the program's highest ranking since it was No. 11 in the USA Today/ESPN coaches poll on March 16, 2009.
It's Not Where You Start...
Oklahoma State was picked to finish second in the Big 12 Conference standings in 2014 in a preseason vote of the league's head coaches.
Defending champion Kansas State was picked to retain its crown, and the Cowboys and TCU tied for the second spot in the poll. K-State received five first-place votes, while OSU picked up two and TCU one. Texas, which was picked fourth, garnered the other first place vote.
OSU's second-place spot ties its highest ever in the Big 12 preseason coaches' poll. The Cowboys were also picked to finish second in 2007 and eventually finished third in the final standings.
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 2013, 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 eighth season as the associate head coach at North Carolina State.
Josh's younger brother, Matt, is an outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals. In 10 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 April 4, 1981, and in those 33 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 were 24-7 at home in 2013.
I Feel A Draft
OSU has eight players on its 2014 roster who have been Major League Baseball Draft picks: Conor Costello (2011, Cincinnati, 16th round), Zach Fish (2011, Texas, 24th), Thomas Hatch (2013, Colorado, 32nd), Heath Holliday (2009, Colorado, 45th), Tyler Nurdin (2011, Cleveland, 28th), Andrew Rosa (2013, Boston, 30th), Donnie Walton (2012, NY Mets, 36th) and Garrett Williams (2013, San Diego, 33rd).
Big 12 Elite
OSU had 11 players garner All-Big 12 accolades in 2013, the program's highest total since 2008, and eight of those players return this season. Relief pitcher Vince Wheeland and outfielder Zach Fish were named to the first team, while infielder Tanner Krietemeier earned second-team honors.
Selected as honorable mention performers were pitchers Tyler Nurdin and Mark Robinette, outfielder Saulyer Saxon, utility player Brendan McCurry and infielder Donnie Walton, who was also named to the Big 12 All-Freshman Team.
Great Expectations
OSU's 35-man roster consists of 18 newcomers, and the Cowboys' recruiting class was ranked No. 4 nationally by Baseball America and No. 5 by College Baseball.
Fab Frosh
Baseball America ranked the top 50 players nationally for the 2014 freshman class, and three Cowboys were among the top 25 on the list. Two-way threat Garrett Williams came in at No. 6, while outfielder Ryan Sluder took the 20th spot and pitcher Thomas Hatch came in at No. 25.
Additionally, Baseball America ranked Williams as its preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year.
The Scouts Will Be Watching
Baseball America ranked a pair of Cowboy juniors among the top prospects in the Big 12 for the 2014 Major League Baseball Draft, with Zach Fish coming in at No. 8 on their list and Tyler Nurdin taking the ninth spot.
For the 2015 Draft, Baseball America ranks Conor Costello, who is a draft-eligible sophomore, as the conference's eighth-best MLB Draft prospect, while Donnie Walton comes in at No. 10.
Clutch When It Counts
During the 2013 season, OSU hit .300 (205-for-683) with runners in scoring position. Saulyer Saxon led the Cowboys with a .375 average with runners in scoring position, while Tanner Krietemeier (.368) and Aaron Cornell (.342) also boasted impressive showings.
A year ago, the Cowboys also collected 128 two-out RBIs. Zach Fish's 21 led the way, while Tanner Krietemeier had 15 and Donnie Walton 11.
Comeback Cowboys
Coming from behind was a trend for the Cowboys last season -- 18 of OSU's wins in 2013 came in games in which they trailed.
Thievery
OSU swiped nearly twice as many bases as their opponents in 2013 as the Cowboys racked up 80 stolen bases and allowed just 42. The 80 steals was the second-highest total in the program in the last decade. Gage Green led the Pokes with 13 stolen bases, while Aaron Cornell swiped 12.
Strong-Armed
Under the direction of pitching coach Rob Walton, the OSU pitching staff was impressive on the mound in 2013. The Cowboys finished with 41 wins on the season, and seven pitchers who combined for 30 of those wins return this season.
Among the accomplishments of the 2013 staff were:
• OSU finished the season with a 3.04 team ERA, the lowest by a Cowboy pitching staff since 1973.
• Eight Cowboy hurlers with at least 14 appearances had an ERA of 3.58 or lower.
• The Cowboys recorded seven shutouts, a total the program had reached just once in the previous 26 years and only four times in program history.
• OSU ranked seventh in the NCAA in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.02), and the Cowboys were 11th nationally in walks allowed per nine innings (2.47).
• Two Cowboy pitchers finished in the top 10 in the Big 12 in ERA -- Tyler Nurdin was fifth at 1.89, while Vince Wheeland was sixth at 1.97.
• Brendan McCurry tied for fifth in the Big 12 with eight saves.
• Vince Wheeland and Mark Robinette ranked in the top 10 in the Big 12 in opponent batting average. Opponents hit .219 against Wheeland and .228 against Robinette.
Wheeland And Dealin'
Cowboy senior Vince Wheeland is hoping to build on his breakout performance of a year ago when he was an All-Big 12 First Team selection and one of 41 players on the College Baseball Hall of Fame's 2013 Pitcher of the Year Award Watch List.
A right-hander, Wheeland made 30 appearances last season, the second most in a single season in program history, and was 8-2 with two saves and a 1.97 ERA.
In 73.0 innings of work, Wheeland recorded 64 strikeouts, and he ranks fifth in the league in opponent batting average at .219.
Slamming The Door
OSU senior Brendan McCurry is one of 50 relievers on the 2014 NCBWA Stopper of the Year Watch List.
The right-handed McCurry was named All-Big 12 Conference Honorable Mention as a utility player a year ago after going 6-3 with eight saves and a 2.72 ERA. His 29 appearances and eight saves each tied for fifth on OSU's single-season charts, and he also recorded 35 strikeouts in 46.1 innings.
Dynamic Duo, Part I
In senior righty Mark Robinette and junior southpaw Tyler Nurdin, the Cowboys return two-thirds of their weekend starting rotation from last season. Both earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honors in 2013.
That duo combined for 11 wins, three complete games and three shutouts in 27 starts. The pair also combined for 123 strikeouts in 156.0 innings.
Dynamic Duo, Part II
The Cowboys ranked either first or second in the Big 12 in six offensive categories in 2013 and a big reason for that was the two-headed monster in the middle of the lineup in the form of All-Big 12 performers Tanner Krietemeier and Zach Fish.
• Krietemeier's .314 batting average led OSU, and the first baseman ranked among the top 10 in the Big 12 in hits (72), walks (33) and RBIs (45).
• Fish ranked in the top 10 in the Big 12 in home runs (7), doubles (17), RBIs (41) and total bases (103).
• Krietemeier had an 18-game hitting streak, 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. He also led the Cowboys with a 24-game streak of reaching base safely.
• Krietemeier had 20 multi-hit games to lead the Cowboys, while Fish's 19 ranked third.
• Krietemeier hit .368 (32-for-87) with runners in scoring position, while Fish is at .338 (27-for-80).
• Fish led the Cowboys with a .451 slugging percentage and 11 multi-RBI games.
Making A Sacrifice
Donnie Walton's 18 sacrifice bunts as a freshman in 2013 set an OSU single-season record. Walton broke the previous record of Fred Ocasio, who had 16 in 1993.
Streakers
Several Cowboys carry hitting streaks into the 2014 season. Donnie Walton hit safely in the final seven games of last season, while Gage Green (3), Zach Fish (2) and Corey Hassel (2) also have active streaks.
