Oklahoma State University Athletics
Four Games In Four Days On Tap For Cowboys
February 18, 2015 | Cowboy Baseball
Fri., Feb. 20 vs. Washington State - 5:30 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 21 vs. Utah - 2 p.m.
Sun., Feb. 22 vs. Washington - 1 p.m.
Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State concludes its trip to Arizona with an appearance in the Big 12/Pac-12 Challenge, where the Cowboys will play four games in four days at three different Major League Baseball Spring Training complexes. The ninth-ranked Pokes, who opened the the 2015 season by going 1-2 at Arizona State, will open tourney play against Oregon State Thursday in Surprise, Ariz., before concluding their stay in Surprise with a Friday contest against Washington State. On Saturday, OSU will face Utah in Mesa, Ariz., before capping the weekend with a game against Washington in Peoria.
The Cowboys are in their third season under head coach Josh Holliday, and the defending Big 12 Conference champions are coming off a year in which they went 48-18, advanced to an NCAA Super Regional and finished 10th in the national rankings. Five position players who made at least 29 starts last season return in 2015, as do 12 members of the pitching staff. Among that group are All-Big 12 performers Gage Green, Donnie Walton, Jon Perrin and Tim Arakawa.
About The Opponents
Oregon State, which was an NCAA Regional team last season, opened the 2015 campaign with a 2-2 mark, beating Northwestern and Michigan State in its first two games before losing twice to New Mexico. OSU is 1-2 in three meetings against the Beavers, the last of which was a 7-5 Cowboy victory at the Palm Springs Invitational in 2009.
Washington State also brings a .500 record into the tourney as the 2-2 Cougars claim wins over Stephen F. Austin and UT Arlington and losses to Stephen F. Austin and Missouri State. OSU owns a 4-2 all-time mark against WSU, with the last meeting coming in 2011 at the Dairy Queen Classic in Tucson, Ariz., and resulting in a 13-2 win by the Cougars.
Utah is 1-3 on the season, opening 2015 with a win at Sacramento State before dropping the next three games of the series. OSU has never faced the Utes on the baseball diamond.
An NCAA Regional team a year ago, Washington is off to a 4-0 start after sweeping a four-game series at Pacific on opening weekend. OSU is 3-1 all time against the Huskies; the last meeting came during the 2011 season in Stillwater with the Cowboys winning 4-2 midweek contest in 11 innings.
Watch, Listen, Follow
All OSU baseball games are carried live by Stillwater Radio and air on KSPI 93.7 FM or 780 AM. Rex Holt, who is in his 33rd season on the air with Cowboy baseball, will call the action.
Live stats for all games can be found at www.okstate.com, with links available under the Schedule tab on the baseball home page. Additionally, fans can follow the official OSU Baseball twitter page, @OSUBaseball, for in-game updates.
In The Polls
OSU is nationally ranked in six polls this week and is as high as No. 9 by Baseball America. The Cowboys are also ranked 10th by Collegiate Baseball, 16th by the NCBWA and 19th by both D1Baseball.com and Perfect Game. (Note: A USA Today Coaches Poll has not been released this week; OSU was ranked seventh in that preseason poll).
OSU has been ranked in at least one national poll for 34 consecutive weeks dating back to 2013, when OSU was in the polls for the final 14 weeks of the season, and they have now occupied a spot in the top 10 for nine-straight weeks. They were ranked as high as No. 3 (NCBWA) in 2014 and finished the season ranked 10th in each of the final polls, marking the 19th time in program history OSU ended the season in the top 10 in the national polls.
Countdown to 2,500
Oklahoma State is just 24 wins shy of becoming only the 14th program in Division I history to reach 2,500 victories. Of the 13 who have achieved that feat, only one has played fewer season's than OSU's 104 (Florida State with 68).
OSU entered the 2015 season ranked sixth all time in NCAA history with a .665 winning percentage.
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 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 via 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 (and coaching Josh in his final three collegiate seasons). Tom is currently in his first season as the associate head coach at Auburn.
Josh's younger brother, Matt, is an outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals. In 11 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.
Home Sweet Home
Allie P. Reynolds Stadium has been home to Oklahoma State baseball since April 4, 1981, and in those 34 seasons, the Cowboys have been nearly unbeatable on their home field. OSU is 861-200 (.811) all time at Reynolds Stadium and has lost more than two consecutive games on their home turf only five times (six in a row in 2007; three straight in 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2014).
The Cowboys were 25-10 at home in 2014.
Comeback Cowboys
Come-from-behind victories have become a trend for the Cowboys under Josh Holliday. OSU has overcome deficits to win 46 games over the last two seasons, notching 28 comeback wins a year ago and 18 such triumphs in 2013.
Winning Ways
Oklahoma State's 48 wins in 2014 marked its highest total since the 1994 Cowboys had 49. The program's last 50-win season came in 1990 (56). The Cowboys' 48 wins tied for the fifth most in the NCAA in 2014, and at 48-16, their .727 winning percentage ranked eighth nationally.
Streakers
OSU opened the 2014 season 7-0, marking the best start to a season since the 1995 Cowboys won 11 in a row to open the year. After 11 games, the Pokes were 10-1, and you would also have to go back to 1995 to find the last time OSU had a better record in its first 11 games.
During the 2014 campaign, the Cowboys also turned in a 12-game winning streak, which ran from April 26-May 16 and tied for their longest as members of the Big 12. OSU also won 12 in a row in 2008 and 1998, with their longest streak prior to that coming as members of the Big Eight when they won 15 straight in 1996.
Big 12's Best
Oklahoma State captured the 31st conference championship in program history in 2014, winning the Big 12 Conference regular season title for the first time in history (the Cowboys won a Big 12 tourney title in 2004). Josh Holliday became the first-ever Cowboy boss to earn Big 12 Coach of the Year honors, while junior Zach Fish became OSU's second Big 12 Player of the Year and was one of 11 Cowboys to earn All-Big 12 accolades. Four players named All-Big 12 last season return in 2015 -- catcher Gage Green, infielder Donnie Walton and pitcher Jon Perrin, who were each first-team honorees, and infielder Tim Arakawa, who was a second-team selection.
The Cowboys also return a pair of pitchers -- Blake Battenfield and Tyler Buffett -- who were named to the Big 12 All-Freshman Team in 2014.
I Feel A Draft
OSU has 10 players on its 2015 roster who have been Major League Baseball Draft picks: Kevin Bradley (2012, Colorado, 36th round), Conor Costello (2011, Cincinnati, 16th), Thomas Hatch (2013, Colorado, 32nd), Jon Littell (2014, Washington, 39th), Tyler Nurdin (2011, Cleveland, 28th), Jon Perrin (2014, Detroit, 33rd), David Petrino (2014, Chicago Cubs, 39th), Andrew Rosa (2013, Boston, 30th), Donnie Walton (2012, NY Mets, 36th) and Garrett Williams (2013, San Diego, 33rd).
Close Calls
In OSU's opening weekend series at Arizona State, the three games were decided by a combined total of four runs. The two teams played a pair of one-run contests, with OSU going 1-1 in those, while ASU also claimed a two-run victory.
OSU was 11-1 in one-run ball games last season and 11-3 in contests decided by two runs.
Small Ball
OSU has smashed program records for sacrifice bunts each of the last two years. A year ago, the Cowboys were third nationally with 88 sacrifice bunts, which trumped the 2013 team's 74 sac bunts to set a program record. Donnie Walton ranked fourth in the NCAA in 2014 with 22 sac bunts, while Gage Green tallied 11.
Power Surge
In 2014, OSU led the Big 12 and was eighth nationally with 53 home runs, and 14 different Cowboys homered. OSU's 53 homers was 23 more than the next-highest Big 12 team.
While the Cowboys' top-two home run hitters from a year ago (Zach Fish and Tanner Krietmeier) are gone, nine players who combined for 29 round trippers return in 2015, led by Conor Costello who had nine.
Strong-Armed
In two seasons under the direction of coach Rob Walton, OSU's pitching staff has turned in some impressive numbers. In 2013, the Cowboys' 3.04 team ERA was the lowest by an OSU pitching staff since 1973. They followed that last season by ranking second in the Big 12 in strikeouts (479) and saves (21), and in the Cowboys' 24 conference games, the staff recorded a league-best 2.43 ERA with Big 12 opponents only hitting .232 against them.
OSU recorded seven shutouts in both 2013 and 2014, marking just the fourth and fifth times in program history the Cowboys had reached that mark. In the 26 seasons prior to 2013, the program had reached seven shutouts only once.
Over the last two seasons, OSU has also had a pitcher drafted in the first round of the Major League Baseball Draft (Jason Hursh in 2013) and a hurler earn consensus All-America honors (Brendan McCurry).
The Cowboys return eight pitchers in 2015 who combined for 30 of OSU's 48 wins a year ago. Of those eight, four of them turned in an ERA of 3.00 or less.
It's A Walk Off
OSU recorded five walk-off wins in 2014. Tim Arakawa was the hero twice with two-out, walk-off singles. The first of those was a two-RBI hit on March 15 that gave the Cowboys a 7-6 win over Texas-Pan American. The junior's second walk-off single came vs. TCU on March 29 in a 2-1 OSU win.
On March 25, Gage Green delivered a walk-off double in the 11th inning to lift OSU to a 3-2 win over Missouri State, and on May 3, it was Donnie Walton with a walk-off single in the 11th to beat Arizona State.
The Cowboys clinched the Big 12 title outright in walk-off fashion when Craig McConaughy scored on an error in the bottom of the ninth inning following a Saulyer Saxon infield single to give OSU a 2-1 win over Oklahoma.
The Pen Was Mighty
OSU's bullpen was the strength of its pitching staff in 2014 as Cowboy relievers combined to go 31-2 with 21 saves in 187 relief appearances. The bullpen racked up 286 strikeouts in 322.0 innings of relief and allowed only 87 earned runs (for a 2.43 ERA).
Among the Cowboys' top returners in the bullpen in 2015 are Blake Battenfield, Alex Hackerott and Trey Cobb, who combined for eight wins in 73 appearances last season.
Ball Four, Take Your Base
OSU ranked seventh out of nine Big 12 teams in batting average (.275) last season, but the Cowboys led the league with a .385 on-base percentage. The reason? OSU topped the conference and ranked second nationally with 324 walks, 36 more than the next-highest Big 12 team.
Making A Sacrifice
Donnie Walton has rewritten the OSU record books when it comes to sacrifice bunting. As a freshman in 2013, he set OSU's single-season record with 18 sac bunts, and he broke that last season with 22.
After only two seasons, Walton already owns OSU's career record for sacrifice bunts with his 40 breaking the previous mark of Fred Ocasio, who finished his career in 1994 with 36.
Versatile, Dependable, Productive
All those adjectives can be used to describe Cowboy senior Gage Green.
A year ago, the Texan led OSU with a .310 batting average and 20 stolen bases while turning in a .392 on-base percentage and recording 24 multi-hit games. He also ranked in the top 10 in the Big 12 with 74 hits.
And it's a safe bet that Green is one of a very few collegiate players -- and likely the only one -- splitting time between catcher and the outfield. Of his 62 starts during his junior season, 25 were behind the plate, 23 were in center field and 14 came in left field. He was named to the All-Big 12 First Team as a catcher.
Green is also flexible when it comes to filling out the lineup -- he hit in the leadoff spot in the batting order 15 times, while the rest of his time was divided between the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh spots.
Friday Night Lights
Jon Perrin returns to the Cowboy pitching rotation for his senior season despite being a 33rd-round pick of the Detroit Tigers last June, and his return helps bolster the OSU staff.
Perrin started his junior season in the Cowboy bullpen, but in mid-March he made his first start against UTPA. The right-hander started every Friday the rest of the way, and the move to the weekend paid big dividends.
After a no-decision against UTPA, Perrin took losses against Baylor and TCU despite solid outings. However, in his next three starts, he went 3-0 and allowed just one run in 21.1 innings.
A native of Olathe, Kan., Perrin turned in career performances against both Big 12 teams from his home state. On April 18, he recorded his first-career shutout in a 7-0 win over Kansas, racking up nine strikeouts while issuing just one walk and allowing only six hits, all singles. At K-State, he notched another shutout, this one an 8-0 victory, and set a career high with 10 strikeouts. He gave up just four hits, all singles, and no runners advanced past second base that performance.
On the season, Perrin, who was named to the All-Big 12 First Team, was 8-5 with a 2.38 ERA, which ranked as the fourth lowest in the Big 12. He also ranked in the top 10 in the conference in six other categories: wins, shutouts (2), complete games (2), innings pitched (102.0), strikeouts (81) and opponent batting average (.249).
Hawaiian Punch
Tim Arakawa proved to be quite a clutch hitter in his first season in a Cowboy uniform in 2014, and that ability resulted in 13 multi-RBI games and 44 RBIs overall for the Honolulu native, helping him earn All-Big 12 Second Team honors. Arakawa put the Cowboys ahead on the scoreboard with RBIs 16 times last year, and on eight of those occasions, he either drove in what proved to be the winning runs or were walk-off runs. On three other occasions, he collected game-tying RBIs in contests that OSU went on to win.
Arakawa finished the season ranked second in the Big 12 and 11th nationally in walks (47), and his 15 stolen bases tied for eight most in the Big 12.
Battenfield Blanks Opposition
Blake Battenfield had an impressive start to his OSU career as a freshman in 2014. The right-hander did not allow a run in his first 24 innings as a collegiate pitcher, a streak that finally ended in Battenfield's 13th relief appearance when he surrendered a run against Texas Tech.
Battenfield was named to the Big 12 All-Freshman Team and finished the season 4-0 with a 1.69 ERA in 27 appearances while recording 38 strikeouts in 53.1 innings.
New Faces Impress Early
Joining Oklahoma State's 34-man roster for 2015 are 13 newcomers, eight of those from the high school ranks and five coming via the junior college route.
The recruiting class, which was ranked as high as No. 5 nationally by one publication, boasts numerous players expected ot have an immediate impact, some of whom did just that on opening weekend, including:
• Junior college pitchers Koda Glover and Remey Reed showed why they're expected to bolster the OSU pitching staff as Reed worked four scoreless innings in two games against ASU and was the winner in the finale, while Glover picked up a save in game three.
• Sophomore Kevin Bradley, the son of former big leaguer and current Princeton head coach Scott Bradley, redshirted last season at State College of Florida after playing in 37 games at Clemson in 2013. He was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week after hitting .444 with a home run, double and eight RBIs in the ASU series.
• Freshman Jon Littell was a prep All-American at Stillwater High School and joined his hometown Cowboys after being drafted in the 39th round by Washington. He started all three games in the outfield at ASU and was 3-for-11 at the plate.
• Jacob Chappell started each of his first three collegiate games. The freshman made his debut at third base and moved to shortstop for the next two games, where he is filling the void of the injured Donnie Walton.
