Cowboys Open 2016 Home Schedule This Week

Tuesday, March 1

Stillwater, Okla.

4:00:00 PM

Oklahoma State University

Incarnate Word

February 29, 2016 | Cowboy Baseball

#22 Oklahoma State (2-5)

vs. Incarnate Word (3-4)

Allie P. Reynolds Stadium (4,000)

Stillwater, Okla.

Tues., March 1: 4:00 p.m.

Wed., March 2: 4:00 p.m.

OSU GAME NOTES

Oklahoma State

Oklahoma State opens its 2016 home schedule this week with five games at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium, beginning with a pair of midweek contests against Incarnate Word. The 22nd-ranked Cowboys are 2-5 on the season, with each of those losses coming by one run, and are looking to snap a four-game losing streak. OSU hosts UIW Tuesday and Wednesday, with each game starting at 4 p.m.; admission is free to both games.

Led by Donnie Walton and his .423 batting average, the Cowboys are hitting a collective .239 while the pitching staff owns a 3.23 ERA.

OSU is 3-0 in season home openers under head coach Josh Holliday, and the Cowboys are 31-3 all-time in season home openers at Reynolds Stadium (only losses in 1984, 2000 and 2004).

The Cowboys are coming off a 38-20 season in which they made their third consecutive NCAA Regional appearance, and expectations are again high. OSU was ranked in the top 10 nationally in four different preseason polls and returns seven starters from 2015, including All-Big 12 Conference performers Donnie Walton, Ryan Sluder and Corey Hassel.

The 2016 season will mark OSU's fourth under Holliday, who compiled a 127-57 record in his first three seasons at his alma mater.

About The Cardinals

Incarnate Word is 3-4 on the season and comes to Stillwater on a two-game losing streak. The Cardinals are hitting .237 as a team, while their pitching staff sports a 5.00 ERA.

Expected to start on the mound for UIW are:

Tuesday - LHP Austin Preiss (0-0, 4.76)

Wednesday - RHP John Shull (0-0, 3.00)

Oklahoma State won its only previous meeting with Incarnate Word, which came in the 2014 season opener at the UTA/Hilton Invitational in Arlington, Texas. The Cowboys were 10-5 victors in that game.

Watch, Listen, Follow

The Incarnate Word series will stream free online on YouTube, with links available at www.okstate.com/live.

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 34th season on the air with Cowboy baseball, will call the action, with Matt "Chief" Davis providing color commentary.

Radio broadcasts are also available online at www.okstate.com, with links available under the Schedule tab on the baseball home page.

Live stats for all games can also be found at okstate.com, with links available under the Schedule tab on the baseball home page. Additionally, fans can follow the official OSU Baseball Twitter account, @OSUBaseball, for in-game updates.

In The Polls

OSU is ranked as high as No. 22 in this week's national polls, earning that spot from Baseball America. The Cowboys are also ranked 24th by Perfect Game and 25th by D1Baseball.com. (Neither a USA Today coaches or NCBWA poll has been released yet this week).

OSU has been ranked in at least one national poll for 54 consecutive weeks dating back to 2013, when the Cowboys were in the polls for the final 14 weeks of the season. During that time, they have spent 16 weeks in the Top 10 and been ranked as high as No. 3 (by the NCBWA in 2014). They finished the '14 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.

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 880-208 (.809) 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 19-8 on their home field in 2015.

Big 12's Best

Oklahoma State's .690 winning percentage (127-57) from 2013-15 marked the highest in the Big 12 Conference during that span. TCU came in second at .677, with the Cowboys only trailing the Horned Frogs by one in the win column.

OSU has also finished first or second in the league standings each of the last three years, and the Cowboys are the only Big 12 team over that span to finish over .500 in conference play each year.

Close Calls

OSU is 26-18 in one-run games since 2013, and each of the Cowboys' five losses this season are by a single run, including four walk-off defeats. Under head coach Josh Holliday (2013-pres.), 38 of the Cowboys' 62 losses have come by two runs or less. In 2015, 14 of OSU's 20 losses were by two runs or less.

Generating Offense Every Which Way

In 2015, OSU led the Big 12 in on-base percentage (.381), walks (282) and sacrifice bunts (81), and the Cowboys ranked second in runs (380), home runs (41), RBIs (338), stolen bases (89) and sacrifice flies (26).

Strong-Armed

In three seasons under the direction of coach Rob Walton, OSU's pitching staff has turned in impressive numbers.

The Cowboys' success under Walton includes 12 All-Big 12 pitchers, two consensus first-team All-Americans, a Big 12 Pitcher of the Year and a first-round Major League Baseball Draft pick.

Here's just a sampling of how the Cowboys have performed under Walton:

• OSU's pitching staff led the Big 12 in ERA in conference-only games in 2014 (2.43) and 2015 (2.50).

• The Cowboys' 2.84 ERA in 2015 ranked eighth nationally and was the lowest by an OSU pitching staff since 1973.

• 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 three seasons, OSU has seen Jason Hursh drafted in the first round of the 2013 Major League Baseball Draft, Brendan McCurry (2014) and Michael Freeman (2015) named first-team All-Americans and Freeman garner Big 12 Pitcher of the Year honors.

• Freeman's 1.31 ERA ranked sixth in the NCAA in 2015 and was the fifth lowest in a single season in OSU history.

• McCurry set OSU records for single-season saves (19) and career saves (27).

Back In The Saddle

Donnie Walton spurned professional baseball last summer to return for his senior season with the Cowboys in 2016.

Walton has established himself as one of the Big 12's elite players since arriving on campus in 2013. In 163 career games, the switch hitter owns a .311 batting average to go along with nine home runs, 95 RBIs, 33 doubles and an OSU-record 53 sacrifice bunts (which ranks 10th on the NCAA's all-time list).

Primarily a shortstop throughout his career, Walton is one of just nine players in OSU history to earn All-Big 12 First Team accolades twice (in 2014 & 2015), with no Cowboy ever achieving that status three times.

A 23rd-round draft pick of the Milwaukee Brewers last June, Walton chose not to sign a pro contract and instead starred in the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League. He was named the CCBL All-Star Game MVP and then earned the Star of Stars Award as the most valuable player of the CCBL playoffs after leading the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox to the league championship.

Walton is one of 50 players on USA Baseball's 2016 Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List. The award is given to the top player in amateur baseball.

Hometown Hero

Corey Hassel played in 86 games and hit just .208 in his first two seasons at OSU, but the Stillwater native had a breakout junior campaign for his hometown Cowboys in 2015.

Used mostly as a late-game defensive replacement and pinch runner in 2013 and 2014, Hassel became a regular starter in the outfield as a junior and led the Cowboys with a .312 batting average. He also topped OSU in multi-hit games (18) and multi-RBI efforts (11) en route to All-Big 12 Second Team honors. In conference play, Hassel hit .344 with two home runs and 18 RBIs and led OSU in numerous offensive categories, including RBIs, hits (31) and doubles (6).

Spending the majority of the time as the Cowboys' leadoff hitter this season, Hassel owns a .296 batting average and is tied for the team lead with two stolen bases.

The Injury Bug Took Big Bites

OSU overcame numerous injuries to key players in 2015, with many of those setbacks keeping those players out of the lineup for significant and extended periods of time.

• Donnie Walton missed 19 games with a wrist injury that required surgery to remove his hamate bone.

• Starting catcher Bryan Case missed 13 games with a broken thumb.

• Starting designated hitter Garrett McCain was hitting .313 before a broken bone in his hand required surgery and caused him to miss 19 games.

• Starting right fielder Conor Costello was among OSU's top hitters in Big 12 play before missing six games following an injury that caused him to be hospitalized for four days.

• Pitcher Blake Battenfield, who was 4-0 in 27 games as a freshman in 2014, pitched in only six games last season after an arm injury kept him out of action since March 28.

• Arm surgery limited infielder Andrew Rosa to just nine games in 2015, and Thomas Hatch did not pitch at all due to an arm injury — both redshirted.

• Relief pitcher Michael Mertz missed most of the season coming off arm surgery and pitched in only three games.

Building A Winner

In the first three seasons as head coach at his alma mater (2013-15), Josh Holliday has built quite a resume. Just a few of the highlights:

• OSU's .690 winning percentage was the highest among Big 12 teams from 2013-15;

• OSU has finished first or second in the conference standings each year (1st in 2014, 2nd in 2013 and 2015);

• The Cowboys finished in the top 10 in the national rankings in 2014 after ending the 2013 season ranked as high as No. 19. Counting the 2016 preseason polls, they've been nationally ranked for 52 consecutive weeks.

• In 2014, OSU advanced to the third Super Regional in program history and won its first-ever Big 12 Conference regular season championship;

• OSU has hosted two NCAA Regionals and been the top-seeded team both times;

• The Cowboys have earned three NCAA Regional berths and advanced to the regional championship round twice;

• OSU has won at least five of its eight Big 12 Conference series each season (5 in 2013, 7 in 2014, 6 in 2015).