Cowboys Look To Continue Streak In Big D

#22 Oklahoma State (10-6)
at #26 Dallas Baptist (11-4)

Horner Ballpark (2,000)
Dallas, Texas

Tues., March 15: 6:30 p.m.

GAME NOTES

Oklahoma State
     Winners of four in a row, Oklahoma State returns to midweek action Tuesday for the first of four consecutive games against a ranked opponent as the Cowboys take on 26th-ranked Dallas Baptist in a game scheduled for 6:30 p.m. The 22nd-ranked Pokes are 10-6 on the season and coming off a three-game series sweep of Abilene Christian in Stillwater, which came on the heels of a midweek win at No. 12 Missouri State. Following the trip to Dallas, OSU will return home to host 18th-ranked Michigan in a three-game set at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium.
     Led by Donnie Walton and his .373 batting average, the Cowboys are hitting a collective .258 while the pitching staff owns a 2.26 ERA.
     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 Patriots
     Dallas Baptist is 11-4 on the season and has won seven of its last eight games, including taking 3-of-4 in a weekend series against Valparaiso last week. Led by Luke Stratman (.405, 3 HR, 16 RBI) and Darick Hall (.316, 5 HR, 20 RBI), the Patriots are hitting .318 as a team while the pitching staff sports a collective 4.23 ERA.
     Expected to start on the mound for DBU is freshman right-hander MD Johnson, who is 2-0 with a 3.72 ERA in five appearances this season.
     Oklahoma State is 9-4 all time against Dallas Baptist, including wins in Stillwater and Dallas last season.

Watch, Listen, Follow
     Tuesday's game vs. Dallas Baptist will stream free online at www.dbupatriots.com/watch.
     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 okstate.com/watch.
     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 23rd by Perfect Game, 24th in the NCBWA poll and 25th by D1Baseball.com.
     OSU has been ranked in at least one national poll for 56 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.

Close Calls
     OSU is 29-18 in one-run games since 2013, and five of the Cowboys' six losses this season are by a single run, including four walk-off defeats. Under head coach Josh Holliday (2013-pres.), 39 of the Cowboys' 63 losses have come by two runs or less. In 2015, 14 of OSU's 20 losses were by two runs or less.

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 176 career games, the switch hitter owns a .312 batting average to go along with nine home runs, 100 RBIs, 34 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).
     A starter in all 16 games this season, Hassel is second on the Cowboys with a .339 batting average to go along with a .451 on-base percentage and six stolen bases.

The Candyman Can
     Tyler Buffett was a reliable performer on the mound in his first two seasons in Stillwater but nearly a month into the 2016 season, he appears on the verge of a starring role.
     In a team-high eight appearances, all in relief, the junior right-hander is 2-1 and is second in the Big 12 in ERA (0.89) and opponent batting average (.167). In 20.2 innings pitched, he has racked up 19 strikeouts.
     Buffett was named the Big 12 Co-Pitcher of the Week on March 7 following a week that saw him take the mound in three games and go 2-0 with 10 strikeouts in 6.1 scoreless innings.

Deep Threat
     Dustin Williams tied for the OSU lead with six home runs last season — and in 15 games this year, he'd already equaled his long ball total of a year ago.
     The Cowboys' junior first baseman currently leads the Big 12 with six homers, 20 RBIs and 40 total bases, and his .690 slugging percentage is second in the league.
     The left-handed hitting Williams was named the Big 12 Player of the Week on March 14 following a three-game stretch that saw him go 5-for-11 (.455) at the plate with four home runs, seven RBIs, 17 total bases and a 1.545 slugging percentage. He homered in all three games — including twice in one of them — and also drove in multiple runs in each contest.

Workhorse
     Trey Cobb became the Cowboys' go-to pitcher out of the bullpen in 2015. His team-high 31 appearances marked the third most in a single season in OSU history, and the right-hander compiled a 5-2 record and two saves to go along with a 2.61 ERA. In 58.2 innings — all in relief — Cobb racked up 53 strikeouts, and opponents hit just .221 against him as he earned honorable mention All-Big 12 accolades.
     Cobb has made a team-high eight appearances this season, two of those as a starter, and is 2-3 with two saves and a 2.84 ERA. He has also recorded 17 strikeouts in 19.0 innings.

Hit Man
     Garrett Benge put up video game numbers at the junior college level in 2015, and he's proving to be a valuable hitter in his first season in an OSU uniform.
     As a freshman at Cowley County CC last season, Benge was named the NJCAA Division I Player of the Year after hitting .502 with 19 home runs, 97 RBIs, 26 doubles and four triples. In 59 games, he also collected 103 hits and a .946 slugging percentage.
     Now manning the hot corner in Stillwater, Benge is off to an impressive start for the Cowboys. He's hitting .320, and his five doubles are the second-highest total on the team.is tied for the team lead with three doubles.

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Players Mentioned

Garrett Benge

Tyler Buffett

Trey Cobb

Michael Freeman

Corey Hassel

Ryan Sluder

Donnie Walton

Dustin Williams

Oklahoma State University Athletics