Around The Horn With Cowboy Baseball

Ten days ago, Oklahoma State owned a .500 record at 6-6. Since then, the Cowboys have recorded five-straight wins, including a pair of road victories over ranked opponents. Here's a glance at the Pokes during their streak, as well as a look ahead to this weekend's series against No. 18 Michigan at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium.

Highlights

OSU's current five-game winning streak is its longest of the season.
The Cowboys began the streak with a 6-5 win in 10 innings at 12^th-ranked Missouri State, who entered the game having won six in a row.
In securing its first three-game series sweep of the season, OSU outscored Abilene Christian by a combined 32-6 count at Reynolds Stadium.
On Tuesday, the Cowboys traveled to Dallas Baptist and knocked off the 26^th-ranked Patriots, 7-6, marking their fourth one-run victory of the season.

Offensively Speaking

Over the last five games, OSU is hitting a collective .301 to raise its season batting average to .260.
OSU leads the Big 12 with 27 stolen bases and has swiped nine bags over the last five games. Cowboy sophomore Garrett McCain is tied for the Big 12 lead with eight steals.
Corey Hassel and Garrett Benge are OSU's leading hitters over the last five games. Each has hit safely in every game, and both are 8-for-16 (.500) at the plate with six RBIs. Hassel also leads the Pokes with three multi-hit efforts during the streak.
Dustin Williams also owns a five-game hitting streak during which he has racked up four home runs and nine RBIs to emerge as the Big 12's top slugger. The Cowboys' first baseman leads the conference in home runs (6) and RBIs (21), while ranking second in total bases (41) and third in slugging percentage (.661).
Donnie Walton ranks fifth in the Big 12 with a .361 batting average. The switch-hitting senior shortstop has reached base safely in all 17 of OSU's games this season and ranks third in the Big 12 with a .487 on-base percentage.

Mound Presence

OSU leads the Big 12 with a 2.42 team ERA, and three Cowboy hurlers rank in the top 10 in the conference in ERA – Tyler Buffett (second at 1.03), Thomas Hatch (fifth at 1.67) and Jensen Elliott (seventh at 1.93).
Opponents are hitting only .217 against the Cowboys over the last five games, and OSU's .223 opponent batting average on the season is the second best in the conference.
Buffett leads the league with a .159 opponent batting average, and his three wins are tied for the most in the conference. The junior right-hander also ranks among the Big 12's best in strikeouts (26), innings pitched (26.1) and appearances (9).
Trey Cobb has made two appearances over the last five games, one of them a start, and is 2-0 with a 2.79 ERA in a team-high 9 2/3 innings of work.
Blake Battenfield has pitched in three of OSU's last five contests and has not allowed an earned run in 4 1/3 innings. He earned his first-career save with two scoreless frames at Dallas Baptist.
Four of OSU's five starting pitchers in the last five games have recorded career highs in strikeouts. Hatch had eight against Abilene Christian, while Elliott and Cobb each had six against the Wildcats. On Tuesday at DBU, Buffett punched out seven.

Up Next

Michigan visits Stillwater for a three-game set beginning Friday at 4 p.m. at Reynolds Stadium. Saturday's contest is scheduled for 2 p.m., with Sunday's finale set for 1 p.m.
The 18^th-ranked Wolverines are 11-4 on the season and also on a winning streak after sweeping a four-game series at Hawaii last week.
Michigan was the 2016 Big Ten Conference favorite in a preseason vote of the league's coaches. The Wolverines won the Big Ten tourney last year to earn their first NCAA Regional berth since 2008.
OSU is 2-1 all time against the Wolverines, with the previous matchup coming on the final weekend of the 2015 regular season in Ann Arbor. The Cowboys won the first two games of the series, outscoring the home team by a 23-7 margin, before dropping the finale by a 6-2 count.

Oklahoma State University Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Blake Battenfield

Garrett Benge

Tyler Buffett

Trey Cobb

Jensen Elliott

Corey Hassel

Thomas Hatch

Garrett McCain

Donnie Walton

Dustin Williams

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