Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State University
Wichita State
Cowboys Travel To Sunflower State For Four Games
March 21, 2016 | Cowboy Baseball
#19 Oklahoma State (13-7)
at Wichita State (6-13)
Eck Stadium (7,851)
Wichita, Kan.
Tues., March 22: 6:30 p.m.
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Oklahoma StateÂ
    After winning three games against ranked opponents last week, Oklahoma State returns to action Tuesday when the Cowboys travel to Wichita, Kan., to take on Wichita State at 6:30 p.m. OSU is 13-7 on the season and ranked as high as 19th nationally, and the Cowboys have won 11 of their last 13 games.
    Following Tuesday's contest, the Cowboys will open Big 12 Conference play as they head to Manhattan, Kan., to battle Kansas State in a three-game series beginning Thursday night.
    Led by Donnie Walton and his .333 batting average, the Cowboys are hitting a collective .243 while the pitching staff owns a Big 12-best 2.41 ERAÂ
    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.Â
About The Shockers
    Wichita State is 6-13 on the season, which includes a 5-3 mark on its home turf. Led by Gunnar Troutwine (.323, 3 HR, 15 RBI), the Shockers are hitting .271 as a team, while the pitching staff sports a collective 5.53 ERA.
    Expected to start on the mound for Wichita State is right-hander Chase Williams, who is 0-1 with an 8.49 ERA in six appearances, two of those as a starter.
    OSU is 56-33 all time against the Shockers, including an 8-3 victory last season in Stillwater. The Cowboys are 4-1 against WSU under Josh Holliday and have won the last two meetings in the series.
Watch, Listen, Follow
    Tuesday's game at Wichita State will stream live online on ESPN3 via the Watch ESPN app, with a link available at WatchESPN.com.
    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. 19 in this week's national polls, earning that spot from Baseball America. The Cowboys are also ranked 20th by Perfect Game, 24th in the NCBWA poll, 22nd by D1Baseball.com and 25th in the USA Today coaches poll.
    OSU has been ranked in at least one national poll for 57 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.
On The Road Again and Again and Again and Again and Again and Again and Again and...
    As has become commonplace, OSU will open Big 12 Conference play on the road in 2016.
    The Cowboys have begun league play at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium only twice since 2003 (in 2005 and 2013), and this season OSU will open at Kansas State.
    The trend will continue in the near future as the conference office has set schedules for 2017 and 2018, and in each of those seasons, OSU opens Big 12 action away from Stillwater.
    Since 2004 and spanning through 2018, OSU will have opened conference play on the road 13 times and only two times at home. Since Big 12 baseball began play in 1997, the Cowboys will have opened league play on the road 16 times and just six times in Stillwater.
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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.
Comeback Cowboys
    Come-from-behind victories have become a trend for the Cowboys under Josh Holliday. OSU has overcome deficits to win 64 games in Holliday's four seasons, notching 18 comeback wins in 2013, 28 in 2014 and 15 a year ago.
Close Calls
    OSU is 31-18 in one-run games since 2013, including a 5-5 mark this season (four of those losses have been walk-off defeats). Under head coach Josh Holliday (2013-pres.), 36 of the Cowboys' 64 losses have come by two runs or less. In 2015, 14 of OSU's 20 losses were by two runs or less.Â
Dealing
    OSU leads the Big 12 with a 2.41 team ERA, and three Cowboy hurlers rank in the top 10 in the conference in ERA – Tyler Buffett (fourth at 1.59), Thomas Hatch (fifth at 2.03) and Jensen Elliott (ninth at 2.19).
    OSU's 166 strikeouts, .226 opponent batting average and seven saves also lead the conference.
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 180 career games, the switch hitter owns a .309 batting average to go along with nine home runs, 103 RBIs, 35 doubles and an OSU-record 54 sacrifice bunts (which ranks ninth 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 20 games this season, Hassel is second on the Cowboys with a .309 batting average to go along with a .437 on-base percentage and seven stolen bases.
The Candyman Can
    Tyler Buffett was a reliable performer on the mound in his first two seasons in Stillwater but a month into the 2016 season, he has taken on a starring role.
    In a team-high 10 appearances, nine of those in relief, the junior right-hander is 3-1 and ranks in the top five in the Big 12 in wins, opponent batting average (.168) and ERA (1.59). He also ranks among the league leaders in strikeouts (28) and innings pitched (28.1).
    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 seven homers while ranking third in the league in RBIs (22), total bases (46) and slugging percentage (.630).
    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 10 appearances this season, three of those as a starter, and is 3-3 with two saves and a 2.52 ERA. He has also recorded 30 strikeouts in 25.0 innings.Â
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 as he ranks second on the club in batting average (.313), doubles (6) and RBIs (13).
