Cowboys Conclude Homestand Against Oral Roberts

Tuesday, April 12

Stillwater, Okla.

6:00:00 PM

Oklahoma State University

Oral Roberts

David Petrino

April 11, 2016 | Cowboy Baseball

Oklahoma State (19-12)

vs. Oral Roberts (19-12)

Allie P. Reynolds Stadium (4,000)

Stillwater, Okla.

Tues., April 12: 6 p.m.

GAME NOTES

Oklahoma State

Oklahoma State concludes a four-game homestand Tuesday at 6 p.m. when the Cowboys host Oral Roberts at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium. OSU is 19-12 on the season and will be looking to snap a three-game losing streak after being swept by Texas Tech last weekend. Following Tuesday's contest, the Cowboys return to Big 12 Conference action when they travel to Waco, Texas, to take on Baylor.

Led by J.R. Davis and his .350 batting average, the Cowboys are hitting a collective .247 while the pitching staff has posted a 3.00 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 marks OSU's fourth under Holliday, who compiled a 127-57 record in his first three seasons at his alma mater.

About The Golden Eagles

Oral Roberts is 19-12 on the season and coming off a series win at Western Illinois last weekend. Led by sophomore catcher Matt Whatley (.355, 5 HR, 27 RBI), the Golden Eagles are hitting .312, while the pitching staff sports a 4.24 ERA.

Expected to start on the mound for ORU is sophomore southpaw Taylor Varnell, who is 2-0 with a 3.57 ERA in five appearances (four starts) this season.

OSU is 34-31 all time against Oral Roberts but lost both games against the Golden Eagles last season (4-2 in Tulsa and 15-5 in Stillwater). The Cowboys are 2-3 vs. ORU in three seasons under Josh Holliday.

Watch, Listen, Follow

Tuesday's game vs. Oral Roberts will be televised live on FOX Sports Plus, with Dave Hunziker and Cowboy Baseball Hall of Famer Tom Holliday on the call.

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

While this week's NCBWA poll has yet to be released, OSU has dropped out of each of the other four national polls it was ranked in last week, putting its streak of being nationally ranked in jeopardy.

OSU has been ranked in at least one national poll for 59 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 35 seasons, the Cowboys have been nearly unbeatable on their home field.

OSU is 890-213 (.807) all time at Reynolds Stadium and has lost more than two consecutive games on its home turf only six times (six in a row in 2007; three straight in 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2016).

The Cowboys are 10-5 on their home field in 2016.

On The Road Again and Again and Again and Again and Again and Again and Again and...

As has become commonplace, OSU opened 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 opened 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.

Big 12 Home Series Winning Streak Snapped

Prior to last weekend's sweep by Texas Tech, OSU had not lost a three-game Big 12 Conference series at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium since 2012 when it was swept by Texas A&M on the final weekend of the season. From 2013-15, the Cowboys won nine consecutive three-game league series on their home field following a split in a rain-shortened two-game series with Baylor to open league play in 2013. (In 2015 OSU lost its only game vs. West Virginia in Stillwater — the final two games of the series were canceled due to weather).

I Feel A Draft

OSU has nine players on its 2016 roster who have been Major League Baseball Draft picks, including a pair of two-time draftees in Conor Costello (2011, Cincinnati, 16th/2015, Pittsburgh 38th) and Donnie Walton (2012, NY Mets, 36th/2015, Milwaukee, 23rd). Other MLB Draft picks include: Garrett Benge (2015, Cleveland, 22nd); Thomas Hatch (2013, Colorado, 32nd); Jon Littell (2014, Washington, 39th); David Petrino (2014, Chicago Cubs, 39th); Andrew Rosa (2013, Boston, 30th); Collin Theroux (2015, Minnesota, 33rd); and Garrett Williams (2013, San Diego, 33rd).

Close Calls

OSU is 35-20 in one-run games since 2013, including a 9-7 mark this season. After losing their first five one-run games this season, including four via walk-off, the Cowboys won nine in a row before dropping two at West Virginia last weekend. Under head coach Josh Holliday (2013-pres.), 36 of the Cowboys' 69 losses have come 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).

Dealing

OSU ranks second in the Big 12 with a 3.00 team ERA, and a pair of Cowboys rank in the top 10 in the league in ERA – Tyler Buffett (first at 1.63) and Thomas Hatch (eighth at 2.29).

OSU's .222 opponent batting average and 10 saves are also second in the conference, and its 257 strikeouts are third.

Building A Winner

In the first three seasons as head coach at his alma mater (2013-15), Josh Holliday has built quite an impressive 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).

The Cyclist

J.R. Davis made history in the series finale at West Virginia when he joined Josh Fields (2003) and Zach Johnson (2011) as the only OSU players to hit for the cycle during the Big 12 era (since 1997). The Cowboy second baseman is also one of just 18 Big 12 players to ever hit for the cycle.

After leading off Sunday's game vs. WVU with a walk, Davis delivered an RBI triple in the third and a leadoff single in the sixth. In the eighth, he hit his first-career home run, a two-run shot, and then in the ninth he recorded an RBI double to complete the cycle. He finished the historic day 4-for-4 with a career-high four RBIs and three runs scored.

Davis, a JUCO transfer who had not played since 2014 prior to joining OSU this season, appeared in just one of the Cowboys' first nine games this season but was inserted in the starting lineup at second base March 1 vs. Indiana State and has not left since. He owns a team-high .350 batting average in 23 games — an average that also ranks as the fourth highest in the Big 12 — and the Cowboys are 12-4 with Davis batting in the leadoff spot.

Short Hops

OSU is 36th in the latest official NCAA RPI ... The Cowboys have turned 38 double plays this season, which is tied for the fourth most nationally ... OSU is 5-7 against ranked teams this season.