Cowboys Look To Get Back On Track In Waco

Friday, April 15

Waco, Texas

6:30:00 PM

Oklahoma State University

Baylor

April 14, 2016 | Cowboy Baseball

#27 Oklahoma State (19-13, 4-5)
at Baylor (17-16, 4-5)

Baylor Ballpark (5,000)
Waco, Texas

Fri., April 15: 6:35 p.m.
Sat., April 16: 3:05 p.m.
Sun., April 17: 1:05 p.m.

GAME NOTES

Oklahoma State
     Oklahoma State looks to snap a four-game losing streak this weekend in Waco, Texas, when the Cowboys return to Big 12 Conference action against Baylor. OSU is 19-13 overall and tied with BU and Oklahoma for fifth in the league standings with a 4-5 mark.
     Led by Donnie Walton and his .336 batting average, the Cowboys are hitting a collective .243 while the pitching staff has posted a Big 12-best 3.03 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 Bears
     Baylor is 17-16 on the season, which includes a 4-5 mark in Big 12 play, and the Bears are 13-10 on their home field. Led by outfielder Darryn Sheppard (.341, 5 HR, 32 RBI), BU is hitting .279, while the pitching staff sports a 4.29 ERA.
     Expected to start on the mound for BU are:
     Friday - LHP Daniel Castano (2-4, 4.56)       Saturday - RHP Drew Tolson (4-1, 3.68)
     Sunday - RHP Kyle Hill (1-1, 3.91)
     OSU is 39-38 all time against Baylor but has not won a regular season three-game series in Waco since 1998 (teams split shortened two-game series there in 2002 and 2004); the Cowboys did win an NCAA Super Regional in Waco in 1999. The Cowboys are 4-4 vs. BU in three seasons under Josh Holliday.

Watch, Listen, Follow
     All three games in this weekend's Baylor series will be televised live on the FOX Sports family of networks. Friday's opener and Sunday's finale air on FOX Sports Plus, while Saturday's game is on FOX Sports Southwest.
     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 maintained a spot in this week's national rankings, checking in at No. 27 in the NCBWA poll. The Cowboys dropped out of each of the other four national polls they were ranked in last week.
     OSU has been ranked in at least one national poll for 60 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.

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 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' 70 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 leads the Big 12 with a 3.03 team ERA, and a pair of Cowboys rank in the top 10 in the league in ERA – Tyler Buffett (first at 1.58) and Thomas Hatch (eighth at 2.29).
     OSU also leads the conference with 273 strikeouts, and its .239 opponent batting average and 10 saves rank second.

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 192 career games, the switch hitter owns a .311 batting average to go along with nine home runs, 111 RBIs, 39 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.

The Candyman Can
     Tyler Buffett was a reliable performer on the mound in his first two seasons in Stillwater, but he has taken on a starring role in 2016.
     In a team-high 18 appearances, 17 of those in relief, the junior right-hander is 4-1 with four saves and a 1.58 ERA, with the four wins and four saves already marking career highs. He leads the Big 12 in ERA and opponent batting average (.179) and is tied for second in the league in saves. He's also among the conference leaders in wins, appearances and strikeouts (43).
     In the month of March, Buffett appeared in 11 of OSU's 18 games and went 4-0 with four saves and a 1.54 ERA to go along with 27 strikeouts in 23 1/3 innings. He was named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week twice (March 7th and 28th).

Hit Man
     Garrett Benge put up video game numbers at the junior college level last season, and he's proving to be a valuable hitter in his first season in an OSU uniform.
     As a freshman at Cowley County CC, Benge was the 2015 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 collected 103 hits and a .946 slugging percentage.
     Now manning the hot corner in Stillwater, Benge is has swung a consistent bat for the Cowboys as he's hitting .300 with a team-leading .482 slugging percentage and ranks second on the club with 21 RBIs.

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 .333 batting average in 24 games, and the Cowboys are 12-4 with Davis batting in the leadoff spot.

Friday Night Filth
     Thomas Hatch missed the 2015 season with a sprained UCL, but he has returned to the OSU rotation as the Cowboys' Friday night starter this year and is consistently displaying the talent he showed glimpses of as a freshman two years ago.
     Hatch has made eight starts as a redshirt sophomore and is 2-1 with a 2.29 ERA, which ranks as the eighth lowest n the Big 12 in 2016. The right-hander leads the Cowboys with 51.0 innings pitched and has worked six or more innings in six of his eight starts.

A Month Of Accolades
     OSU had a Big 12 weekly award winner for four consecutive weeks from March 7-April 4. Tyler Buffett was named the league's pitcher of the week on March 7 and March 28, Dustin Williams was the player of the week on March 14 and Trey Cobb garnered pitcher of the week honors on March 21. On April 4, Jensen Elliott was named the league's pitcher of the week, while J.R. Davis took home newcomer of the week honors.
     Elliott's award also marks only the second time in Big 12 history a school has captured three-straight Big 12 Pitcher of the Week honors. The first to do it was Baylor in 2014.

Short Hops
     OSU is 36th in the latest official NCAA RPI ... The Cowboys have turned 39 double plays this season, which ranks fourth nationally ... OSU is 5-7 against ranked teams this season.