Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State University
Arkansas
Cowboys Begin Stretch Of Five Games In Six Days
April 25, 2016 | Cowboy Baseball
#18 Oklahoma State (25-14)
at Arkansas (24-16)
Baum Stadium (10,737)
Fayetteville, Ark.
Tues., April 26: 5 p.m.
vs. Little Rock (20-18)
Allie P. Reynolds Stadium (4,000)
Stillwater, Okla.
Wed., April 27: 6 p.m.
Oklahoma StateÂ
   Fresh off a series win over No. 4 TCU, Oklahoma State embarks on a week in which the Cowboys will play five games in six days starting with a Tuesday contest at Arkansas. Following that trip, the 18th-ranked Pokes return to Stillwater and play host to Little Rock Wednesday before traveling to Austin, Texas, for a three-game set against Texas beginning Friday. OSU is 25-14 on the season and in third place in the Big 12 Conference standings with a 9-6 league mark.
   Led by Donnie Walton and his .354 batting average, the Cowboys are hitting a collective .252, while the pitching staff has posted a Big 12-best 3.02 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 marks OSU's fourth under Holliday, who compiled a 127-57 record in his first three seasons at his alma mater.Â
About The Razorbacks & Trojans
   Arkansas is 24-16 on the season, which includes an 18-8 mark at home. Led by Carson Shaddy (.336, 5 HR, 27 RBI), the Razorbacks own a .280 team batting average, while the pitching staff sports a 4.57 ERA.
   OSU is 45-20 all time against Arkansas, including a 5-4 win over the then-No. 15 Hogs in Stillwater on March 29.
   Little Rock brings a 20-18 record to Stillwater, with Ryan Scott (.444, 9 HR, 47) leading an offense hitting a collective .299 to go along with a pitching staff that has recorded a 5.51 ERA.
   OSU is 43-2 all time against Little Rock, the last meeting coming in 2014 in Stillwater with the Cowboys winning, 7-6.
Watch, Listen, Follow
  Both midweek games will stream live online, with Tuesday's game airing on SEC Network+ via WatchESPN. Wednesday's game will be available at okstate.com/live and also be televised in Oklahoma City and Tulsa on Cox Cable channel 703/HD 1333 in OKC and 1003/HD 1333 in Tulsa.
  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 and re-entered several polls. Ranked as high as 18th by Perfect Game, the Cowboys are 21st in the NCBWA poll, 22nd in the USA Today coaches poll and 23rd in the D1Baseball.com poll while Baseball America ranks them No. 25 and Collegiate Baseball has them at No. 30.
   OSU has been ranked in at least one national poll for 62 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.Â
   OSU is 892-215 (.806) 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; four straight in 2016; three in a row in 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2014).
   The Cowboys are 12-7 on their home field in 2016.
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 67 games in Holliday's four seasons, notching 18 comeback wins in 2013, 28 in 2014 and 15 a year ago.
Close Calls
   OSU is 36-20 in one-run games since 2013, including a 10-7 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. 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.Â
   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). Â
Dealing
   OSU leads the Big 12 with a 3.02 team ERA, and a pair of Cowboys rank in the top 10 in the league in ERA – Thomas Hatch (second at 1.72) and Tyler Buffett (third at 1.93).
   OSU also leads the conference with 334 strikeouts, a .240 opponent batting average and 13 saves.
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 199 career games, the switch hitter owns a .316 batting average to go along with nine home runs, 118 RBIs, 41 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 was one of 50 players on USA Baseball's 2016 Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List and was recently named to the Brooks Wallace Award (nation's top shortstop) Watch List by the National College Baseball Hall of Fame.
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 22 appearances, 21 of those in relief, the junior right-hander is 5-1 with seven saves and a 1.93 ERA, with the five wins and seven saves marking career highs. He ranks second in the Big 12 in appearances, saves and opponent batting average (.198) and is third in wins.
   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).
   Named to the National Pitcher of the Year Award Watch List by the National College Baseball Hall of Fame, Buffett is 2-0 with four saves and a 1.93 ERA in eight relief outings in Big 12 play. He has allowed only three runs in 14.0 innings while racking up 14 strikeouts against league foes.
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 is currently tied for the Big 12 lead with nine homers.
   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.
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 .307 with a team-leading .493 slugging percentage and 29 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).Â
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 .351 batting average in 31 games, and the Cowboys are 17-5 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 10 starts as a redshirt sophomore and is 3-1 with a 1.72 ERA, which ranks as the second lowest in the Big 12 in 2016. The right-hander leads the Cowboys with 69.0 innings pitched and has worked six or more innings in eight of his 10 starts, including a complete game against No. 4 TCU in which he shut out the Horned Frogs and racked up a career-best 10 strikeouts to earn Big 12 Pitcher of the Week honors.
Two-Way Threat
   Conor Costello is another Cowboy who could have begun his professional career in 2015 but instead chose to return to Stillwater for his senior season in 2016 after being drafted in the 38th round by the Pittsburgh Pirates last June.
   Costello's role is a big one as he's counted on to contribute on the mound and at the plate. In his first two seasons in an OSU uniform, he smashed 15 home runs and collected 62 RBIs in 108 games, while also going 2-1 with a save in nine pitching appearances.
   Named to the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award Watch List a year ago, Costello is expected to take on an increased pitching role in '16 after a season in which he went 2-0 with a save and a 1.67 ERA in seven outings.Â
   Costello appeared in 10 of the Cowboys' first 12 games this season as the DH before a broken hamate bone suffered on March 6 caused him to miss OSU's next 14 contests. He returned to action and made his first pitching appearance of the season with an inning of relief in the Saturday game at West Virginia.Â
Award TourÂ
   OSU has had nine Big 12 weekly award winners in 2016, the third-most in a single season in conference history (the record is 11). The Cowboys have had six pitcher of the week honorees, which is tied for the Big 12 record, and are only the seventh team in history to record five or more Big 12 Pitcher of the Week honors in a single season.Â
   Tyler Buffett (March 7 and March 28) and Trey Cobb (April 4 and April 18) have each been named Big 12 Pitcher of the Week twice, while Jensen Elliott has been the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week (April 4) and Newcomer of the Week (April 18). Other winners are Dustin Williams (Player of Week on March 14), J.R. Davis (Newcomer of Week on April 4) and Thomas Hatch (Pitcher of Week on April 25).
Short Hops
OSU is 25th in the latest official NCAA RPI ... The Cowboys have turned 48 double plays this season, which ranks fifth nationally ... OSU is 7-8 against ranked teams this season.
