Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State University
Central Arkansas
Cowboy Baseball Embarks On Spring Break Road Trip
March 19, 2018 | Cowboy Baseball
Game Notes
Oklahoma State (9-8-1) at Central Arkansas (12-8)
Tues., March 20/6 p.m.
Bear Stadium (1,000) • Conway, Ark.
Video/TV: ucasports.com/watch (subscription $ required)
Radio: KSPI 93.7 FM/okstate.com/watch (Rex Holt & Matt Davis)
Live Stats: www.sidearmstats.com/uca/baseball
Twitter In-Game Updates: @OSUBaseball
About Oklahoma State
• The Cowboys are 9-8-1 on the season and take TO the road for four games this week after completing a seven-game homestand over the weekend. OSU travels to Central Arkansas for a midweek test on Tuesday before opening Big 12 Conference play at Texas Friday night in Austin.
• OSU is coming off a 2017 season in which it made its fifth consecutive NCAA Regional appearance and posted 30-27 record. The Cowboys went 8-14 in conference play a year ago to finish eighth in the standings but made history when they became the first-ever team to win the Big 12 Championship title as a No. 8 seed; OSU swept through the tourney field with a 4-0 mark.
• The Cowboys return six position players who started at least 30 games last season, while nine pitchers who combined for 16 wins return to the staff.
• The 2018 season marks OSU's sixth under head coach Josh Holliday, who owns a 209-114-1 record at his alma mater.
About Central Arkansas
• Central Arkansas is 12-8 on the season, including an 11-5 mark at home, and is currently in the midst of a five-game winning streak.
• Led by seniors Rigo Aguilar (.397, HR, 13 RBI) and Keaton Presley (.257, 4 HR, 15 RBI), the Bears own a .284 team batting average and are averaging 6.5 runs per game.
• UCA's pitching staff sports a collective 3.89 ERA and has recorded 173 strikeouts in 183.0 innings.
• The winningest coach in program history, Allen Gum is in his eighth season as Central Arkansas' head coach and owns a 227-188 career record. He led the Bears to their only NCAA Regional appearance in 2013 as UCA advance to the finals of the NCAA Starkville Regional before losing to host Mississippi State.
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 2018. The Cowboys have begun league play at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium only twice since 2003 (in 2005 and 2013), with 13 road trips to start conference action during that span.
Since the start of Big 12 Conference baseball in 1997, the Cowboys will have opened league play on the road 17 times and just six times in Stillwater.
Building A Winner
In the first five seasons as head coach at his alma mater, Josh Holliday built quite an impressive resume. Among the highlights:
• The Cowboys have earned five NCAA Regional berths, advanced to two Super Regionals and played in the College World Series for the first time since Holliday was a senior for the Cowboys in 1999.
• OSU finished first or second in the Big 12 Conference standings each season from 2013-16.
• The Cowboys finished in the top 10 in the national rankings in 2014 (10th) and 2016 (4th) after ending the 2013 season ranked as high as No. 19. In 2015, they were ranked as high as 17th in the final polls
• In 2014, OSU won its first-ever Big 12 Conference regular season championship, and the 2017 club captured the second Big 12 Championship title in program history.
• OSU hosted NCAA Regionals in 2014 and 2015 and was the top-seeded team both times.
• Holliday has coached 42 All-Big 12 performers, six All-Americans, two Big 12 Pitcher of the Year honorees and a Big 12 Player of the Year.
Tank Smash
Colin Simpson, aka "Tank", enjoyed a breakout sophomore season for the Cowboys in 2017. The catcher/DH collected honorable mention All-Big 12 honors and led OSU with 11 home runs while ranking third in RBIs (40) and slugging percentage (.492).
Simpson did the majority of his damage against Big 12 competition as in 22 conference games he hit .272 with seven homers and 23 RBIs — no other Cowboy had more than two homers or 19 RBIs in league play. During one stretch, Simpson went deep in four-straight Big 12 contests, including smacking two homers vs. West Virginia on April 2.
Simpson was named to the Big 12 Championship All-Tournament Team after hitting .368 (7-for-19) with two doubles, two homers and five RBIs in four tourney games.
Off to a strong start in 2018, Simpson is hitting a team-high .347 and also leads OSU in hits (25), doubles (7), homers (5), RBIs (18), total bases (47) and slugging percentage (.653). He has started all 18 games for the Cowboys — 11 at catcher, four in left field and three as DH.
An All-American Streak
The Cowboys have had a player earn first-team All-American status in each of the last four years. The streak began with pitcher Brendan McCurry (2014), who was followed by pitchers Michael Freeman (2015) and Thomas Hatch (2016). Outfielder Garrett McCain extended the streak in 2017.
OSU has had 25 different players earn first-team All-America status in program history.
Teel Time
Carson Teel joined the OSU program as a walk-on in 2015 and spent that season redshirting for his hometown team. Since then, Teel has flourished into a scholarship player with a significant role in the Cowboys' pitching rotation.
In 2017, the southpaw led OSU with 28 appearances, 25 of those in relief, and topped the Pokes with a 3.06 ERA and three saves while ranking second on the pitching staff in wins (5) and strikeouts (77).
In OSU's run to the Big 12 Championship title, Teel appeared in all four games, striking out 10 and allowing only one run in 8.1 innings out of the bullpen.
Teel was a 27th-round draft pick of the Boston Red Sox in last June's MLB Draft but put a professional career on hold to return for his junior season.
In nine appearances this season, eight of those in relief, Teel is 3-0 with three saves. He earned his first win of the season with a career-high 7 1/3 innings of work against Arizona State before striking out a career-high 10 in four innings to earn a win against Eastern Michigan. In his first start of 2018 against Missouri State, he struck out eight and allowed just three hits in seven scoreless innings to pick up a win.
Teel leads the Big 12 with a 1.05 ERA and .165 opponent batting average, and he ranks second in wins (3) and third in strikeouts (33) and saves (3).
New Faces
OSU's active roster includes 17 newcomers — nine from the junior college ranks along with eight high school recruits.
Over the first month of the season, 13 Cowboy newcomers have made their OSU debut; seven of those have seen their names in the starting lineup.
Of the Cowboys' nine JUCO signees, four of those started their collegiate careers at the Division I level — Matt Kroon (Oregon), Reza Aleaziz (Oregon State), Jacob Ruder (Kansas State) and Ryan Van Leeuwen (UT Arlington).
Shining In Stillwater
In his third season at the collegiate level, Matt Kroon is showcasing the skills that have made him a two-time Major League Baseball Draft pick.
Kroon, who has started 14 games at third base and four at shortstop this season, came to Stillwater following stints at Oregon and Central Arizona CC, and he has been among the Cowboys' most consistent hitters in 2018.
Kroon owns a .270 batting average and is second on OSU in hits (17), RBIs (15), slugging percentage (.460) and on-base percentage (.418). The Arizona native has five multi-hit games, and he has reached base safely in 16-straight games.
Kroon's father, Marc, pitched four seasons in the big leagues for the Padres, Reds and Rockies.
Mr. Versatility
Andrew Rosa is in his fifth season at OSU and looks poised to make his final collegiate season his best yet.
Rosa's ability to play multiple positions makes him a valuable part of the lineup. He's played in nearly 120 career games, 70 of those as a starter, and he has been in the starting lineup as a first baseman, second baseman, third baseman, left fielder, center fielder and DH.
Listed as an infielder, Rosa's first three starts of 2018 came at second base, but he was inserted as a starter in center field — a position he had never previously played for the Cowboys — during the two midweek contests against Little Rock. He has started six games at second base and six in center field this season while batting either leadoff or second in the order.
Rosa missed the last three games with an injury but is hitting .318 on the season to go along with a .545 slugging percentage, and his .467 on-base percentage ranks leads the team. He also ranks 19th nationally in hit by pitches with eight.
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