Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State University
Missouri State
Cowboy Baseball Travels To Missouri State For Midweek Test
March 06, 2018 | Cowboy Baseball
Game Notes
Oklahoma State (6-4) at Missouri State (6-3)
Wed., March 7/3 p.m.
Hammons Field (8,000) • Springfield, Mo.
Video/TV: ESPN3/WatchESPN
Radio: pete 94.3 FM/okstate.com/watch (Rex Holt & Matt Davis)
Live Stats: www.sidearmstats.com/missouristate/baseball
Twitter In-Game Updates: @OSUBaseball
About Oklahoma State
• Oklahoma State is 6-4 on the season and coming off a 2-3 showing last week in which the Cowboys split a pair of midweek games at home vs. Little Rock before dropping 2-of-3 at Arizona State on the weekend.
• OSU is coming off a 2017 season in which it made its fifth consecutive NCAA Regional appearance and finished 30-27 overall. 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 has compiled a 206-110 record at his alma mater.
About Missouri State
• Missouri State is 6-3 on the season and won its final two games at the Keith LeClair Classic last weekend, including a victory against tourney host and nationally ranked East Carolina.
• The Bears are hitting .240 as a team, led by Drew Millas (.433, 10 RBIs). Returning All-American shortstop Jeremy Eierman is coming off a season in which he hit .313 with 23 homers and 68 RBIs; through nine games this season, he's hitting .206 with one home run and four RBIs.
• MSU's pitching staff sports a collective 3.29 ERA and has recorded 74 strikeouts in 79 1/3 innings.
• Keith Guttin is in his 36th season as Missouri State's head coach and owns a record of 1,225-762. Guttin has led the Bears to 10 NCAA Regional appearances and the 2003 College World Series.
Cowboys vs. Bears
Oklahoma State is 13-7 in the all-time series against Missouri State, including a 7-1 mark under Josh Holliday. Four of the last eight meetings have been decided by one run, three of those in extra innings.
Last 8 Meetings
2017 - OSU 7, MSU 3 (Stillwater); MSU 6, OSU 5 (NCAA Fayetteville Regional)
2016 - OSU 6, MSU 5 (10 inn. - Springfield)
2015 - OSU 7, MSU 2 (Stillwater)
2014 - OSU 6, MSU 0 (Springfield); OSU 3, MSU 2 (11 inn. - Stillwater)
2013 - OSU 5, MSU 4, (10 inn. - Stillwater); OSU 6, MSU 4 (Springfield)
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.
Comeback Cowboys
Come-from-behind victories have been a trend for the Cowboys under Josh Holliday; OSU has overcome deficits to win 83 games in Holliday's six seasons.
Year Come-From-Behind Wins
2013 18
2014 28
2015 15
2016 9
2017 11
2018 3
Close Calls
OSU is 52-32 in one-run games under head coach Josh Holliday (2013-pres.), and 53 of the Cowboys' 110 losses under Holliday have come by two runs or less.
In 2017, 13 of OSU's 22 conference games were decided by two runs or less; the Cowboys were 4-9 in those games with six one-run defeats and three two-run setbacks.
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 .297 and leads OSU in hits (11), doubles (4), homers (2), RBIs (9), total bases (21) and slugging percentage (.568). He has started all 10 games for the Cowboys — eight at catcher, one in left field and one 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 six appearances this season, Teel has matched his save output of a year ago with three, a total that is tied for second in the Big 12 and ranks among the national leaders. He earned his first win of the season with a career-high 7 1/3 innings of work against Arizona State, and his 1.98 ERA ranks seventh in the Big 12.
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.
OSU's starting third baseman in all 10 games this season, Kroon arrived in Stillwater following stints at Oregon and Central Arizona CC, and he has been among the Cowboys' most consistent hitters through the first two weeks of 2018.
Kroon leads the Pokes with a .324 batting average and is second on the club with a .609 slugging percentage and .452 on-base percentage.
The Arizona native has three-multi hit games to pace the Cowboys, and he has reached base safely in eight-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 over 110 career games, 66 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 five games at second base and three in center field this season while batting either leadoff or second in the order.
Rosa is hitting .321 on the season to go along with a .464 slugging percentage, and his .457 on-base percentage leads the team.
