Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State University
Wichita State
Cowboy Baseball Looking To Continue Winning Ways At Wichita State
April 03, 2018 | Cowboy Baseball
Game Notes
ÂOklahoma State (15-10-1) at #22 Wichita State (19-6)
Wed., April 4/6 p.m.
Eck Stadium (7,851) • Wichita, Kan.
  Video/TV: ESPN3/WatchESPN (Shane Dennis & Denning Gerig)
  Radio: KSPI 93.7 FM/okstate.com/watch (Rex Holt & Matt Davis)
  Live Stats: statbroadcast.com
 Twitter In-Game Updates: @OSUBaseball
About Oklahoma State
    • The Cowboys are 15-10-1 on the season and coming off a perfect 4-0 week that included a midweek win at Oklahoma and a three-game series sweep of No. 18 TCU in Stillwater.
    • 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 is 215-116-1 at his alma mater.
About Wichita State
    • Wichita State is 19-6 on the season and has won 13 of its 14 games at home. The Shockers are coming off a pair of losses at No. 16 East Carolina after winning the opening game of the series.
    • Led by Preseason All-Americans Alec Bohm (.344, 7 HR, 28 RBI) and Greyson Jenista (.302, 6 HR, 17 RBI), the Shockers own a .287 team batting average and are averaging over 6.5 runs per game.
    • WSU's pitching staff sports a 3.32 ERA and has recorded 244 strikeouts in 222.0 innings.
    • Todd Butler is in his fifth season as the Shockers' head coach and owns a 125-134 record. Butler also served three seasons as head coach at McNeese State, going 90-83, and his career head coaching record stands at 215-217.
    • WSU's starting pitcher vs. the Cowboys is expected to be right-hander Preston Snavely, who is 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA in four appearances (three starts); he has 16 strikeouts and nine walks in 13.1 innings pitched.
Cowboys vs. Shockers
    Oklahoma State is 58-33 in the all-time series against Wichita State, including a 6-1 mark under Josh Holliday.
    Last 7 Meetings
    2017 - OSU 6, WSU 3 (Wichita)     Â
    2016 - OSU 17, WSU 0 (Wichita)
    2015 - OSU 8, WSU 3 (Stillwater)
    2014 - WSU 6, OSU 4 (Stillwater); OSU 3, WSU 0 (Wichita)
    2013 - OSU 6, WSU 5 (12 inn./Stillwater); OSU 7, WSU 2 (Wichita)
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 87 games in Holliday's six seasons. The largest deficit OSU has overcome in 2018 is six runs — the Cowboys trailed both Missouri State (3/7) and TCU (3/31/Gm. 2) by a 6-0 score but came back to win both games.
Like Kissing Your Sister
    For the fifth time in program history and first time since 1985, Oklahoma State had a game end in a tie on March 18 against Seton Hall in Stillwater. Knotted at 3-3, the game officially ended with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning due to a weather delay and Seton Hall's travel curfew.
    With Cowboy runners on second and third and one out, lightning was detected in the area. The game was delayed for 36 minutes and was just minutes from resuming before the lightning sirens went off again, causing the game to be halted and officially end in a tie due to the Pirates traveling to Oklahoma City to catch a flight.
    The game marked the first ever at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium to end in a tie and marked OSU's first draw since the Cowboys tied Western Michigan in Lakeland, Fla., on March 4, 1985, in a contest called due to darkness.
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 .311 and is tied for the Big 12 lead with eight home runs. He also leads OSU in hits (33), doubles (8), RBIs (28), total bases (65) and slugging percentage (.613). He has started all 26 games for the Cowboys — 16 at catcher, six in left field and four 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.
Outfield Veteran
    A constant in Josh Holliday's lineup card over the last three seasons has been outfielder Jon Littell. The senior is by far the Cowboys' most experienced player, having appeared in 161 games, and his 149 starts is 60 more than the next closest player on the OSU roster.
    Littell has experience at both corner outfield spots as he's started 96 games in left field and 53 in right field in his career.Â
    At the plate, Littell caught fire in OSU's 2017 run to the College World Series as he was OSU's second-leading hitter in the NCAA tourney with a .379 batting average (11-for-29) in nine games. He carried that into 2017, where he was hitting over .300 with three homers and 21 RBIs before suffering injuries in an outfield collision at TCU on March 26 and missing nine games; the injuries lingered throughout the remainder of the season.
    Littell prove a clutch hitter in 2017 as he hit .306 (15-for-49) with runners in scoring position and had 16 two-out RBIs.
What A Week
    The sizzling bat of Jon Littell was rewarded with NCBWA National Hitter of the Week honors on April 3 as well as Big 12 Player of the Week accolades on April 2 following a week that saw the Cowboy senior lead the Pokes to a midweek win over Oklahoma and a series sweep of TCU.
    Littell was 9-for-15 (.600) at the plate in the four games with three doubles, two triples and four RBIs. He also scored nine runs, drew five walks, stole a base and turned in a 1.067 slugging percentage.
    Against a TCU pitching staff that entered the weekend as the Big 12 leader in ERA, Littell was 8-for-11 (.727) with three doubles, two triples and four RBIs. He scored nine runs, collected 15 total bases and posted a 1.364 slugging percentage.
Mr. VersatilityÂ
    Andrew Rosa is in his fifth season at OSU and is 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 123 career games, 72 as a starter, and he has been in the starting lineup at first base, second base, third base, left field, center field 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 seven games at second base, six in center field and one at first base this season while batting either leadoff or second in the order.
    Rosa missed the weekend games vs. Seton Hall and Missouri State and the Texas series with a foot injury (he had two at-bats at Central Arkansas before aggravating the injury). He is hitting .315 on the season to go along with a .519 slugging percentage, and his .443 on-base percentage and eight hit by pitches leads the team.
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 16 games at third base and 10 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 .260 batting average and leads OSU with 24 runs and six stolen bases. He is second on the Cowboys in RBIs (19) and on-base percentage (.403), and his 25 hits rank third. The Arizona native has seven multi-hit games and has reached base safely in 24-straight games.
    Kroon's father, Marc, pitched four seasons in the big leagues for the Padres, Reds and Rockies.
Saturday Slugger
    Carson McCusker played a key role in OSU's Saturday doubleheader sweep of TCU, and in doing so earned recognition as the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week on April 2.Â
    The sophomore entered the day having made just one start on the season and with only one hit, a single, in 11 at-bats. He started both games of the doubleheader in right field and went 4-for-6 with three home runs, all solo shots, while also making several highlight-reel defensive plays in the outfield.
RPI Talk
    The official NCAA RPI (games through April 2) has OSU at No. 48, while Wichita State is No. 6.
   Texas Tech is No. 2 in the RPI, while other Big 12 teams are West Virginia (25), Texas (43), Oklahoma (47), Baylor (53), Kansas State (66), TCU (86) and Kansas (95).
