Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State University
Oral Roberts
Cowboy Baseball Returns To Tulsa To Face ORU
April 30, 2018 | Cowboy Baseball
Game Notes
Â#12 Oklahoma State (27-14-1) at Oral Roberts (26-15)
Tues., May 1/6:30 p.m.
J.L. Johnson Stadium (2,418) • Tulsa, Okla.
 Video/TV: ESPN3/WatchESPN (Scott Higgins, George Frazier & Erik Hansen)
 Radio: KSPI 93.7 FM/okstate.com/watch/ & Tune In (Rex Holt & Matt Davis)
 Live Stats: oruathletics.com
 Twitter In-Game Updates: @OSUBaseball
About Oklahoma State
   • Riding a season-best seven-game winning streak, the Cowboys are 27-14-1 and have won five-straight Big 12 Conference series to sit in first place in the Big 12 standings by three games with a 15-3 league mark.
   • OSU is coming off a 2017 season in which it made its fifth consecutive NCAA Regional appearance and posted a 30-27 record. The Cowboys went 8-14 in conference play a year ago to finish eighth in the standings but made history as 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 227-120-1 at his alma mater.
About Oral Roberts
   • Winners of five in a row, Oral Roberts is 26-15 on the season, including a 20-5 mark on its home field.
   • Led by Preseason All-American Noah Cummings (.305, 7 HR, 42 RBI) and sophomore Spencer Henson (.366, 7 HR, 38 RBI), the Golden Eagles own a .277 team batting average and are averaging nearly six runs per game.
   • ORU's pitching staff sports a 4.03 ERA and has recorded 366 strikeouts in 357.1 innings.
   • Ryan Folmar is in his sixth season as ORU head coach and owns a 203-126 career record. Folmar was a four-year letterwinner at Oklahoma State as a catcher from 1994-97.
   • ORU is scheduled to start left-hander Taylor Varnell against the Cowboys. A senior southpaw, Varnell is 3-3 with a 5.54 ERA in 10 appearances this season and has 48 strikeouts and 17 walks in 39.0 IP. He has pitched in five games against OSU over the last two seasons and is 3-0 with a 3.57 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 17 2/3 innings of work.
Cowboys vs. Golden Eagles
   Oklahoma State is 35-37 all time in the series against Oral Roberts, including a 3-9 mark under Josh Holliday.
    Last 12 Meetings
    2018 - ORU 10, OSU 5 (Stillwater)
    2017 - OSU 7, ORU 6 (11 inn./Stillwater); ORU 4, OSU 1 (Tulsa); ORU 11, OSU 7 (Tulsa); ORU 14, OSU 6 (NCAA Fayetteville Regional)
    2016 - ORU 4, OSU 0 (Stillwater); ORU 3, OSU 1 (Tulsa)
    2015 - ORU 4, OSU 2 (Tulsa); ORU 15, OSU 5 (Stillwater)
    2014 - ORU 15, OSU 8 (Tulsa); OSU 8, ORU 3 (Stillwater)
    2013 - OSU 4, ORU 2 (Tulsa/ONEOK Field)
In The Polls
   From March 4, 2013 to April 3, 2017, OSU was ranked in at least one national poll, a streak of 77 consecutive weeks. During that time, the Cowboys spent 18 weeks in the Top 10 and were ranked as high as No. 3 (by the NCBWA in 2014). They have finished in the top 10 in the final national polls twice in the last four seasons — 10th in 2014 and fourth in 2016 — and have ended the season in the top 10 in the national polls 20 times in program history.
   OSU entered the national rankings for the first time in 2018 on April 23. This week, the Cowboys checked in as high as No. 12 in the Collegiate Baseball poll.
High Five
  OSU entered the 2018 season as the fifth-winningest team in NCAA history in terms of winning percentage at .663.Â
    Team      Seasons     Wins   Losses   Ties   Pct.
1. Texas        121    3,443   1,283   31   .727
2. Florida State      70    2,839   1,066   11   .726
3. Miami (Fla.)      73    2,567   1,058   18   .707
4. Arizona State     106    2,836   1,413   8   .667
5. Oklahoma State     106    2,586   1,315   4   .663
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.
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.
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 .301 and leads the Big 12 with a career-best 14 homers. He also tops OSU in hits (49), RBIs (43), total bases (102) and slugging percentage (.626). He has started all 42 games for the Cowboys — 29 at catcher, seven as DH and six in left field.
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 174 games, and his 165 starts is 60 more than the next closest player on the OSU roster.
   Littell has experience at both corner outfield spots as he's made 112 starts in left field and 53 in right field in his career.Â
   A big reason why OSU has started Big 12 play with a 15-3 mark is Littell's bat — he's hitting .377 in conference play and has posted a .609 slugging percentage with six doubles, two triples, two homers and 17 RBIs.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 proved a clutch hitter in 2017 as he hit .306 (15-for-49) with runners in scoring position and had 16 two-out RBIs.
Mr. VersatilityÂ
   Andrew Rosa is in his fifth season at OSU and is making 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 136 career games, 83 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 18 games at second base, six in center field and one at first base this season.
   Rosa has missed weekend games vs. Seton Hall and Missouri State as well as the Texas and OU series with a foot injury. He is hitting .296 on the season to go along with a .439 slugging percentage, and his .432 on-base percentage and 10 hit by pitches leads the team.
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.Â
   In 16 appearances this season, nine of those in relief, Teel is 6-2 with three saves and a 2.86 ERA, which ranks third in the Big 12. He earned his first win of the season with a career-high 7 1/3 innings in relief at Arizona State; 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 has twice been named Big 12 Pitcher of the Week in 2018 — on April 9 after tossing a complete game and striking out nine against Kansas State and again on April 30 following a Bedlam Series performance that saw him rack up a career-high 12 strikeouts in eight scoreless innings against No. 18 Oklahoma.
   Teel ranks second in the Big 12 in wins and strikeouts (72) and is fourth in opponent batting average (.224).
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 25 games at shortstop and 17 games at third base 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 leads OSU with 14 doubles, 39 runs and 12 stolen bases and is second with 45 hits. The Arizona native has 13 multi-hit games and had a streak of reaching base safely snapped at 24 games at Wichita State.
   Kroon's father, Marc, pitched four seasons in the big leagues for the Padres, Reds and Rockies and was also a Nippon Professional Baseball standout in Japan, where he racked up 177 saves over six seasons.
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.
   McCusker has made 18-straight starts in right field, and he is hitting .347 with five homers, 10 RBIs and a .735 slugging percentage in Big 12 play.
Boone Goes The Dynamite
   Trevor Boone has been on a tear at the plate since the start of Big 12 Conference play. The sophomore outfielder was hitting .192 in 17 games prior to the Texas series but in 23 games since has raised his average to .268.
   Boone was named the Big 12 Co-Player of the Week on April 9 after a three-game stretch that saw him go 7-for-12 at the plate with a pair of doubles, a homer and three RBIs. In the series sweep of Kansas State, he was 6-for-12 with two homers and five RBIs, and his go-ahead grand slam in the eighth inning of the series finale lifted OSU to a series sweep.
   Boone is hitting .313 with a team-high 19 RBIs in Big 12 play.
RPI Talk
   The official NCAA RPI (games through April 29) has OSU at No. 21, while Oral Roberts is No. 187.
   Texas Tech is No. 3 in the RPI, while other Big 12 teams are Texas (30), West Virginia (34), Oklahoma (36), Baylor (39), TCU (67), Kansas (120) and Kansas State (136).
