Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State University
Kansas State
Cowboy Baseball Travels To Little Apple
April 06, 2018 | Cowboy Baseball
Game Notes
Oklahoma State (15-10-1, 4-2) at Kansas State (15-14, 2-4)
Sat., April 7/2 p.m. • Sun., April 8/2 p.m. • Mon., April 9/1 p.m.
Tointon Family Stadium (2,331) • Manhattan, Kan.
Video/TV: K-StateHD.tv - Fri.
ESPN3/WatchESPN - Sun. & Mon.
Radio: KSPI 93.7 FM/okstate.com/watch (Rex Holt & Matt Davis)
Live Stats: sidearmstats.com/kstate/baseball
Twitter In-Game Updates: @OSUBaseball
About Oklahoma State
• The Cowboys are 15-11-1 on the season and coming off a 7-5 loss at No. 22 Wichita State on Wednesday, which snapped OSU's four-game winning streak. The Pokes are in third place in the Big 12 Conference standings with a 4-2 mark following a series sweep of No. 18 TCU last weekend 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 215-117-1 at his alma mater.
About Kansas State
• Kansas State is 15-14 on the season which includes a 2-4 showing in Big 12 play.
• Led by sophomore Will Brennan (.372, 15 RBI, 13 SB) and junior Drew Mount (.284, 8 HR, 32 RBI, 17 SB), the Wildcats own a .277 team batting average and are averaging over just over six runs per game.
• KSU's pitching staff sports a 5.21 ERA and has recorded 194 strikeouts in 255.2 innings.
• Brad Hill is in his 15th season as the Wildcats' head coach and owns a 460-374-3 record. He has led KSU to four NCAA Regional appearances and an NCAA Super Regional in 2013. Hill was also a head coach for nine seasons at Central Missouri State, where he went 418-91 during his tenure.
Cowboys vs. Wildcats
Oklahoma State is 165-51 in the all-time series against Kansas State, including a 13-3 mark under Josh Holliday.
Last 16 Meetings
2017 - KSU 10, OSU 4; OSU 13, KSU 3; OSU 6, KSU 3 (Stillwater)
2016 - OSU 2, KSU 1; OSU 5, KSU 4; OSU 5, KSU 4 - 10 inn. (Manhattan)
2015 - KSU 4, OSU 2; OSU 12, KSU 3; OSU 4, KSU 1 (Stillwater) OSU 10, KSU 1 (Big 12 Championship - Tulsa)
2014 - OSU 8, KSU 0; OSU 6, KSU 4; OSU 17, KSU 5 - 7 inn. (Manhattan)
2013 - OSU 9, KSU 2; OSU 7, KSU 6; KSU 3, OSU 2 (Stillwater)
High Five
OSU entered the 2018 season as the fifth-winningest team in NCAA history in terms of winning percentage at .663.
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.
Close Calls
OSU is 54-33 in one-run games under Josh Holliday, and 58 of the Cowboys' 117 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.
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 .306 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 (.602). He has started all 27 games for the Cowboys — 17 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.
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. Versatility
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 eight games at second base, six in center field and one at first base this season while spending the majority of those 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.
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 12 appearances this season, nine of those in relief, Teel is 3-1 with three saves and a 2.84 ERA. 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 ranks fourth in the Big 12 in strikeouts (43), fifth in saves, seventh in opponent batting average (.216) and appearances and eighth in ERA.
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.
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 4) has OSU at No. 49, while Kansas State is No. 70.
Texas Tech is No. 2 in the RPI, while other Big 12 teams are West Virginia (25), Texas (37), Oklahoma (41), Baylor (54), TCU (86) and Kansas (83).
