Oklahoma State University Athletics
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Cowboy Baseball Seeks To Defend Tourney Crown In OKC
May 21, 2018 | Cowboy Baseball
Game Notes
#2-seed Oklahoma State (29-22-1)
at the 2018 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship
Wed., May 23 - Sun., May 27 • Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark/Oklahoma City
Video/TV: FOX College Sports/FOX Sports GO/FSN (Sun. championship game) (Chad McKee, George Hamilton, Bill Doleman, Mickey Tettleton)
Radio: KSPI 93.7 FM/okstate.com/watch/ & TuneIn (Rex Holt & Matt Davis)
Live Stats: www.statbroadcast.com
Twitter In-Game Updates: @OSUBaseball
About Oklahoma State
• The Cowboys are 29-22-1 on the season and finished second in the Big 12 Conference standings with a 16-8 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 229-128-1 at his alma mater.
Cowboys At The Big 12 Baseball Championship
• OSU is making its 20th appearance at the Big 12 Baseball Championship and owns a 25-35 all-time record in the tournament, including a 12-8 mark under Josh Holliday.
• The Cowboys have advanced to the tourney final three times under Holliday — in 2014, 2015 and 2017.
• OSU has won two Big 12 Championship titles. In 2004, the Cowboys defeated Missouri 10-9 in 13 innings in Arlington, Texas; the 2018 tourney saw the Pokes knock off Texas in the title game in Oklahoma City as OSU became the first No. 8 seed in tourney history to claim the crown.
• OSU is the No. 2 seed and in Division Two of this year's double-elimination Big 12 tournament field, along with third-seeded Texas Tech, sixth-seeded TCU and seventh-seeded West Virginia.
• The teams in Division One of the tourney include No. 1-seed Texas, No. 4 Oklahoma, No. 5 Baylor and No. 8 Kansas.
Cowboys vs. Big 12 Tourney Field in 2018
Texas (1-2) - OSU 6, UT 1; UT 7, OSU 1; UT 10, OSU 5 (Austin)
Oklahoma (3-0) - OSU 8, OU 0; OSU 10, OU 1; OSU 9, OU 2 (Stillwater/Tulsa)
Texas Tech (0-3) - TTU 9, OSU 4; TTU 14, OSU 6; TTU 7, OSU 3 (Stillwater)
Baylor (1-2) - BU 13, OSU 5; OSU 11, BU 6; BU 7, OSU 3 (Waco)
TCU (3-0) - OSU 7, TCU 6 (11 inn.); OSU 12, TCU 7; OSU 9, TCU 8 (Stillwater)
West Virginia (2-1) - OSU 7, WVU 4; WVU 10, OSU 7; OSU 6, WVU 4 (Morgantown)
Kansas (3-0) - OSU 12, KU 1 (7 inn.); OSU 4, KU 3; OSU 4, KU 3 (Stillwater)
RPI Talk
The official NCAA RPI (games through May 20) has OSU at No. 28. Other Big 12 teams are Texas Tech (5), Texas (14), Oklahoma (39), Baylor (42), West Virginia (53), TCU (65), Kansas (93) and Kansas State (130).
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.
OSU entered the national rankings for the first time in 2018 on April 23 and has remained in at least one poll for five consecutive weeks. This week, the Cowboys checked in at No. 20 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.
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.
Sweep-stakes
The Cowboys posted four Big 12 Conference series sweeps this season (vs. TCU, Kansas State, Kansas and OU), the most by an OSU team since it had four in 2016 and one shy of the program record set in 1999. It also marks the third time under Josh Holliday that the Pokes have had three or more league series sweeps in a season.
Comeback Cowboys
Come-from-behind victories have been a trend for the Cowboys under Josh Holliday; OSU has overcome deficits to win 94 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.
Once In A Blue Moon
The Cowboys' back-to-back series sweeps against TCU and Kansas State marked the first time since 2014 and the second time under Josh Holliday that OSU has posted consecutive Big 12 series sweeps. The Pokes achieved the feat for the third time under Holliday with consecutive sweeps against Kansas and Oklahoma.
OSU also had a pair of seven-game winning streaks in Big 12 play this season, tying for the fourth longest Big 12 win streaks in program history. The streaks tied the 2014 OSU team for the longest ever under Holliday.
Chicks Dig The Long Ball
The Cowboys' 65 home runs this season are the most by an OSU team since 2009 when the Cowboys had 81. OSU ranks 20th in the NCAA in homers this season.
Ten different Cowboys have homered this season, and Colin Simpson's 18 homers are the most by an OSU player since Rebel Ridling had 18 in 2008. The last Cowboy to reach 20 round trippers in a season was Corey Brown, who smashed 22 in 2007.
OSU smacked 11 homers in its series at Baylor, including posting seven in the game two win. That total marked OSU's most home runs in a game since the Pokes had eight against Kansas in 2006; the school record is 11 set against Chicago State in 1999.
Also in that game against Baylor, Trevor Boone tied an OSU record by becoming only the 12th player in OSU history to hit three home runs in a game (it's been done on 14 occasions). Boone homered in each of his first three at-bats against the Bears.
Tank Smash
Colin Simpson, aka "Tank", enjoyed a breakout sophomore season for the Cowboys in 2017, collecting honorable mention All-Big 12 honors and leading 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.
Enjoying another strong season in 2018, Simpson is hitting .287 and has popped a career-high 18 home runs, a total that also ranks eighth nationally. He also tops OSU in hits (58), RBIs (51), total bases (124) and slugging percentage (.614). He has started all 52 games for the Cowboys — 37 at catcher, nine 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 187 games, and his 175 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 116 starts in left field and 53 in right field in his career.
A big reason why OSU finished second in the Big 12 standings is Littell's bat — he was OSU's leading hitter in league play at .341 while posting a .560 slugging percentage with seven doubles, two triples, three homers and 21 RBIs.
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.
What A Week
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 after the senior led OSU 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 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 138 career games, 84 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 19 games at second base, six in center field, five at DH and one at first base this season.
Rosa has battled nagging foot and leg injuries throughout the season and missed weekend games vs. Seton Hall and Missouri State as well as the Texas and OU series while being limited at Iowa. He is hitting .289 on the season to go along with a .430 slugging percentage, and his .415 on-base percentage and 10 hit by pitches are tied for the team lead.
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). He 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 19 appearances this season, nine of those in relief, Teel is 7-3 with three saves. He earned his first win of the season with 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 third in the Big 12 in wins, fourth in strikeouts (81) and ninth in opponent batting average (.256).
On The Shelf
OSU has been without what was expected to be two-thirds of its weekend starting pitching rotation in 2018 as both Jensen Elliott and Parker Scott are rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.
A Freshman All-American in 2016 after going 9-3 in 17 starts, Elliott was 3-0 through four outings a year ago before undergoing surgery in April. The righty returned to the mound in the series finale vs. Baylor on May 13 and threw one perfect inning before tossing 3 1/3 scoreless innings against Texas Tech in the final game of that series.
Scott pitched in six games as a freshman a year ago before an arm injury ended his season. The southpaw suffered another setback when he underwent TJS in November.
Adding to the list, freshman southpaw Mitchell Stone, who started games on the first two weekends of the season, broke his foot on March 2 and has yet to return to action.
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 34 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 is hitting .296 and leads OSU with 58 hits, 17 doubles, 52 runs and 14 stolen bases and a .420 on-base percentage. The Arizona native has 17 multi-hit games and has streaks of 24 and 23 (current) games reaching base safely.
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.
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 started 28-straight games in right field since, and he hit .314 with six homers and 11 RBIs 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 33 games since has raised his average to .272.
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. Against 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 hit .293 with seven homers and 24 RBIs in Big 12 play, both of which ranked second on the team.
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