Game Notes

Oklahoma State (21-13) vs. Dallas Baptist (25-10)
Tues., April 16/6:05 p.m.
Allie P. Reynolds Stadium (4,000) • Stillwater, Okla.

Video/TV: okstate.com/live
Radio: KSPI 93.7 FM (Rex Holt & Matt Davis)
   okstate.com/watch & stillwaterradio.net
Live Stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com
Twitter In-Game Updates: @OSUBaseball

About Oklahoma State
   • Oklahoma State is 21-13 overall and in second place in the Big 12 Conference standings with a 7-5 mark. The Cowboys open a five-game homestand Tuesday against Dallas Baptist before returning to league play Thursday-Saturday against Texas.
   • The Cowboys are coming off a 31-26-1 season in 2018 in which they earned a sixth consecutive NCAA Regional berth. OSU advanced to the finals of the NCAA DeLand Regional where they lost to host Stetson.
   • OSU finished second in the Big 12 Conference standings in 2018 with a 16-8 mark, one game back of league champion Texas. It marked the fifth time in the last six seasons the Cowboys earned a top-two league finish.
   • OSU had 11 players earn All-Big 12 status a year ago, led by 2018 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year Matt Kroon and All-Big 12 First Team starting pitcher Carson Teel. Seven of those all-conference Cowboys return in 2019.
   • Four Cowboys position players who started at least 35 games last season return in 2019 — catcher/outfielder Colin Simpson, outfielder Trevor Boone, first/third baseman Christian Funk and outfielder Carson McCusker.
   • The 2019 season marks OSU's seventh under head coach Josh Holliday, who is 252-145-1 at his alma mater.

About Dallas Baptist
   • Dallas Baptist is 25-10 on the season and has won four of its last five games.
   • Led by juniors Jackson Glenn (.342, 4 HR, 30 RBI) and Bryce Ball (.281, 8 HR, 26 RBI), the Patriots own a .280 team batting average and are averaging seven runs per game.
   • DBU's pitching staff sports a 3.85 ERA and has recorded 342 strikeouts in 311.0 innings.
   • Dan Heefner is in his 12th season as DBU's head coach and owns a 455-239 career record. He has led the Patriots to eight NCAA Regional appearances and a Super Regional in 2011.

Cowboys vs. Patriots
   Oklahoma State is 12-6 in the all-time series with Dallas Baptist, including a 5-2 mark under Josh Holliday.
   Last Seven Meetings
   2019 - DBU 7, OSU 5 (Dallas)
   2018 - OSU 4, DBU 2 (Dallas (11 inn. - Dallas); DBU 6, OSU 4 (Stillwater)
   2016 - OSU 7, DBU 6 (Dallas); OSU 8, DBU 7 (11 inn. - Stillwater)
   2015 - OSU 10, DBU 7 (10 inn. - Stillwater); OSU 11, DBU 2 (Dallas)

High Five
OSU entered the 2019 season as the fifth-winningest team in NCAA history in terms of winning percentage at .661.

One More Season At Allie P.
   The 2019 season marks the 39th and final season of OSU's historic ballpark, Allie P. Reynolds Stadium, with the Cowboys set to begin playing in the new O'Brate Stadium in 2020.
   Allie P. has been home to Oklahoma State baseball since April 4, 1981, and in those 39 seasons, the Cowboys have established a decisive home-field advantage.
   OSU is 929-247-1 (.790) all time at Reynolds Stadium and has lost more than two consecutive games on its home turf only 10 times (six in a row in 2007; five straight in 2017; four in a row in 2016 and 2018; three straight in 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017 and 2018).
   The Cowboys are 13-7 on their home field in 2019.

Scheduling Rarity
   For only the second time under Josh Holliday, OSU opened Big 12 Conference play at home in 2019 when the Cowboys hosted Kansas State. It marked just the third time since 2003 (2005 and 2013) that the Cowboys began league play at home, with 13 road trips to start conference action during that span.
   Since the start of Big 12 Conference baseball in 1997, the Cowboys have opened league play on the road 17 times and just seven times in Stillwater.

Building A Winner
   In the first six seasons as head coach at his alma mater, Josh Holliday built an impressive resume. Among the highlights:
   • The Cowboys have earned six 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 has finished first or second in the Big 12 Conference standings in five of its six seasons under Holliday — first in 2014, second in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2018.
   • 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 53 All-Big 12 performers, six All-Americans, two Big 12 Pitcher of the Year honorees, a Big 12 Player of the Year and a Big 12 Newcomer of the Year.

SOS & RPI
   Oklahoma State's strength of schedule appears stout in 2019 as the Cowboys will face 10 NCAA Regional teams from a year ago, including defending national champion Oregon State. Eight of OSU's opponents were nationally ranked in the preseason polls — UCLA (3), Michigan (17), Missouri State (24), TCU (16), Texas (14), Texas Tech (3), Oregon State (2) and Baylor (12) — and six of those are still ranked, including current top-10 teams UCLA and Oregon State.
   OSU is No. 29 in the latest official NCAA RPI; Dallas Baptist is 34.

Close Calls
   OSU is 64-39 in one-run games under Josh Holliday, and 68 of the Cowboys' 145 losses under Holliday have come by two runs or less.

Comeback Cowboys
   Come-from-behind victories have been a trend for the Cowboys under Josh Holliday; OSU has overcome deficits to win 108 games in Holliday's seven seasons. The largest deficit OSU has overcome this season is six runs — the Cowboys trailed USC by a 6-0 margin after two inning on March 8 before coming back to win.

Go Pro
During Josh Holliday's tenure as head coach, Oklahoma State has had 37 players selected in the Major League Baseball Draft. Eleven of those Cowboys were picked in the top 10 rounds, including 2013 first-rounder Jason Hursh.
In 2016, OSU tied a program record with 11 MLB Draft picks. (The 2007 Cowboys also had 11 draftees). The 11 draft picks tied the Cowboys with Mississippi State for the third most of any Division I program in 2016 behind only Texas A&M (13) and Southern California (12). Five of those went in the first 10 rounds, which marked the most top-10-round picks for OSU since five Pokes were taken in the top-10 rounds in 2008. Seven of the OSU players drafted were pitchers.

Going, Going, Gone x 12
   OSU enjoyed a record-setting day in its series opener at Kansas as the Cowboys slugged a program single-game record 12 home runs, besting the record of 11 set in 1999 against Chicago State, en route to a 27-6 win.
   Among the other feats from that game:
   • The 12 homers tied OSU with Belmont for the fourth most in a single game in NCAA history. Georgia Southern owns the record with 14 against UT Martin in 2015.
   • Christian Funk and Trevor Boone tied the OSU record for home runs in a game with three. The feat has now been accomplished 16 times by 13 different players in program history; Boone is also one of only three Cowboys to do it twice.
   • Seven different Cowboys homered in the win, and OSU hit at least one homer in each of the final eight innings.
   • OSU's 27 runs were its most ever in a Big 12 game, surpassing the 23 it scored against Kansas State on March 7, 1997. It also marked the most runs in a conference game for the Cowboys since they had 28 at Iowa State in a Big Eight Conference affair on April 16, 1995.
   • The 27 runs were the most in a Big 12 game since Oklahoma had 29 against Kansas State during the 2009 season.

Tank Smash
   Colin Simpson, aka "Tank," established himself as one of the Big 12's top sluggers over his sophomore and junior seasons in 2017-18, a span during which he smacked 29 home runs and collected 91 RBIs, and he entered his senior season on Preseason All-American and All-Big 12 lists.
   Through 34 games in '19, Simpson leads the Cowboys with 34 RBIs, and he has seven home runs. Six of his seven homers have come in Big 12 play, and he leads the conference with 18 RBIs in conference games.
   An All-Big 12 Second Team and ABCA/Rawlings All-Midwest Region performer last season, Simpson started all 58 games for the Cowboys and hit .280 with a career-high 18 home runs, a total that ranked 17th nationally. He also topped OSU in RBIs (51), total bases (130), walks (37) and slugging percentage (.578) and was second in hits (63), runs (48) and stolen bases (8).
   Primarily a catcher, Simpson started 43 games behind the plate in 2018 but has gotten more time in left field this season with 12 starts; he started six games in left a year ago and also played the position in the Cape Cod League over the summer.
   Simpson 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).

Boone Goes The Dynamite
   Trevor Boone has found his groove with the bat in his hands.
   At the conclusion of the Iowa series, the junior's batting average stood at .194, and he had just one RBI. But since then, Boone has raised his average to .264 to go along with a team-high nine homers and 25 RBIs.
   In the series opener against Kansas, Boone added his name to the OSU record books as he became just the third Cowboy (along with Adam Carr and Roy York) to hit three home runs in a game twice in a career. Boone also had three homers in a game last season against Baylor.
   Boone had a breakout sophomore campaign for the Cowboys in 2018, starting 51 games in center field and earning honorable mention All-Big 12 honors.
   Boone went on a tear at the plate with the start of Big 12 Conference play; he was hitting .192 in 17 games prior to the conference-opening series at Texas but over the next 39 games he raised his average to .270.
   In OSU's 24 Big 12 games, Boone hit .293 with seven homers and 24 RBIs, both of which ranked second on the team.

Hit The Slugging Switch
   Carson McCusker has picked up right where he left off in 2018, starting 26 games for the Cowboys this season (25 of those in the outfield) and hitting a team-high .344 while ranking sixth in the Big 12 with 11 doubles.
   McCusker, who has missed OSU's last eight games due to sickness, leads the Cowboys with a .417 batting average in Big 12 play and has a double, homer, two triples and six RBIs in 24 league at-bats.
   In the second game of the Kansas State series, McCusker tied an OSU single-game record with two triples, becoming the first Cowboy since 2011 to reach that mark.
   Over the first five weeks of his first season in an OSU uniform in 2018, McCusker made just one start and collected only one hit, a single, in 11 at-bats.
   Things changed in a hurry for the sophomore in a doubleheader sweep of TCU on March 31. McCusker started both games of the twin bill 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.
   Following the breakout performance, McCusker started 34-straight games in right field and was one of OSU's most consistent performers, hitting .314 with six homers and 11 RBIs in league play to earn honorable mention All-Big 12 accolades.

Clutch Carter
   Bryce Carter spent parts of four seasons at Stanford from 2015-18, playing in 97 games for the Cardinal (he was granted an injury redshirt season in 2017 after appearing in nine games), but the Oklahoma native chose to spend his final collegiate season in Stillwater as a graduate transfer for the Cowboys.
   Carter has had an immediate impact for OSU, starting 27 games and posting a .319 batting average to go along with 22 RBIs. Sixteen of his RBIs have come with two outs, and he's hitting .517 (15-for-29) with runners in scoring position.
   Carter missed six games (3/31-4/10) with concussion symptons after taking a foul ball off the mask against TCU.

New Kid On The Block
   A 36th-round draft pick of the Los Angeles Angels in last year's Major League Baseball Draft, Hueston Morrill chose the Cowboys over professional baseball, and he is having a significant impact in his first collegiate season.
   The freshman middle infielder has spent the majority of his time at second base and is among OSU's leading hitters with a .287 batting average. "Huey" also leads the Cowboys with seven stolen bases, and he has a team-high 12 multi-hit games, including a 4-for-5 effort in his second start of the season against Wright State (2/23).

Back On The Bump
   OSU was without three key pitchers and potential weekend starters for most of 2018 — Jensen Elliott, Parker Scott and Mitchell Stone — but the return of that trio has given the Cowboys a boost in 2019.
   • A Freshman All-American in 2016 after going 9-3 in 17 starts, Elliott was 3-0 through four outings in 2017 before undergoing Tommy John Surgery last April. The righty returned to the mound for his 2018 debut on May 13 and pitched in four games over the final few weeks of the season. He is 4-2 with a 4.53 ERA in nine starts in 2019.
   • Scott pitched in six games as a freshman in 2017, starting twice, before an arm injury ended his season. The southpaw suffered another setback when he underwent TJS that November. He returned to the mound for the first time since March 12, 2017 against Michigan and tossed a scoreless inning, and he earned his first-career win in relief vs. K-State. In eight outings, seven of those in relief, he's 1-0 with a 1.35 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 13 1/3 innings.
   • Stone started games on the first two weekends of his freshman season in 2018 but broke his foot on March 2; he did not return to action and was granted a medical redshirt. In his first start of 2019 at UT Rio Grande Valley, the southpaw earned his first-career win by tossing 5 1/3 scoreless innings and striking out six. He is 2-1 in seven appearances in 2019.

Dealing
   Peyton Battenfield is coming off a sophomore season in which he earned honorable mention All-Big 12 accolades, and he is poised for even more recognition in 2019.
   The right-hander has made 16 relief appearances this season and is 3-3 with a 2.16 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 33 1/3 innings. Opponents are hitting just .154 against him.
   Battenfield turned in a career performance at USC as he took the mound to open the third inning and tossed seven scoreless frames, allowing only two hits and racking up a career-high seven strikeouts on 101 pitches, to earn the win.
   In 2018, Battenfield led OSU with 26 appearances (25 in relief) and was 2-3 with a pair of saves and a 4.66 ERA; he also had 62 strikeouts in 56 innings.

Fear The Beards
   A pair of Cowboy righties have been a huge boost to the OSU pitching staff over the first month of the season.
   Junior Ben Leeper has emerged as OSU's closer and is thriving in that role as he is 3-1 with four saves and a 1.89 ERA. The Texan has allowed only four runs over 19.0 innings in a team-high 18 appearances while striking out 25.
   In OSU's win over 16th-ranked Michigan, Leeper took the mound at Dodger Stadium to open the bottom of the 10th and struck out the side to secure OSU's 3-2 victory. He also has saves against UT Rio Grande Valley and Wichita State.
   Leeper has undergone Tommy John surgery twice, missing his senior season of high school and most of the 2016 and 2017 seasons with the Cowboys. He entered 2019 with a 1-2 record and 11.02 ERA in 19 career outings at OSU.
   Standlee was expected to be a key contributor to the OSU staff in 2018 but was forced to redshirt the season after being declared academically ineligible.
   Taking the mound for his first season in 2019, Standlee has appeared in 12 games, five as a starter, and is 2-0 with a save and a 3.12 ERA, which ranks ninth in the Big 12. The right-hander leads the Cowboys with 38 strikeouts.
   Standlee made his first-career start against Missouri State and was dominant over seven shutout innings, allowing only six singles while striking out eight, the most strikeouts by a Cowboy pitcher this season.

From The Start Or Out Of The Pen
   Senior Joe Lienhard has proven to be a valuable commodity throughout his career, whether it be as a starter or reliever.
   The righty has made 69 career appearances, 29 of those as a starter, and is 11-7 with a save and a 4.69 ERA to go along with 167 strikeouts in 188.0 innings.
   Lienhard has made 14 appearances (five starts, four of them in Big 12 play) this season and is 2-1 with a 4.24 ERA. After coming out of the bullpen in his first seven outings, Lienhard got the start against No. 16 Michigan at Dodger Stadium and tossed 5 1/3 strong innings, allowing just one run on four hits and striking out three; he also started against K-State on Saturday.
   As a junior, Lienhard was an All-Big 12 honorable mention selection. He went 4-1 in eight Big 12 starts, including the conference opener at Texas in which he worked a career-high 8 1/3 innings and struck out eight (also a career best) while only giving up one run.
   Lienhard's father, Steve, pitched on four College World Series teams at OSU from 1984-87 and posted a 12-4 record with three saves.

Cowboy Baseball Begins Five-Game Homestand With Midweek Test

Game Notes

Oklahoma State (21-13) vs. Dallas Baptist (25-10)
Tues., April 16/6:05 p.m.
Allie P. Reynolds Stadium (4,000) • Stillwater, Okla.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Peyton Battenfield

Trevor Boone

Bryce Carter

Jensen Elliott

Christian Funk

Matt Kroon

Ben Leeper

Joe Lienhard

Carson McCusker

Hueston Morrill

Parker Scott

Colin Simpson

Mitchell Stone

Carson Teel

Oklahoma State University Athletics

Cowboy Baseball Begins Five-Game Homestand With Midweek Test

Game Notes

Oklahoma State (21-13) vs. Dallas Baptist (25-10) Tues., April 16/6:05 p.m. Allie P. Reynolds Stadium (4,000) • Stillwater, Okla.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Peyton Battenfield

Trevor Boone

Bryce Carter

Jensen Elliott

Christian Funk

Matt Kroon

Ben Leeper

Joe Lienhard

Carson McCusker

Hueston Morrill

Parker Scott

Colin Simpson

Mitchell Stone

Carson Teel

Related Videos

Oklahoma State (21-13) vs. Dallas Baptist (25-10)
Tues., April 16/6:05 p.m.
Allie P. Reynolds Stadium (4,000) • Stillwater, Okla.