Game Notes

#17 Oklahoma State vs. Wichita State

Sun., Feb. 21 / 2 p.m. • Mon., Feb. 22 / 2 p.m.
Eck Stadium (8,153) • Wichita, Kan.

Video/TV: None
Radio: Pete 94.3 FM/KSPI AM 780 (Sun.)
      93.7 KSPI FM (Mon.)
      stillwaterradio.net (Rex Holt & Matt Davis)
Live Stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com
Twitter In-Game Updates: @OSUBaseball

About Oklahoma State
   • After having its three game season-opening series at Sam Houston canceled due to weather-related issues, OSU will now open 2021 with a pair of games at Wichita State, facing the Shockers Sunday and Monday at Eck Stadium.
   Weather issues are also altering OSU's home opening midweek series against Little Rock at O'Brate Stadium. Those two will now play just one game, with the Cowboys' home opener now scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 24, prior to a weekend series at home against Illinois State Feb. 26-28.
   • The Cowboys are coming off a 13-5 showing in 2020, a season that was cut short in early March due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.
   • OSU returns the majority of its 2020 roster in 2021, along with a talented group of newcomers in a recruiting class ranked in the top 25 nationally. Seven position players that started at least 13 games a year ago are back, and the Cowboys' entire starting weekend rotation also returns.
   • The 2021 season is OSU's ninth under head coach Josh Holliday, who is 284-158-1 at his alma mater.

About Wichita State
   • Wichita State posted a 13-2 record during the 2020 season.
   • The Shockers return leading hitters Couper Cornblum (.354, HR, 12 RBI) and Hunter Gibson (.316, 2 HR, 17 RBI) from a team that turned in a .264 batting average last season, while 10 pitchers are back from a staff that recorded a 2.91 ERA a year ago.
   • Eric Wedge returns for his second season as head coach at WSU in 2021.
   • WSU's starting pitching rotation vs. the Cowboys is expected to be:
   Sunday: RHP Liam Eddy — Junior was 2-0 with a 1.73 ERA in four starts in 2020; 22 K, 6 BB in 26.0 IP
   Monday: LHP Spencer Hynes — Junior pitched 3.1 innings in three appearances at Houston last season

Cowboys vs. Shockers
   Oklahoma State is 60-35 all time against Wichita State, including an 8-3 mark under Josh Holliday. The series dates back to 1914; the last meetings came in 2019, with OSU winning midweek contests at home and on the road that season.

In The Polls
   OSU appears in several preseason national polls, checking in as high as No. 17 in the Collegiate Baseball rankings. The Pokes are 18th in the USA Today coaches poll and are ranked No. 20 by D1Baseball.com.
   The Cowboys spent three weeks of the 2020 season in the national polls and peaked at No. 16 in the
Baseball America rankings.
   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 six seasons — 10th in 2014 and fourth in 2016.

2,657 & Counting
   Oklahoma State began the 2021 season 14th on the NCAA's all-time Division I wins list with 2,670. The Cowboys are one of only 25 programs in Division I history to reach 2,600 victories, and of those, only four — Florida State, Miami (Fla.), Florida and Fresno State — have played fewer seasons than OSU's 109.

Building A Winner
   In eight seasons as head coach at his alma mater, Josh Holliday has built a sparkling resume. Among the highlights:
   • The Cowboys earned seven NCAA Regional berths, advanced to three 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 five times, claiming the program's first-ever regular season Big 12 title in 2014 and finishing 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 2019, they were ranked as high as 11th in the final polls.
   • The Pokes have added three Big 12 championships to the program's total. 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. The Cowboys also claimed the conference tourney title in 2019.
   • OSU hosted NCAA Regionals in 2014 and 2015 and was the top-seeded team both times. The Cowboys were also awarded a No. 9 national seed and host and top-seed status of the NCAA Oklahoma City Regional in 2019.
   • Holliday has coached 62 All-Big 12 performers, seven 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.

Close Calls
   OSU is 72-41 in one-run games under Josh Holliday, and 73 of the Cowboys' 158 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 121 games in Holliday's eight seasons.

13 Years
   Asterisk or not due to the shortened season, Max Hewitt made history in 2020 as he became only the 18th Cowboy to hit .400 in a season and the first since Ty Wright in 2007 as he turned in a .410 batting average. An OSU player has hit .400 in season 20 times in program history.

One Last Ride
   Due to the 2020 season being cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic, the NCAA granted eligibility for '20 seniors wishing to return and play in 2021. Five Cowboys took advantage of the opportunity, with Cade Cabbiness, Alix Garcia, Max Hewitt, Carson McCusker and C.J. Varela opting to return this season.
   That group gives OSU a strong veteran presence, with Cabbiness and Varela returning for their fifth years in the program and Hewitt and McCusker their fourth; entering the '21 season, the group of Cabbiness, Garcia, Hewitt and McCusker has combined to play in 414 games for the Cowboys.

Preseason Picks
   OSU was picked to finish fourth in the Big 12 standings in a preseason vote of the league's head coaches, who also named three Cowboys to the Preseason All-Big 12 Team.
   The coaches tabbed infielders Max Hewitt and Hueston Morrill as all-conference picks, while Justin Campbell was named to the team as a utility player.
   Hewitt finished second in the Big 12 with a .410 batting average in 2020 and had career highs in extra-base hits and RBIs despite the shortened season, while Morrill has started 75 games on the infield over the last two seasons and was an honorable mention All-Big 12 performer as a freshman.
   Campbell was a standout on the mound and at the plate as a freshman last season, hitting .414 with a pair of three-RBI games in limited duty, while ranking second on the team with 22 strikeouts as a part of OSU's weekend rotation.

Glimpse Of A Bright Future
   Two Cowboys earned Freshman All-American status following the shortened 2020 season, with outfielder Caeden Trenkle and two-way standout Justin Campbell collecting honors from Collegiate Baseball.
   In 18 games, Trenkle hit .333 with three home runs, 16 RBIs and a team-high .623 slugging percentage, and he tied for the NCAA lead with four triples while ranking third nationally with five sacrifice bunts.
   Campbell starred both on the mound and at the plate. Offensively, he appeared in 10 games and hit .414 with a homer and seven RBIs. He had a pair of three-RBI games and hit safely in five of his last six games in the lineup.
   On the bump, the right-handed Campbell was in the weekend starting rotation the entire season and went 1-2 with a 4.43 ERA in four starts while recording 22 strikeouts in 20 1/3 innings. In his final outing of the season, he tossed eight shutout innings against BYU and racked up nine strikeouts.

Back On The Bump
   Parker Scott is back for a fifth season with the Cowboys, and the southpaw is expected to lead OSU's starting rotation. He is ranked No. 69 on D1Baseball.com's Preseason Power Rankings: Top 150 Starting Pitchers for college baseball in 2021.
   Scott struggled with injuries that cost him the majority of his first two seasons in Stillwater but showed what he could do when healthy over the last two seasons.
   Scott pitched in six games as a freshman in 2017, starting twice, before an arm injury ended his season. He suffered another setback when he underwent Tommy John Surgery that November that caused him to redshirt in 2018.
   After two years between appearances (March 12, 2017-March 10, 2019), Scott made 15 appearances in 2019, eight as a starter, and go 3-1 with a 2.18 ERA and 51 strikeouts in 45 1/3 innings. He led the Big 12 in conference-only games with a 1.11 ERA while racking up 31 strikeouts in 24 1/3 innings of work.
   In four starts in 2020, Scott was 3-1 with a 2.16 ERA and tallied 31 strikeouts in 25 innings.

Cowboy Baseball Opens 2021 Season At Wichita State

Game Notes

#17 Oklahoma State vs. Wichita State

Sun., Feb. 21 / 2 p.m. • Mon., Feb. 22 / 2 p.m.
Eck Stadium (8,153) • Wichita, Kan.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Cade Cabbiness

Justin Campbell

Alix Garcia

Max Hewitt

Carson McCusker

Hueston Morrill

Parker Scott

Caeden Trenkle

C.J. Varela

Oklahoma State University Athletics

Cowboy Baseball Opens 2021 Season At Wichita State

Game Notes

#17 Oklahoma State vs. Wichita State

Sun., Feb. 21 / 2 p.m. • Mon., Feb. 22 / 2 p.m. Eck Stadium (8,153) • Wichita, Kan.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Cade Cabbiness

Justin Campbell

Alix Garcia

Max Hewitt

Carson McCusker

Hueston Morrill

Parker Scott

Caeden Trenkle

C.J. Varela

Related Videos

Sun., Feb. 21 / 2 p.m. • Mon., Feb. 22 / 2 p.m.
Eck Stadium (8,153) • Wichita, Kan.