Game Notes

#17 Oklahoma State (2-0) vs. Little Rock (1-1)

Wed., Feb. 24 / 4 p.m.
O'Brate Stadium (2,700) • Stillwater, Okla.

Video/TV: ESPN+ (Dave Hunziker & Tom Holliday)
Radio: 93.7 KSPI FM (Rex Holt & Matt Davis)
   stillwaterradio.net
Live Stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com
Twitter In-Game Updates: @OSUBaseball

About Oklahoma State
   • OSU opens a four-game homestand with its first-ever game at O'Brate Stadium when the Cowboys take on Little Rock Wednesday afternoon. Following the midweek contest, the Pokes will host Illinois State for a three-game weekend series beginning Friday.
   • 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 286-158-1 at his alma mater.

About Little Rock
   • Little Rock is 1-1 on the season, splitting a pair of games at Oral Roberts.
   • The Trojans are hitting .258 on the young season, while their pitching staff sports a 3.71 ERA after the first two games.
   • Chris Curry is in his seventh season as Little Rock's head coach and owns a 130-160 career record with the Trojans.
   • LR's starting pitcher vs. the Cowboys is expected to be sophomore right-hander Erik McKnight, who made three starts last season and posted a 6.48 ERA while recording five strikeouts and eight walks in 8.1 innings.

Cowboys vs. Trojans
   Oklahoma State is 47-3 all time against Little Rock, including a 5-1 mark under Josh Holliday.
   Last 5 Meetings (all in Stillwater)
   2020: OSU 9, LR 1; OSU 12, LR 0 (7 inn.)
   2019: OSU 8, LR 3
   2018: OSU 9, LR 2 (7 inn.); LR 12, OSU 6
   2014: OSU 7, UALR 6

In The Polls
   OSU appears in several national polls this week, 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 and the NCBWA.
   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.

High Five
Oklahoma State entered the 2021 season as the fifth-winningest team in NCAA baseball history in terms of winning percentage at .661.

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 122 games in Holliday's nine seasons.

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.

Cowboy Baseball Opens O'Brate Stadium With Little Rock

Game Notes

#17 Oklahoma State (2-0) vs. Little Rock (1-1)

Wed., Feb. 24 / 4 p.m.
O'Brate Stadium (2,700) • Stillwater, Okla.

Players Mentioned

Cade Cabbiness

Justin Campbell

Alix Garcia

Max Hewitt

Carson McCusker

Hueston Morrill

Caeden Trenkle

C.J. Varela

Oklahoma State University Athletics

Cowboy Baseball Opens O'Brate Stadium With Little Rock

Game Notes

#17 Oklahoma State (2-0) vs. Little Rock (1-1)

Wed., Feb. 24 / 4 p.m. O'Brate Stadium (2,700) • Stillwater, Okla.

Players Mentioned

Cade Cabbiness

Justin Campbell

Alix Garcia

Max Hewitt

Carson McCusker

Hueston Morrill

Caeden Trenkle

C.J. Varela

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Wed., Feb. 24 / 4 p.m.
O'Brate Stadium (2,700) • Stillwater, Okla.