Game Notes (PDF)

#10 Oklahoma State (21-7-1, 6-3) at #6 TCU (23-9, 7-2)

Fri., April 16 / 6:30 p.m. • Sat., April 17 / 2 p.m. • Sun., April 18 / 1 p.m.
Lupton Stadium (4,500) • Fort Worth, Texas

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

About Oklahoma State
   • OSU returns to Big 12 Conference play this weekend when the Cowboys travel to Fort Worth, Texas, to take on TCU in a matchup of top 10 teams that also features the second- and third-place teams in the league standings. Winners of five in a row, OSU is 21-7-1 on the season, and the Pokes sit third in the conference with a 6-3 mark.
   • 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 305-165-2 at his alma mater.

About TCU
   • TCU is 23-9 on the season, including an 11-2 mark at home.
   • The Horned Frogs are hitting .293 as a team, while their pitching staff owns a 4.03 ERA.
   • Jim Schlossnagle is in his 18th season as TCU's head coach and owns a 716-336 career record with the Frogs. He also spent two seasons leading UNLV and is 793-383 overall as a head coach.
   • TCU's starting pitching rotation vs. the Cowboys is expected to be:
   Friday: LHP Russell Smith— 6-1 with a 2.30 ERA in eight starts; 62 K, 6 BB in 47.0 IP
   Saturday: LHP Austin Krob — In eight starts is 4-0 with a 2.91 ERA; 53 K, 18 BB in 43.1 IP
   Sunday: RHP Johnny Ray — 2-2 with a 5.40 ERA in seven outings (six starts); 29 K, 17 BB in 25.0 IP

Cowboys vs. Horned Frogs
   Oklahoma State is 28-24 in the all-time series against TCU, including a 14-13 mark under Josh Holliday.

In The Polls
   OSU has appeared in the national polls each of the first nine weeks of the season and entered the top 10 in a pair of polls this week, occupying the No. 10 spot in the NCBWA and Collegiate Baseball rankings. The Pokes are also ranked 12th in the USA Today coaches poll, 13th by D1Baseball.com, 18th by Perfect Game and 20th by Baseball America.
   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.

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.

300 Club
   Josh Holliday recorded his 300th career win as a head coach when he led his alma mater to a 5-4 win over Bedlam-rival Oklahoma on March 30 in Stillwater.
   Holliday is one of four coaches to reach the 300-win milestone with the Cowboys, joining Gary Ward (953), Frank Anderson (329) and Toby Greene (318).

Checking The RPI
   OSU comes in at No. 9 in the latest official NCAA RPI, while TCU is No. 7.

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.
   Scott is 6-1 with a 1.60 ERA and 48 strikeouts in 45.0 innings in his eight outings this season.

Four Sure
   Four of the seven starting pitchers OSU has used this season — Parker Scott, Justin Wrobleski, Bryce Osmond and Justin Campbell — have combined to go 15-5 with a 2.86 ERA and 181 strikeouts in 154.0 innings.
   Both Wrobleski and Campbell have turned in career outings. Campbell struck out 14 in seven shutout innings at Oral Roberts, which came on the heels of a six-inning, 13-strikeout effort at Missouri State, and Wrobleski racked up 13 punchouts and allowed only one hit in seven scoreless frames vs. Grand Canyon.
   Scott ranks third nationally with six wins, while Campbell is 13th in the NCAA with a 1.15 ERA.

They're Watching You
   Justin Campbell has been named to a pair of national award watch lists in 2021. The Cowboys' two-way standout is one of 45 players on the midseason watch list for USA Baseball's Golden Spikes Award, which is given to the top amateur player in the country, and he is also one of 17 players on the College Baseball Foundation's John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Watch List.

Fear The Beard
   Brett Standlee has emerged as OSU's top arm out of the bullpen in 2021.
   In a team-high 15 relief appearances, the bearded one is 3-0 with three saves and a 1.62 ERA. In 16 2/3 innings, the right-hander has posted 27 strikeouts and allowed just three earned runs, and he's been part of three of the Cowboys' five shutouts.
   Forced to redshirt the 2018 season after being declared academically ineligible, Standlee made his collegiate debut in 2019 and served roles as both a starter and reliever en route to earning a spot on the Big 12 All-Freshman Team. He appeared in 19 games, 12 as a starter, and was 3-2 with a save and a 4.26 ERA while ranking second on the team in strikeouts (55) and innings pitched (72 2/3).
   In the Big 12 Championship title game, Standlee had a memorable performance as he worked a career-high seven innings and allowed just one run while striking out three against West Virginia to earn the win in OSU's 5-2 victory.
   Last season, Standlee was again used as a starter and reliever and went 1-0 with a save, a 1.83 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 19 2/3 innings over a team-high seven appearances. He earned a win in his start at No. 8 Arizona State, tying career highs in innings pitched (7.0) and strikeouts (8) in OSU's 2-1 victory.

Bombs Away
   In less than two full seasons at Yavapai JC, where he played in a wooden bat league, Christian Encarnacion-Strand hit 33 home runs in 81 games, and he's continued that power surge in his first season in Stillwater.
   Encarnacion-Strand, who has started all 29 games for the Cowboys at third base, has smacked a team-high 10 home runs and also leads the Pokes with 37 RBIs, a total that ranks 14th nationally.
   With Encarnacion-Strand leading the way, the Cowboys have tallied 40 home runs to rank 19th in the NCAA this season, and 11 different players have gone deep. Nolan McLean ranks second on OSU with seven round trippers.

Mound Menaces
   • OSU's five shutouts this season are third in the NCAA behind Louisiana Tech (7) and UConn (6).
   • The OSU pitching staff rank second in the Big 12 and 16th nationally with 318 strikeouts, and their 11.1 strikeouts per nine innings leads the conference and is 11th in the NCAA. The Pokes have racked up 318 strikeouts in 258.0 innings.
   • Justin Campbell leads the Big 12 and ranks 11th nationally with a 1.15 ERA; the righty has allowed just five earned runs in his 39 innings of work. Parker Scott ranks second in the league with a 1.60 ERA.
   • Campbell recorded a streak of 28 2/3 innings without allowing an earned run that stretched from the fourth inning of his first start vs. LR on Feb. 24 to the sixth inning of his start vs. WVU on April 2.
   • Campbell posted a career-high 14 strikeouts in seven scoreless innings against Oral Roberts on March 9. The 14 strikeouts were just two shy of the OSU single-game record held by Derek Brandow.
   • In that game against the Golden Eagles, Campbell teamed with Mitchell Stone, Kale Davis and Brett Standlee to strike out 19 batters. The 19 strikeouts are one shy of the OSU and Big 12 record for strikeouts in a nine-inning game; the Cowboys punched out 20 against Alabama A&M on March 23, 2010. The program record for strikeouts in a game is 21, which came in a 15-inning contest against Texas in 2011.

Cowboy Baseball Back To Big 12 Play In Lone Star State

Game Notes (PDF)

#10 Oklahoma State (21-7-1, 6-3) at #6 TCU (23-9, 7-2)

Fri., April 16 / 6:30 p.m. • Sat., April 17 / 2 p.m. • Sun., April 18 / 1 p.m.
Lupton Stadium (4,500) • Fort Worth, Texas

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Justin Campbell

Kale Davis

Christian Encarnacion-Strand

Nolan McLean

Bryce Osmond

Parker Scott

Brett Standlee

Mitchell Stone

Justin Wrobleski

Oklahoma State University Athletics

Cowboy Baseball Back To Big 12 Play In Lone Star State

Game Notes (PDF)

#10 Oklahoma State (21-7-1, 6-3) at #6 TCU (23-9, 7-2)

Fri., April 16 / 6:30 p.m. • Sat., April 17 / 2 p.m. • Sun., April 18 / 1 p.m. Lupton Stadium (4,500) • Fort Worth, Texas

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Justin Campbell

Kale Davis

Christian Encarnacion-Strand

Nolan McLean

Bryce Osmond

Parker Scott

Brett Standlee

Mitchell Stone

Justin Wrobleski

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Fri., April 16 / 6:30 p.m. • Sat., April 17 / 2 p.m. • Sun., April 18 / 1 p.m.
Lupton Stadium (4,500) • Fort Worth, Texas