Game Notes

#4-seed Oklahoma State (32-16-1)

at the 2021 Big 12 Baseball Championship
Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark • Stillwater, Okla.
Wed., May 26-Sun., May 30

Video/TV: ESPN+ / ESPNU / ESPN2
(Clay Matvick, Mike Rooney, Keith Moreland & Greg Swindell)
Radio: KSPI 93.7 FM (Rex Holt & Matt Davis)
   stillwaterradio.net
Live Stats: big12sports.com
Twitter In-Game Updates: @OSUBaseball

About Oklahoma State
   • The Cowboys enter the postseason with a 32-16-1 record. OSU finished fourth in the Big 12 standings with a 12-12 league mark and will open play at the Big 12 Baseball Championship in Oklahoma City Wednesday night against Oklahoma.
   • 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 312-173-2 at his alma mater.

Cowboys At The Big 12 Baseball Championship
• OSU is making its 22nd appearance at the Big 12 Baseball Championship and owns a 29-38 all-time record in the tournament, including a 16-11 mark under Josh Holliday.
   • The Cowboys have advanced to the tourney final four times under Holliday — 2014, 2015, 2017 & 2019.
   • OSU has won three Big 12 Championship titles. In 2004, the Cowboys defeated Missouri 10-9 in 13 innings in Arlington, Texas; the 2017 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. In 2019, the Cowboys claimed another crown, defeating West Virginia, 5-2, in the final.
   • OSU is the No. 4 seed in Division 2 of this year's double-elimination Big 12 tourney field, along with top-seeded Texas, fifth-seeded Oklahoma and the winner of No. 8-seed West Virginia/No. 9-seed Kansas.
   • The Division 1 teams include No. 2-seed TCU, No. 3-seed Texas Tech, No. 6-seed Baylor and No. 7-seed Kansas State.

In The Polls
   OSU has appeared in the national polls each of the first 15 weeks of the season and is currently ranked as high as 22nd by Collegiate Baseball. The Cowboys' highest ranking in 2021 is No. 9, which they reached on March 8 (USA Today) and again on March 15 (Collegiate Baseball).
   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 71 All-Big 12 performers, seven All-Americans, two Big 12 Pitcher of the Year honorees, two Big 12 Newcomer of the Year winners and a Big 12 Player of the Year.

Checking The RPI
   OSU comes in at No. 16 in the latest official NCAA RPI.

Close Calls
   OSU is 76-47 in one-run games under Josh Holliday, and 81 of the Cowboys' 174 losses under Holliday have come by two runs or less.

Award Tour
   OSU's Christian Encarnacion-Strand was named the 2021 Big 12 Conference Newcomer of the Year and highlighted 10 Cowboys to earn All-Big 12 honors.
   Encarnacion-Strand is the fourth player in program history to be named Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, joining Tyler Mach (2006), Zach Johnson (2011) and Matt Kroon (2018). The Cowboys' third baseman was also a unanimous selection to the All-Big 12 First Team as an infielder.
   Joining Encarnacion-Strand on the All-Big 12 First Team is Justin Campbell, the Cowboys' two-way standout who was named a first-team performer as both a utility player and a pitcher. He is the second player in OSU history to earn All-Big 12 honors at two different positions in the same season, joining Jordy Mercer on that list. He is the first Cowboy to earn first-team accolades at two positions as Mercer was named to the first team as a utility player and made the second team as a shortstop in 2008.
   OSU pitcher Brett Standlee collected All-Big 12 Second Team plaudits, while the Cowboys had six players earn honorable mention All-Big 12 recognition — Cade Cabbiness, Max Hewitt, Carson McCusker, Parker Scott, Jake Thompson and Caeden Trenkle.
   Save for Carson McCusker, who was a Big 12 honorable mention selection in 2018 and 2019, the all-conference recognition was the first for each of the nine Cowboys.
   Rounding out OSU's list of honorees is Trevor Martin; the Cowboys' right-handed pitcher was named to the Big 12 All-Freshman Team.

No-No
   Justin Campbell joined an elite group by tossing a no-hitter against Kansas on May 8.
   Campbell's historic day marked only the third nine-inning no-hitter by an OSU pitcher in the 110-year history of the program and the first since 1968. It was the ninth no-hitter by an individual in program history, with five of those coming in seven-inning games and one in a five-inning contest.
   Campbell needed just 99 pitches to secure the no-hitter as he struck out 11 and improved to 5-1 with his first-career shutout. He issued just one walk, which came with one out in the eighth inning and was the only thing that kept him from a perfect game.
   The no-hitter was the first for OSU since 1993 when four Cowboy hurlers combined for the feat. The Pokes also had one other combined no-hitter, that coming in a seven-inning game in 1989.
   Campbell's no-hitter was the 19th in Big 12 history and the 12th by an individual.

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 2.34 ERA and 52 strikeouts in 50.0 innings in his 10 outings this season. He missed over a month with an injury — following his start at TCU on April 16, he did not return to the mound until an inning of relief vs. New Orleans on May 21.

The Cyclist
   Christian Encarnacion-Strand joined rare company when he hit for the cycle against UAPB on April 21 as he became just the fifth OSU player in the Big 12 Conference-era to achieve the feat and first since 2017.
   Encarnacion-Strand went 5-for-5 in the game against the Golden Lions. He homered in his first at-bat before reeling off a double, single, another homer and a triple in his final AB in the seventh inning.
   The Cowboy third baseman joins Josh Fields (2003), Zach Johnson (2011), J.R. Davis (2016) and Garrett Benge (2017) as OSU players to hit for the cycle in the Big 12-era (1997-present). The feat has been achieved 22 times in conference history.

Fear The Beard
   Regardless of his role, Brett Standlee has solidified himself as one of OSU's top arms in 2021.
   In 20 appearances, the bearded one is 4-1 with three saves and a 3.33 ERA. In 27.0 innings, the right-hander has posted 42 strikeouts.
   Standlee's first 17 appearances were out of the bullpen as OSU's closer, but he was forced into a starting role in the series finale against Texas due to injuries. He delivered with a six-inning gem in which he struck out 10 on 117 pitches, both career highs, while allowing just two runs on three hits to get the win.
   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 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 wood bat league, Christian Encarnacion-Strand hit 33 home runs in 81 games, and he's continued that power surge in his first season at OSU.
   Encarnacion-Strand, who has started all 49 games for the Cowboys at third base, has smacked a team-high 15 home runs and also tops the Pokes with 64 RBIs. He ranks third in the NCAA this season in RBIs and is among the national leaders in total bases (5th with 14) and homers (24th).
   With Encarnacion-Strand leading the way, the Cowboys have tallied 65 home runs to rank 23rd in the NCAA this season, and 14 different players have gone deep. Cade Cabbiness, Brock Mathis and Nolan McLean rank second on OSU with seven round trippers, while Carson McCusker has six.

Mound Menaces
   • OSU's seven shutouts this season ranks fifth in the NCAA.
   • OSU's pitching staff ranks second in the Big 12 and 13th nationally with 529 strikeouts (in 433.0 innings), and their 11.0 strikeouts per nine innings leads the league and is eighth in the NCAA.
   • Justin Campbell ranks second in the Big 12 with a 2.25 ERA, while Parker Scott is third at 2.34.
   • 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 ORU, Campbell teamed with Mitchell Stone, Kale Davis and Brett Standlee to strike out 19; the 19 strikeouts are one shy of the OSU and Big 12 record for a nine-inning game.

Showering April With Hits
   Christian Encarnacion-Strand was named the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association National Player of the Month for April following a scorching month at the plate as he hit .458 (27-for-59) in 15 games while tallying seven home runs, seven doubles, two triples and 30 RBIs.
   Encarnacion-Strand led the Big 12 in batting average, RBIs and slugging percentage (1.000) in April, ranked second in homers and triples and was third in total bases (59) and on-base percentage (.542).
   The hot-hitting Pokes' slugger reached base safely in all 15 games, and he extended a hitting streak that reached 19 games, the longest by an OSU player since 2013 and the ninth longest in program history.
   Encarnacion-Strand also made history on April 21 against UAPB as he became only the fifth OSU player in the Big 12 era to hit for the cycle and the first since 2017 as he went 5-for-5 with a pair of homers.
   Following his torrid April, Encarnacion-Strand ranks in the top five nationally in home runs (15) and total bases (121) and is in the top 10 in RBIs (52) and slugging percentage (.761).

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.

Cowboy Baseball Heads To OKC For Conference Tourney

Game Notes

#4-seed Oklahoma State (32-16-1)

at the 2021 Big 12 Baseball Championship
Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark • Stillwater, Okla.
Wed., May 26-Sun., May 30

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Cade Cabbiness

Justin Campbell

Kale Davis

Christian Encarnacion-Strand

Alix Garcia

Max Hewitt

Trevor Martin

Brock Mathis

Carson McCusker

Nolan McLean

Parker Scott

Brett Standlee

Mitchell Stone

Jake Thompson

Caeden Trenkle

C.J. Varela

Oklahoma State University Athletics

Cowboy Baseball Heads To OKC For Conference Tourney

Game Notes

#4-seed Oklahoma State (32-16-1)

at the 2021 Big 12 Baseball Championship Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark • Stillwater, Okla. Wed., May 26-Sun., May 30

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Cade Cabbiness

Justin Campbell

Kale Davis

Christian Encarnacion-Strand

Alix Garcia

Max Hewitt

Trevor Martin

Brock Mathis

Carson McCusker

Nolan McLean

Parker Scott

Brett Standlee

Mitchell Stone

Jake Thompson

Caeden Trenkle

C.J. Varela

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at the 2021 Big 12 Baseball Championship
Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark • Stillwater, Okla.
Wed., May 26-Sun., May 30