Game Notes (PDF)

#20 Oklahoma State (25-14-1, 8-10) at Kansas (25-21, 4-11)

Fri., May 7 / 6 p.m. • Sat., May 8 / 2 p.m. • Sun., May 9 / 1 p.m.
Hoglund Ballpark (2,500) • Lawrence, Kan.

Video/TV: ESPN+ (Brian Hanni & Kevin Wheeler)
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 action this weekend with a trip to Lawrence to take on Kansas. The Cowboys are 25-12-1 on the season and fifth in the Big 12 standings with an 8-10 league 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 309-172-2 at his alma mater.

About Kansas
   • Kansas is 25-21 on the season and ninth in the Big 12 standings with a 4-11 conference mark.
   • The Jayhawks are hitting .268 as a team, while their pitching staff owns a 5.11 ERA.
   • Ritch Price is in his 19th season at Kansas, where he has led the Jayhawks to a 553-513-3 record. Along with a head coaching stint at Cal Poly, he owns a 770-741-4 all-time record.
   • KU's starting pitching rotation vs. the Cowboys is expected to be:
   Friday: RHP Cole Larson — 4-4 with a 3.31 ERA in 11 appearances (10 starts); 72 K, 28 BB in 73.1 IP
   Saturday: LHP Eli Davis — In 11 starts is 5-4 with a 4.81 ERA; 55 K, 35 BB in 58.0 IP
   Sunday: RHP Everhett Hazelwood — 2-2, 6.25 ERA in 13 outings (nine starts); 43 K, 32 BB in 44.2 IP

Cowboys vs. Jayhawks
   Oklahoma State owns a 144-56 record in the all-time series against Kansas, including a 13-9 mark under Josh Holliday. The Cowboys have not won a series against the Jayhawks in Lawrence since 2007, a streak of six consecutive series losses.

In The Polls
   OSU has appeared in the national polls each of the first 12 weeks of the season and is currently ranked as high as 20th by Collegiate Baseball. The Cowboys are also ranked 24th in this week's USA Today coaches poll.
   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. 21 in the latest official NCAA RPI, while Kansas is 63rd.

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.

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.

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
   Regardless of his role, Brett Standlee has solidified himself as one of OSU's top arms in 2021.
   In a team-high 19 appearances, the bearded one is 4-1 with three saves and a 3.46 ERA. In 26.0 innings, the right-hander has posted 40 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 40 games for the Cowboys at third base, has smacked a team-high 15 home runs and also tops the Pokes with 52 RBIs. He is second in the NCAA this season with 121 total bases and ranks fifth nationally in homers, sixth in RBIs and ninth in slugging percentage at .801.
   With Encarnacion-Strand leading the way, the Cowboys have tallied 55 home runs to rank 18th in the NCAA this season, and 12 different players have gone deep. Nolan McLean and Brock Mathis rank second on OSU with seven round trippers.

Mound Menaces
   • OSU's six shutouts this season ranks fourth in the NCAA.
   • OSU's pitching staff leads the Big 12 and ranks 13th nationally with 433 strikeouts, and their 11.1 strikeouts per nine innings also leads the conference and is eighth in the NCAA. The Pokes have racked up 433 strikeouts in 352.2 innings.
   • Parker Scott ranks fourth in the Big 12 with a 2.20 ERA, while Justin Campbell is sixth at 2.78.
   • 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.

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 saw Encarnacion-Strand reach base safely in all 15 games, and he also continued 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).

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 — Hewitt turned in a .410 batting average (25-for-61) in 18 games. An OSU player has hit .400 in season 20 times in program history.

Cowboy Baseball Set For Final Road Test

Game Notes (PDF)

#20 Oklahoma State (25-14-1, 8-10) at Kansas (25-21, 4-11)

Fri., May 7 / 6 p.m. • Sat., May 8 / 2 p.m. • Sun., May 9 / 1 p.m.
Hoglund Ballpark (2,500) • Lawrence, Kan.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Justin Campbell

Kale Davis

Christian Encarnacion-Strand

Max Hewitt

Brock Mathis

Nolan McLean

Hueston Morrill

Parker Scott

Brett Standlee

Mitchell Stone

Oklahoma State University Athletics

Cowboy Baseball Set For Final Road Test

Game Notes (PDF)

#20 Oklahoma State (25-14-1, 8-10) at Kansas (25-21, 4-11)

Fri., May 7 / 6 p.m. • Sat., May 8 / 2 p.m. • Sun., May 9 / 1 p.m. Hoglund Ballpark (2,500) • Lawrence, Kan.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Justin Campbell

Kale Davis

Christian Encarnacion-Strand

Max Hewitt

Brock Mathis

Nolan McLean

Hueston Morrill

Parker Scott

Brett Standlee

Mitchell Stone

Related Videos

Fri., May 7 / 6 p.m. • Sat., May 8 / 2 p.m. • Sun., May 9 / 1 p.m.
Hoglund Ballpark (2,500) • Lawrence, Kan.