Cowboy Baseball Travels To Missouri State For Midweek Tilt

Tuesday, February 28

Springfield, MO

3:00 PM

Oklahoma State University

Missouri State

Roc Riggio

Cowboy Baseball Travels To Missouri State For Midweek Tilt

February 27, 2023 | Cowboy Baseball

Game_Notes_4_-_Missouri_State.pdf

#12 Oklahoma State (4-3) at Missouri State (5-2)

Tues., Feb. 28 • 3 p.m.
Hammons Field (8,000) • Springfield, Mo.

Video/TV: ESPN+
Radio: KSPI 93.7 FM & The Varsity Network: okla.st/GetVarsity
(Rex Holt & Matt Davis)
Live Stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com
Twitter In-Game Updates: @OSUBaseball

About Oklahoma State

     • OSU is 4-3 after winning twice in last weekend's three-game series against LMU in Stillwater. The Pokes return to action Tuesday with a midweek test at Missouri State before coming home to host Austin Peay in a weekend set at O'Brate Stadium.
     • The Cowboys are coming off a 42-22 season in 2022 in which they made their ninth consecutive NCAA Regional appearance. OSU finished tied for second in the Big 12 standings with a 15-9 conference mark, one game out of first place.
     • OSU was the No. 7 national seed in last year's NCAA Championship, the program's highest ever tourney seeding, and was an NCAA Regional host for the fourth time under Josh Holliday; the Pokes advanced to the NCAA Regional finals for the sixth time under Holliday.
     • Led by Nolan McLean and Roc Riggio, OSU returns six position starters and 13 letterwinners from '22.
     • The 2023 season is OSU's 11th under head coach Josh Holliday, who is 366-202-2 at his alma mater. The Cowboys have earned an NCAA Region berth each year under his watch.

About Missouri State

     • Missouri State is 5-2 and on a four-game winning streak following a series sweep of Central Arkansas.
     • Keith Guttin is in his 41st season as MSU's head coach and owns a 1,345-874 career record.
     • OSU is 20-9 all time against MSU, including a 14-3 mark under Josh Holliday. The two teams last met in the 2022 NCAA Stillwater Regional, with the Pokes winning 29-15 to end the Bears' season.
     • MSU is expected to start Tyler Tscherter against the Cowboys. The right-hander is 1-0 with a 5.40 ERA in two appearances this season; he has five strikeouts and three walks in five innings pitched.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

     OSU was ranked as high as No. 8 in the preseason national polls, getting that ranking from USA TODAY Sports. This week, the Cowboys are ranked No. 12 by D1Baseball, 13th by USA Today, 18th by the NCBWA, 21st by Baseball America, 23rd by Collegiate Baseball and 24th by Perfect Game.
     OSU has been nationally ranked for 40 consecutive weeks dating back to the 2021 preseason polls. The Cowboys reached No. 2 twice in 2022, marking their highest-ever ranking under Josh Holliday.
     From March 4, 2013 to April 3, 2017, a streak of 77 consecutive weeks, OSU was ranked in at least one national poll. During that time, the Cowboys spent 18 weeks in the Top 10, climbing as high as No. 3. They have finished in the top 10 in the final polls twice under Josh Holliday — 10th in 2014 and fourth in 2016.

New Faces

OSU's roster includes 23 newcomers, and the Cowboys brought in a recruiting class and transfer class that were both ranked in the top 10 nationally.
The group of newcomers includes 12 freshmen, six Division I transfers and five players who joined the Pokes from the JUCO ranks.

No-No, No-No

     OSU achieved one of the rarest of baseball feats when it tossed no-hitters in consecutive games last week, first in a midweek contest against California Baptist followed by the opening game of a doubleheader with LMU.
     At this point, it's only the second confirmed time in NCAA Division I history that a team has thrown a no-hitter in back-to-back games and the first time it's been accomplished in two nine-inning games. On March 27, 1968, Florida State tossed consecutive no-hitters against Springfield College (7 innings) and Wake Forest (9 innings).
     OSU also became the first team in Big 12 history to record two no-hitters in the same season.
     The no-hitter against CBU was the 12th in Cowboy Baseball history as five OSU pitchers combined for the feat. Janzen Keisel worked the first 5 1/3 innings, striking out 11 along the way, before Isaac Stebens tossed two innings in relief. Drew Blake and Evan O'Toole both recorded outs in the eighth, and Nolan McLean earned the save with a perfect ninth.
     It was the program's first no-hitter since Justin Campbell achieved the feat against Kansas on May 8, 2021. It was also the third combined no-hitter by OSU and the first since Jason Bell, Brent Nichols, Rob Gaiko and Marcus Cuper no-hit Missouri Southern on March 16, 1993.
    Just four days later, OSU's Juaron Watts-Brown teamed with O'Toole and McLean to no-hit LMU. Watts-Brown worked six innings and struck out eight before O'Toole spelled him to begin the seventh. After two innings, O'Toole yielded to McLean, who came on in the ninth to secure the no-no.
     OSU now counts six no-hitters in games that went nine innings as last week's efforts joined the 1993 combined no-no, Campell's in 2021 and no-hitters by Bob Richardson in 1968 and Jim Wixson in the 1960 College World Series.
     Counting the final out against Arkansas on Feb. 19 and the first two outs of the doubleheader nightcap against LMU, the Cowboys went a combined 19 innings over a four-game stretch without allowing a hit.

Inside The Numbers

     • Nolan McLean is one of six pitchers tied for the NCAA lead with three saves on the season.
     • McLean also ranks 10th nationally by having drawn 10 walks.
     • Juaron Watts-Brown leads the Big 12 with 14 strikeouts.
     • Evan O'Toole's two wins, both of which came in relief, are tied for the Big 12 lead and also tied for fifth nationally.

Dominant Debut

     Janzen Keisel made history in his first appearance in an Oklahoma State uniform.
     A sophomore right-hander, Keisel was the starting pitcher for the Cowboys last week against California Baptist and worked the first 5 1/3 innings of a combined no-hitter against the Lancers at O'Brate Stadium.
     Keisel, a transfer from BYU, racked up 11 strikeouts, the most by a Big 12 pitcher in a game this season, and issued just one walk in OSU's 2-0 victory. He combined with four other Cowboys for the no-hitter, which marked the 12th no-no in program history and was the first combined no-hitter for OSU since 1993.
     For his efforts, Keisel was honored as the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week and was also named one of Collegiate Baseball's National Players of the Week.
     Random Fact: On March 11, 2022, as a freshman at BYU, Keisel was the starting pitcher against OSU in a game at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. He worked five shutout innings, allowing two hits and striking out six, in a game the Cougars won, 3-0.

Freshman Swinging A Hot Bat

     Seven games into his first collegiate season, Nolan Schubart has proven to be a productive addition to the OSU lineup.
     The left-handed hitting outfielder has hit safely in the Cowboys' last four games and boasts a .333 batting average. He was 4-of-10 with two homers and three RBIs in the LMU series, and his seventh inning round-tripper provided the lone run in OSU's series opening win.
     Random Fact: Schubart was originally committed to play at Michigan before a coaching change there led to him signing with the Cowboys.

Cowboy Country

OSU's 2023 roster includes players from 20 different states and Canada.