#12 Oklahoma State (15-3) at #12 Texas Tech (16-3)

Fri., March 17 • 6:30 p.m. / Sat., March 18 • 2 p.m. / Sun., March 19 • 2 p.m.
Rip Griffin Park (4,432) • Lubbock, Texas

Video/TV: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ (John Harris & Mike Gustafson)
Radio: Pete 94.3 FM & The Varsity Network - okla.st/GetVarsity (Rex Holt & Matt Davis)
Live Stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com
Twitter In-Game Updates: @OSUBaseball

About Oklahoma State

     • Winners of 12 in a row, which stands as the nation's longest current win streak, OSU is 14-3 and opens Big 12 play Friday in Lubbock against Texas Tech.
     • 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 376-202-2 at his alma mater. The Cowboys have earned an NCAA Region berth each year under his watch.

About Texas Tech

     • TTU is 11-5 and riding a four-game winning streak that includes a midweek victory against Grambling State and a weekend series sweep of Oral Roberts.
     • Tim Tadlock is in his 11th season as TTU's head coach and owns a 379-194 career record.
     • OSU is 44-46 all time against TTU, including an 11-21 mark under Josh Holliday. The Cowboys' last series win against the Red Raiders came in 2017 when they won 2-of-3 games in Lubbock.

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 and the NCBWA, 15th by Perfect Game, 17th by Baseball America and 18th by Collegiate Baseball.
     OSU has been nationally ranked for 42 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.

RPI Talk

Oklahoma State enters the weekend No. 18 in the official NCAA RPI; Texas Tech is 54th.

We're Going Streaking

     OSU is currently on an 12-game winning streak, which is the longest current streak in the nation and is tied for the second longest of the Josh Holliday head coaching era.
     The Pokes' longest win streak under Holliday is 14, which came in 2020-21 (last five games of COVID shortened '20 season and first nine of '21), and OSU turned in a 12-game winning streak in 2014.
     The program record for longest winning streak is 30 games, set by the 1986 Cowboys.

Sparkling Statistics

     • Nolan McLean is tied with Georgia Tech's Terry Busse for the NCAA lead with six saves.
     • McLean also ranks 16th nationally by having drawn 19 walks.
     • OSU sports a .323 team batting average, which ranks second in the Big 12. Nolan Schubart is hitting a team-high .424, ranking third in the league, and is one of eight Cowboys with a batting average over .300.
     • Cowboy reliever Isaac Stebens leads the Big 12 with a 1.21 ERA, while Juaron Watts-Brown is fifth at 1.99. Led by that duo, OSU's pitching staff ranks second in the league with 190 strikeouts.
     • OSU's 45 doubles ranks eight nationally, five behind the national leaders, and David Mendham ranks 20th nationally with eight doubles, also five behind the leader.
     • OSU owns a .986 fielding percentage, which ranks fifth nationally, and has committed just nine errors — the Pokes lead the Big 12 in fielding percentage and rank second in fewest errors behind Kansas' eight.

Double Your Pleasure

Roc Riggio did something that hadn't been done in over three decades in the second game of a doubleheader against Utah Tech.
Riggio tied a program record with four doubles, a feat last achieved by a Cowboy when Lou Lucca did it in 1991.

Bakers On The Mound

     OSU had two pitchers record 13 strikeout performances last weekend against Utah Tech. The baker's dozen punchouts are the most in a game by a Big 12 pitcher this season.
     In the series opener, Juaron Watts-Brown reached the mark in 6 2/3 innings. The 13 strikeouts were the second most in a game in Watts-Brown's career behind only the 16 he recorded while at Long Beach State last season in a game against UC Riverside that also saw him throw a no-hitter.
     In game three of the weekend, Brian Hendry racked up his 13 Ks in six innings en route to his first win as a Cowboy. The total marked a career high for the St. John's transfer, whose previous best was 10 in 2021.

Big 12's Best

     Roc Riggio and Juaron Watts-Brown earned Big 12 weekly awards for their week four performances.
   Riggio was named the Big 12 Player of the Week, while Watts-Brown collected Big 12 Pitcher of the Week accolades. The duo helped OSU pick up series sweeps over Arizona State and Utah Tech as the Pokes extended their winning streak to 11 games.
     In OSU's six wins, Riggio posted a team-high .476 batting average to go along with five doubles, a triple, two home runs and four RBIs. The sophomore went 10-for-21 at the plate and also scored 11 runs, racked up 23 total bases, walked eight times and stole two bases while playing error-free baseball at second base.
     Riggio tallied four multi-hit games and had a record performance with four doubles in the second game of the doubleheader against Utah Tech, tying the OSU single-game record.
     With his hot hitting, Riggio extended his streak of reaching base safely to 12 games, the second longest streak by a Cowboy this season, and raised his season batting average from .237 to .322.
     Watts-Brown was dominant in the series opener against Utah Tech, racking up 13 strikeouts in 6 ? innings en route to his second win of the year. He allowed just one run on three hits, and the 13 strikeouts was a career high in an OSU uniform and the most by a Big 12 pitcher this season.

Cowboy Baseball Opens Big 12 Play With Showdown In Lubbock

#12 Oklahoma State (15-3) at #12 Texas Tech (16-3)

Fri., March 17 • 6:30 p.m. / Sat., March 18 • 2 p.m. / Sun., March 19 • 2 p.m.
Rip Griffin Park (4,432) • Lubbock, Texas

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Brian Hendry

Nolan McLean

David Mendham

Roc Riggio

Nolan Schubart

Isaac Stebens

Juaron Watts-Brown

Oklahoma State University Athletics

Cowboy Baseball Opens Big 12 Play With Showdown In Lubbock

#12 Oklahoma State (15-3) at #12 Texas Tech (16-3)

Fri., March 17 • 6:30 p.m. / Sat., March 18 • 2 p.m. / Sun., March 19 • 2 p.m. Rip Griffin Park (4,432) • Lubbock, Texas

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Brian Hendry

Nolan McLean

David Mendham

Roc Riggio

Nolan Schubart

Isaac Stebens

Juaron Watts-Brown

Related Videos

Fri., March 17 • 6:30 p.m. / Sat., March 18 • 2 p.m. / Sun., March 19 • 2 p.m.
Rip Griffin Park (4,432) • Lubbock, Texas