Cowboy Baseball Set For Second Clash With DBU

Tuesday, March 28

Dallas, TX

6:30 PM

Oklahoma State University

Dallas Baptist

Roc Riggio

March 27, 2023 | Cowboy Baseball

Game_Notes_12_-_Dallas_Baptist.pdf

#13 Oklahoma State (20-5) at Dallas Baptist (16-8)

Tues., March 28 • 6:30 p.m.
Horner Ballpark (3,492) • Dallas, Texas

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

About Oklahoma State

     • Winners of four in a row, OSU is 20-5 overall and in a three-way tie for second in the Big 12 standings with a 4-2 conference mark. The Cowboys are back in midweek action with a road test at Dallas Baptist on Tuesday night before returning home to host league-leading Texas this weekend 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 382-204-2 at his alma mater. The Cowboys have earned an NCAA Region berth each year under his watch.

About Dallas Baptist

     • DBU is 16-8 on the season, which includes a 12-2 mark at home.
     • Dan Heefner is in his 16th season as DBU's head coach and owns a 576-303-1 career record.
     • OSU is 21-9 all time against DBU, including an 8-3 mark under Josh Holliday. The Cowboys defeated DBU on March 14 in Stillwater, run-ruling the Patriots by a 20-4 count in seven innings.
     • DBU is expected to start Zach Heaton on the mound; the right-hander is 1-1 with a 3.07 ERA in five starts and has 11 strikeouts and nine walks in 14 2/3 innings of work.

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

     OSU was ranked as high as No. 8 in the preseason national polls, receiving that ranking from USA TODAY Sports. This week, the Cowboys are ranked No. 13 by USA TODAY Sports and the NCBWA, 14th by Collegiate Baseball, 16th by Perfect Game and 17th by D1Baseball and Baseball America.
     OSU has been nationally ranked for 44 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 week No. 15 in the official NCAA RPI; DBU is 52nd.

K Kounter

     The 2022 OSU pitching staff shattered the program record for strikeouts in a season with 679, besting the previous mark by 91.
     The Cowboys' 679 strikeouts ranked fifth nationally, and they ranked seventh in the NCAA in strikeouts per nine innings at 10.7.
     With an influx of new arms, this year's staff has continued to pile up Ks. The Cowboys lead the Big 12 and rank eighth in the NCAA with 266 strikeouts, and they have three pitchers — Juaron Watts-Brown, Ben Abram and Isaac Stebens — in the top 10 in the conference in punchouts.
     OSU's 11.3 strikeouts per nine innings this season is tops in the Big 12 and ranks 11th nationally.

Cowboys Who Rake

     OSU's offense is putting up some impressive numbers at the plate.
     • The Cowboys lead the Big 12 with a .321 team batting average, which also ranks 12th nationally.
     • All eight regulars in the OSU starting lineup are hitting at least .300. Nolan Schubart leads the way with a .405 average that ranks third in the Big 12. Carson Benge is sixth in the league with a .367 average, while Chase Adkison is hitting .357 to sit 10th.
     • OSU's 64 doubles rank third nationally, seven behind NCAA leader Virginia.
     • The Cowboys have smashed a Big 12-best 50 home runs, which ranks eighth nationally. Thirteen different players have homered, and three of those — Nolan Schubart, Roc Riggio and David Mendham — lead the team with eight round trippers apiece.
     • OSU's .585 slugging percentage leads the Big 12 and is sixth nationally.

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 when he 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 has had three individual 13-strikeout performances by its pitchers this season. The baker's dozen punchouts are the most in a game by a Big 12 pitcher this season.
     In the series opener against Utah Tech, Juaron Watts-Brown reached the mark in 6 2/3 innings, and he hit that number again in a six-inning effort against Baylor. The 13 strikeouts are 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 saw him throw a no-hitter.
     Brian Hendry also racked up 13 Ks against Utah Tech, working six innings en route to his first win as a Cowboy. The total marked a career high for the St. John's transfer; his previous best was 10 in 2021.