Cowboy Baseball Concludes Homestand With Weekend Series

Mercer (9-4) at Oklahoma State (8-5)

Fri., March 8 • 6 p.m. / Sat., March 9 • 2 p.m. / Sun., March 10 • 12 p.m.
O'Brate Stadium (8,000) • Stillwater, Okla.

Video/TV: ESPN+ (Robert Allen & Tom Holliday)
Radio: KSPI 93.7 FM (Fri.)
               Pete 94.3 FM/780 AM (Sat. & Sun.)
               The Varsity Network - okla.st/GetVarsity
               (Rex Holt, Ryan Breeden & Matt Davis)
Live Stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com
X In-Game Scoreboard/Updates: @OSUBaseball

About Oklahoma State

     • The Cowboys are 8-5 and conclude their eight-game homestand at O'Brate Stadium with a three-game weekend series against Mercer.
     • OSU is coming off a 41-20 season in 2023 in which the Cowboys earned their 10th consecutive NCAA Regional bid. It marked the second-straight 40-win season for the Pokes and the sixth under head coach Josh Holliday.
     • The Cowboys shared the Big 12 regular season championship with Texas and West Virginia after finishing 15-9 in conference play.
     • OSU returns six position starters, four of those All-Big 12 performers, from a year ago.
     • The 2024 season is OSU's 12th under head coach Josh Holliday, who is 411-224-2 at his alma mater. The Cowboys have earned an NCAA Regional berth each year under his watch.

About Mercer

     • Mercer is 9-4 on the season and has lost three-straight games entering the series.
     • Craig Gibson is in his 21st season as head coach at his alma mater and owns a 673-454 record.
     • This will mark the first-ever meeting between OSU and Mercer on the diamond.
     • The Bears' starting pitching rotation vs. the Cowboys is expected to be:

     Friday: LHP Colton Cosper — 1-0, 4.70 ERA in three starts; 16 K, 4 BB in 15.1 IP
     Saturday: LHP Fred Wilson — 0-1, 3.46 ERA in three starts; 12 K, 9 BB in 13.0 IP
     Sunday: RHP Garrett Lambert — 2-0, 3.52 ERA in three two starts; 16 K, 4 BB in 15.1 IP

RPI Talk

Oklahoma State enters the weekend No. 93 in the official NCAA RPI; Mercer is 144th.

Clutch

Of the Cowboys' 93 RBIs this season, 45 of those have come with two outs. Carson Benge leads OSU with 12 two-out RBIs.

Rob Walton's Punchout

     The Cowboys' pitching staff under Rob Walton is again putting up big strikeout numbers in 2024.
     OSU has recorded 126 strikeouts through 13 games, averaging 10.2 per nine innings. All 15 pitchers who have taken the mound have at least one punchout, and six Pokes have double digits in strikeouts, led by Brian Holiday's 19.
     In the three-game series sweep of Central Michigan, nine OSU hurlers combined for 41 strikeouts.

Swipe Right

OSU had seven stolen bases in the second game of the Central Michigan series, marking the most steals in a game for the Cowboys since they had eight against Incarnate Word on March 1, 2016.
Lane Forsythe swiped three bags in the contest, the most steals by a Cowboy in a game since Garrett McCain had four in that game against Incarnate Word in 2016.

Happy Holiday

     After two years at the junior college level, Brian Holiday has adjusted well to life at the Division I level.
     OSU's Saturday starter in the first three weeks, the righty has been dominant. Opponents are hitting just .106 against Holiday, which leads the Big 12, as has not allowed more than three hits in a game. He also ranks third in ERA at 0.90, having allowed only two runs in a conference-high 20 innings pitched.
     Holiday is coming off an outing against Central Michigan in which he posted career highs in innings (8.0) and strikeouts (9).
    Random Fact: Holiday was named the 2023 NJCAA JUCO World Series Most Outstanding Pitcher after helping lead Central Florida to the NJCAA national championship as a sophomore.

Swinging A Hot Bat

     Injuries limited Aidan Meola's playing time over his first two collegiate seasons, but the junior has been a constant in the lineup and the Cowboys' most consistent hitter in 2024.
     After starting OSU's first seven games, Meola did miss four contests with an injury suffered against Oregon State before returning during the midweek series against Utah Tech.
     Meola has hit safely in all nine games he's played, including recording five multi-hit efforts, and he owns a .455 batting average to rank fourth in the Big 12. He ranks second on the Cowboys with three doubles and 10 RBIs.
     He's also showcased a knack for the clutch hit as he's 7-for-10 with runners in scoring position and has produced four two-out RBIs. He drove in the tying run with a double in the bottom of the ninth inning against No. 2 Arkansas to send the game into extra innings in a contest OSU eventually won in 14.
     Primarily a third baseman his first two seasons, Meola has made the move to second base this season, where he has started seven games. He has also started twice at DH.
    Random Fact: Meola's dad, Tony, played goalie for the U.S. Men's National Team in the 1990, 1994 and 2002 World Cups, and he was inducted into the United States Soccer Hall of Fame in 2012.

Frosh On Fire

     Kollin Ritchie entered the week as OSU's hottest hitter.
     In the series sweep of Central Michigan, Ritchie was 9-for-13 with four RBIs, including a 4-for-6, three-RBI effort in the finale that included his first-career homer.
     The Cowboys' freshman outfielder/DH has hit safely in seven consecutive games, going 12-for-21 (.651) during that span with a triple, home run and five RBIs.
     Ritchie's hot hitting has seen his batting average rise nearly 300 points from .071 to .364.
    Random Fact: Ritchie graduated from Atoka High School, whose mascot is the Wampus Cats. What exactly is a Wampus Cat? Descriptions vary - just go ahead and Google it (trust us!).

Mercer (9-4) at Oklahoma State (8-5)

Fri., March 8 • 6 p.m. / Sat., March 9 • 2 p.m. / Sun., March 10 • 12 p.m.
O'Brate Stadium (8,000) • Stillwater, Okla.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Carson Benge

Lane Forsythe

Brian Holiday

Aidan Meola

Kollin Ritchie

Oklahoma State University Athletics