Cowboy Baseball Travels To Kansas State

#15 Oklahoma State (25-12, 10-5) at Kansas State (22-14, 7-8)

Fri., April 19 • 6 p.m. / Sat., April 20 • 4 p.m. / Sun., April 21 • 3 p.m.
Tointon Family Stadium (2,344) • Manhattan, Kan.

Video/TV: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ (Fri. & Sat.)
                      (Brian Smoller & Mike Clark)
                      ESPNU (Sun./Mark Neely & Mike Rooney)
Radio: KSPI 93.7 FM (Rex Holt & Matt Davis)
               The Varsity Network - okla.st/GetVarsity
Live Stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com
X In-Game Scoreboard/Updates: @OSUBaseball

About Oklahoma State

     • The Cowboys are 25-12 overall and third in the Big 12 standings at 10-5 in conference play. OSU travels to Kansas State for a weekend series starting Friday night in Manhattan.
     • OSU finished 41-20 in 2023 and earned its 10th consecutive NCAA Regional bid. It was 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.
     • A total of 23 newcomers joined the OSU program for the 2024 season. The Cowboys brought in 15 players from the high school ranks, while adding six Division I transfers and a pair of JUCO products.
     • The 2024 season is OSU's 12th under head coach Josh Holliday, who is 428-231-2 at his alma mater. The Cowboys have earned an NCAA Regional berth each year under his watch.

About Kansas State

     • Kansas State is 22-14 and tied for seventh in the Big 12 standings with a 7-8 league mark.
     • Pete Hughes is in his sixth season as K-State's head coach and owns a 133-116 record. He has also had head coaching stints at Boston College, Virginia Tech and Oklahoma and has over 700 career wins.
     • OSU is 175-53 all time against K-State, including an 26-5 mark under Josh Holliday. Last season, the Cowboys won the final two games in Stillwater to claim the series with the Wildcats.

And We're Back

     OSU re-entered the national rankings on April 8 for the first time since the preseason and remained in the polls for a second-straight week. The Cowboys are as high as No. 15 in the D1Baseball.com, USA Today and Perfect Game polls and are ranked 17th by Baseball America and the NCBWA.
     The Pokes had a streak of being nationally ranked end after 55 consecutive weeks end on Feb. 19; they had appeared in the polls during a stretch dating back to the 2021 preseason rankings.
     Under Josh Holliday, the Cowboys have peaked at No. 2 in the polls, reaching that mark twice in 2022.
     OSU has finished in the top 10 in the final polls twice under Holliday — 10th in 2014 and fourth in 2016.

RPI Talk

Oklahoma State enters the weekend No. 23 in the official NCAA RPI; K-State is 34th.

Clutch

OSU is hitting .321 with runners in scoring position this season. Jaxson Crull (8-for-19), Aidan Meola (18-for-45), Avery Ortiz (11-for-30), Zach Ehrhard (11-for-34), Kollin Ritchie (9-for-25) and Tyler Wulfert (10-for-29) are among the top Cowboy hitters with RISP.

Heating Up

     OSU is 13-4 in its last 17 games, with series wins over TCU, West Virginia, Oklahoma and Cincinnati.
     During that stretch, the Cowboys have racked up 203 strikeouts in 155 innings, including 13 games in which they struck out 10 or more.
     The Pokes' seven opponents over the 13-game span — Missouri State, TCU, Wichita State, West Virginia, Oral Roberts, Oklahoma, Cincinnati and Dallas Baptist — hit just .234.
     Offensively, the Cowboys have outscored the opposition 133-85 while smashing 31 home runs; they've also recorded a .506 slugging percentage. Zach Ehrhard leads the way, hitting .448 with five homers, seven doubles and 18 RBIs during the span.

Strong Armed

OSU leads the Big 12 and ranks 21st nationally with a 4.27 team ERA; seven Cowboys own an ERA of 3.46 or under, with Brian Holiday (3.13) and Sam Garcia (3.47) ranking in the top 10 in the conference.
The Cowboys' staff ranks 20th in the NCAA with three shutouts and is fourth nationally in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.31) and 15th in WHIP (1.28).

Big 12's Best

     Robert Cranz was named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week after making a pair of relief appearances to help lead the Cowboys to a series sweep of Cincinnati.
     In the series opener, Cranz picked up the win with a career effort as he worked four shutout innings and posted a career-best eight strikeouts, doubling his previous high. He also pitched in Sunday's series finale, entering in the eighth inning and retiring both batters he faced to help preserve OSU's lead.
     In a team-high 19 appearances this season, Cranz is 2-1 with a save and a 1.50 ERA, and he has tallied 34 strikeouts in 30 innings of work.

Happy Holiday

     After two years at the junior college level, Brian Holiday has adjusted well to life in Division I baseball.
     OSU's Saturday starter, the righty has been dominant. Opponents are hitting just .207 against Holiday, which ranks sixth in the Big 12, and he is sixth in the league in ERA at 3.13, having allowed 21 earned runs in a conference-high 60 1/3 innings pitched.
     He ranks 12th nationally in WHIP (0.90) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (7.11).
     Holiday is also third in the Big 12 with 64 strikeouts. He turned in a complete game, 14-strikeout performance in a win over No. 18 TCU in which he took a no-hitter into the seventh inning. That came on the heels of an 11-strikeout effort in eight innings of work against UCF.
    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.

Change Of Scenery

     A move to Stillwater is paying off for Sam Garcia.
     After graduating from High Point in three years, Garcia transferred to OSU and has established himself as the Cowboys' Friday night starter. In nine outings, the southpaw is 4-3 with a 3.47 ERA, and he ranks second in the Big 12 with 69 strikeouts; he is eighth nationally in strikeout-to-walk ratio at 7.67. He has struck out six or more batters in seven of his starts, including a season-high 11 in a win at West Virginia.
     Garcia struggled to a 1-8 record and 7.57 ERA in 18 outings last season at HPU, but as a sophomore in 2022 he won five games and had a 1.64 ERA in 16 appearances to earn All-Big South First Team honors.
     Random Fact: Garcia graduated from E.A. Laney High School in Wilmington, North Carolina, which is also the alma mater of NBA legend Michael Jordan.

Two-Way Talent

     As a redshirt freshman in 2023, Carson Benge earned Freshman All-America honors, was a semifinalist for the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award and was an All-Big 12 First Team selection as a utility player while earning second-team honors as an outfielder.
     After redshirting in 2022 following Tommy John surgery, Benge posted a team-high .345 batting average to go along with seven home runs, 17 doubles and 43 RBIs. Spending most of his time in right field, he also recorded a .468 on-base percentage and drew 42 walks as opposed to striking out just 32 times in nearly 200 at-bats. On the mound, he made 10 starts and was 2-2 with 35 strikeouts in 35.0 innings.
     This season, Benge leads OSU with 15 doubles, 33 RBIs and 34 walks while hitting .317. In 13 relief appearances, he has posted a 3.46 ERA, two saves and 18 strikeouts in 13 innings.
     Random Fact: Carson's older brother, Garrett, was a two-time All-Big 12 infielder for OSU in 2016-17.

Hit The Ground Hitting

     In his first collegiate season, Nolan Schubart proved to be a powerful addition to the OSU lineup, and he earned All-America and Freshman All-America honors and was also named the Big 12 Co-Freshman of the Year and an All-Big 12 First Team performer.
     A starter in 59 games, Schubart hit .338 with 17 home runs, 20 doubles and 74 RBIs and turned in a .667 slugging percentage. His 74 RBIs was the most by a Cowboy since 2007.
     Among all NCAA Division I freshmen in 2023, Schubart ranked second in RBIs, third in doubles, sixth in total bases (144), walks (43) and slugging percentage and seventh in home runs.
     Schubart missed 12 games this season after suffering an injury against Dallas Baptist; since his return to the lineup vs. Missouri State, he is 19-for-58 (.328) with five homers and 16 RBIs.
     Random Fact: Schubart originally committed to Michigan before a coaching change there led to him signing with the Cowboys.

March On

     Zach Ehrhard went on a tear at the plate in the month of March.
     In 20 games, the Cowboy outfielder hit .405 (32-for-79) with 10 doubles, and he posted 10 multi-hit performances. In doing so, he raised his batting average from .200 to .349.
     He's continued his tear into April and leads OSU with 50 hits and 42 runs while ranking second in batting average (.345), doubles (14), walks (26) and slugging percentage (.566). His six homers equal his output from his first two seasons combined as he hit three as both a freshman and sophomore.
     Ehrhard is hitting a conference-best .492 in Big 12 play with four homers, eight doubles and 15 RBIs.
     Random Fact: At Wharton High School, Ehrhard was coached by MLB Hall of Famer Wade Boggs, who was a volunteer coach for the baseball team.

Tommy Boy

     With a 5-1 record in 12 relief appearances, Tommy Molsky leads the Cowboys and ranks third in the Big 12 in wins. Three of those wins have come in conference play as the right-hander picked up a victory in each of OSU's first three league series.
     Following a career-high eight strikeouts against Oklahoma on March 12, Molsky was electric out of the bullpen over his next four outings. During that span, which included games against UCF, TCU, West Virginia and Oral Roberts, he tossed 9 2/3 shutout innings and struck out 15 while allowing just three hits, all singles, and he earned a win in each appearance.
     Random Fact: In 2022 and 2023, Molsky played for the Chatham Anglers in the Cape Cod League. The Anglers were managed by former OSU head coach and current ESPN+ analyst Tom Holliday.

Halfway There

     Brian Holiday is one of 45 players on the Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List.
     Additionally, Holiday was named to the Perfect Game Midseason All-America Second Team and the D1Baseball.com Midseason All-America Second Team.
     Carson Benge is also on the Perfect Game Midseason All-America Second Team as a two-way player.

Swinging A Hot Bat

     Injuries limited Aidan Meola's playing time over his first two collegiate seasons, but the junior has played in a career-high 29 games this season and established himself as one of OSU's top hitters.
     Meola has reached base safely in 26 games while collecting hits in 23 of those, including recording 13 multi-hit efforts. He leads the Cowboys with a .348 batting average and 33 RBIs.
     He's also showcased a knack for the clutch hit as he's 18-for-45 (.400) with runners in scoring position.
     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.

Rob Walton's Punchout

     The Cowboys' pitching staff under Rob Walton is again putting up big strikeout numbers in 2024.
     OSU has recorded 400 strikeouts in 331 innings through 37 games; the Cowboys' rank seventh in the NCAA in strikeouts and are 13th nationally with 10.9 Ks per nine innings. Sam Garcia (69) and Brian Holiday (64) have each eclipsed 60 strikeouts and rank second and third in the Big 12 in strikeouts.
     The Pokes have reached double digits in strikeouts in 22 games, including 15 of the last 21 outings.

#15 Oklahoma State (25-12, 10-5) at Kansas State (22-14, 7-8)

Fri., April 19 • 6 p.m. / Sat., April 20 • 4 p.m. / Sun., April 21 • 3 p.m.
Tointon Family Stadium (2,344) • Manhattan, Kan.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Carson Benge

Robert Cranz

Jaxson Crull

Zach Ehrhard

Sam Garcia

Brian Holiday

Aidan Meola

Tommy Molsky

Avery Ortiz

Kollin Ritchie

Nolan Schubart

Tyler Wulfert

Oklahoma State University Athletics