Cowboy Baseball Set For Second Matchup With Oral Roberts

#19 Oklahoma State (26-14) at Oral Roberts (14-25-1)

Tues., April 23 • 6 p.m.
J.L. Johnson Stadium (2,418) • Tulsa, Okla.

Video/TV: Midco Sports Plus
(Adam Hildebrandt)
Radio: KSPI 93.7 FM (Rex Holt & Matt Davis)
The Varsity Network - okla.st/GetVarsity
Live Stats: oruathletics.com/sidearmstats/baseball
X In-Game Scoreboard/Updates: @OSUBaseball

About Oklahoma State

     • The Cowboys are 26-14 overall and tied for second in the Big 12 standings at 11-7 in conference play. This week, OSU travels to Tulsa for a Tuesday night game against Oral Roberts before hosting a Thursday-Saturday series against BYU at O'Brate Stadium.
     • 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 429-233-2 at his alma mater. The Cowboys have earned an NCAA Regional berth each year under his watch.

About Oral Roberts

     • Oral Roberts is 14-25-1, including an 8-15 mark at home.
     • Ryan Folmar is in his 12th season as ORU's head coach and owns a 385-249-1 career record. Folmar was a four-year letterwinner at Oklahoma State as a catcher from 1994-97.
     • OSU is 38-42 all time against ORU, including a 6-14 mark under Josh Holliday. The Cowboys won a midweek matchup on April 2 in Stillwater by a 9-0 count.

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 third-straight week. The Cowboys are as high as No. 19 in the D1Baseball.com and Baseball America polls and are ranked 22nd by USA Today and Perfect Game and 25th by 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 entered the week No. 25 in the official NCAA RPI; ORU is 287th.

Clutch

OSU is hitting .309 with runners in scoring position this season. Jaxson Crull (8-for-19), Aidan Meola (18-for-46), Ian Daugherty (6-for-17), Kollin Ritchie (11-for-29) and Tyler Wulfert (10-for-29) are among the top Cowboy hitters with RISP.

Close Calls

OSU is 93-63 (.596) in one-run games with Josh Holliday at the helm, including a 3-6 mark this season.

Strong Armed

OSU is second in the Big 12 and 26th nationally with a 4.33 team ERA; five Cowboys own an ERA of 3.53 or under, with Sam Garcia (3.42) and Brian Holiday (3.53) ranking in the top 10 in the conference.
The Cowboys' staff has tossed three shutouts and is fourth nationally in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.30) and 17th in WHIP (1.29).

Rob Walton's Punchout

     The Cowboys' pitching staff under Rob Walton is again putting up big strikeout numbers in 2024.
     OSU has recorded 432 strikeouts in 359.1 innings through 40 games; the Cowboys' rank seventh in the NCAA in strikeouts and are 13th nationally with 10.8 Ks per nine innings. Sam Garcia (75) and Brian Holiday (71) rank second and third in the Big 12 in strikeouts.
     The Pokes have reached double digits in strikeouts in 24 games, including 17 of the last 24 outings.

Big 12's Best

     Robert Cranz was named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week on April 15 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 21 appearances this season, Cranz is 2-1 with a save and a 1.59 ERA, and he has tallied 40 strikeouts in 34 innings of work.

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 16 doubles, 36 RBIs and 35 walks while hitting .302. In 14 relief appearances, he has posted a 3.21 ERA, three saves and 19 strikeouts in 14 innings.
     Random Fact: Carson's older brother, Garrett, was a two-time All-Big 12 infielder for OSU in 2016-17.

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 51 hits, 43 runs and a .551 slugging percentage while ranking second in batting average (.327), doubles (14) and walks (31). His seven homers are more than his output from his first two seasons combined as he hit three as both a freshman and sophomore.
     Ehrhard is hitting a conference-best .432 in Big 12 play with five homers, eight doubles and 16 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 13 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.

Swinging A Hot Bat

     Injuries limited Aidan Meola's playing time throughout his collegiate career, but the junior has played in a career-high 30 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 .342 batting average and is second with 33 RBIs.
     He's also showcased a knack for the clutch hit as he's 18-for-46 (.391) 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.

Big 12 Bashing

     With a .306 batting average, Colin Brueggemann is OSU's second-leading hitter in Big 12 play, and he had smacked six of his team-high 10 home runs, as well as four of his five doubles, against league foes.
     Brueggemann started 31 games a year ago in his first season in Stillwater and posted a .330 batting average, six home runs, 11 doubles and 36 RBIs en route to earning All-Big 12 Second Team accolades.
    Random Fact: Brueggemann's dad, Dean, was a two-time MLB Draft pick (1995 & 1996), and the southpaw pitched in nearly 250 games over seven seasons in the Colorado Rockies organization.

#19 Oklahoma State (26-14) at Oral Roberts (14-25-1)

Tues., April 23 • 6 p.m.
J.L. Johnson Stadium (2,418) • Tulsa, Okla.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Carson Benge

Colin Brueggemann

Robert Cranz

Jaxson Crull

Ian Daugherty

Zach Ehrhard

Sam Garcia

Brian Holiday

Aidan Meola

Tommy Molsky

Kollin Ritchie

Tyler Wulfert

Oklahoma State University Athletics