Oklahoma State University Athletics

Aidan Meola
Return To Wichita Up Next For Cowboy Baseball
April 08, 2024 | Cowboy Baseball
#20 Oklahoma State (21-11) at Wichita State (19-13)
Tues., April 9 • 6 p.m.
Riverfront Stadium (12,000) • Wichita, Kan.
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 Video/TV: ESPN+ (Shane Dennis)
 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
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About Oklahoma State
    • The Cowboys are 21-11 overall and tied for third in the Big 12 standings at 7-5 in conference play. OSU travels to Wichita for a Tuesday night contest with Wichita State before hosting Cincinnati this weekend 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 424-230-2 at his alma mater. The Cowboys have earned an NCAA Regional berth each year under his watch.
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About Wichita State
    • Wichita State is 19-13 and coming off being swept in a weekend series at South Florida.    • Brian Green is in his first season as the Shockers' head coach. He also has head coaching stints at Washington State and New Mexico State and owns a career record of 268-214-1 in 10 seasons.
    • OSU is 66-36 all time against WSU, including a 15-4 mark under Josh Holliday. The Cowboys won a 3-0 contest on the Shockers' home field on March 26.
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And We're Back
    OSU re-entered the national rankings this week for the first time since the preseason. The Cowboys are as high as No. 20 in the Perfect Game poll and ranked 21st by D1Baseball.com, 23rd by Baseball America and 25th by USA Today.    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.
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RPI Talk
    Oklahoma State enters the week No. 26 in the official NCAA RPI; Wichita State is 105th.Â
Clutch
   OSU is hitting .317 with runners in scoring position this season. Jaxson Crull (8-for-17), Aidan Meola (13-for-34), Avery Ortiz (10-for-26), Zach Ehrhard (10-for-30) and Colin Brueggemann (11-for-33) are among the top Cowboy hitters with RISP.Â
Strong Armed
    OSU leads the Big 12 and ranks 23rd nationally with a 4.11 team ERA; nine Cowboys own an ERA of 3.68 or under, with Brian Holiday (2.98) and Sam Garcia (3.12) ranking in the top 10 in the conference.    The Cowboys' staff ranks 13th in the NCAA with three shutouts and is eighth nationally in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.0) and 12th in WHIP (1.26).
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Shoving
    OSU is 9-3 over its last 12 games, including series wins over TCU, West Virginia and Oklahoma, and a big reason why is its pitching.    During that stretch, the Cowboys have posted a 3.96 ERA over 109.0 innings, while also racking up 139 strikeouts, including nine games in which they struck out 10 or more.
    The Pokes' six opponents over the 12-game span — Missouri State, TCU, Wichita State, West Virginia, Oral Roberts and Oklahoma — hit just .204.
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Rob Walton's Punchout
    The Cowboys' pitching staff under Rob Walton is again putting up big strikeout numbers in 2024.    OSU has recorded 336 strikeouts in 285 innings through 32 games; the Cowboys' rank 11th in the NCAA in strikeouts and are 20th nationally with 10.6 Ks per nine innings. Sam Garcia (61) and Brian Holiday (60) 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 18 games, including 11 of the last 16 outings.
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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 28 RBIs and and is second in doubles (12) and homers (6) while hitting .323. In 10 relief appearances, he has posted a pair of saves to go along with 14 strikeouts in 10 innings of work.
    Random Fact: Carson's older brother, Garrett, was a two-time All-Big 12 infielder for OSU in 2016-17.
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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 a .360 batting average, 45 hits, 13 doubles, 34 runs and a .584 slugging percentage.
    Ehrhard is hitting a conference-best .531 in Big 12 play with three homers, seven doubles and 12 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.
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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.   Â
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Players Mentioned
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Friday, October 03
Doug Meacham Previews Cowboys vs. Arizona - Oklahoma State News Conference (9-29-2025)
Tuesday, September 30
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Monday, September 29