Arizona State (6-5) at #13 Oklahoma State (8-3)
Tues., March 3 • 3 p.m. / Wed., March 4 • 12 p.m.
O'Brate Stadium (8,000) • Stillwater, Okla.
Video/TV: Big 12 Now on ESPN+
(Robert Allen & Tom Holliday)
Radio: KSPI 93.7 FM & The Varsity Network - okla.st/GetVarsity
(Rex Holt & Matt Davis)
Live Stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com
Twitter In-Game Updates: @OSUBaseball
About Oklahoma State
• Winners of five in a row, OSU is 8-3 and continues a 10 games in 12 days homestand when the Pokes host Arizona State in a two-game midweek series 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 370-202-2 at his alma mater. The Cowboys have earned an NCAA Region berth each year under his watch.
About Arizona State
• Arizona State is 6-5 on the season after getting swept at home last weekend by UC Irvine.
• Willie Bloomquist is in his second season as ASU's head coach and owns a 32-37 record.
• The Sun Devils lead the all-time series with OSU with a 17-16 record. The Cowboys are 9-5 vs. ASU under Josh Holliday, which includes a pair of midweek wins last season in Phoenix.
• ASU's starting pitching rotation vs. the Cowboys is expected to be:
Tuesday: RHP Matt Tieding — 1-0, 2.45 ERA in five relief appearances; 4 K, 2 BB in 11.0 IP
Wednesday: TBA
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
OSU was ranked as high as No. 8 in the preseason national polls, getting that ranking from USA TODAY Sports. This week, the Cowboys are ranked No. 13 by D1Baseball, 14th by USA Today, 15th by the NCBWA, 18th by Baseball America, 23rd by Perfect Game and 24th by Collegiate Baseball.
OSU has been nationally ranked for 41 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.
Inside The Numbers
• Nolan McLean is tied with Georgia Tech's Terry Busse for the NCAA saves lead with five.
• McLean also ranks fourth nationally by having drawn 17 walks, and he leads the Big 12 with a .563 on-base percentage.
• Juaron Watts-Brown ranks second in the Big 12 with 22 strikeouts.
Good Week To Be A Cowboy Named Nolan
Nolan McLean and Nolan Schubart collected Big 12 weekly awards for their performances in week three, with McLean named the Big 12 Player of the Week and Schubart earning Big 12 Co-Newcomer of the Week honors.
McLean fueled OSU at the plate and on the mound as he led the Cowboys with a .500 batting average (6-for-12) and added a pair of saves on the mound to continue to lead the NCAA in that category.
The two-way star's week included two home runs, a triple and six RBIs, and he also drew seven walks.
McLean recorded saves in a midweek win at Missouri State and the series-clinching game vs. APSU.
Schubart posted a .444 batting average as the freshman outfielder went 8-for-18 at the plate and led the Cowboys with nine RBIs to go along with two home runs and a double.
At Missouri State, Schubart went 3-for-6, slugged two homers and collected six RBIs, tying him for the most in a game by a Big 12 player this season.
In the series opener against APSU, Schubart tallied a career-high four hits to go along with three RBIs.
Bat Man
Another reliable bat in the middle of the Cowboys' 2022 batting order returned this season in the form of David Mendham.
In his first season in Stillwater after transferring from South Carolina, Mendham started 57 games (50 at first base) and hit .276 with 16 doubles, 11 homers and 45 RBIs.
Mendham, an honorable mention All-Big 12 pick, committed just one fielding error on the year.
In 2023, Mendham is hitting .386 with three homers and nine RBIs, and he ranks in the top 10 in the Big 12 in hits (17), total bases (31) and slugging percentage (.705).
Random Fact: Mendham is dating OSU softball All-American pitcher Kelly Maxwell.
Stillwater Slingers
A pair of hometown hurlers have stepped up for the Cowboys this season.
Southpaw Drew Blake picked up the win in relief in the season opener against Missouri as the redshirt freshman worked two scoreless innings in relief. Blake is tied for the team lead with five appearances.
Isaac Stebens tossed four shutout innings out of the bullpen in his debut against Vanderbilt, then worked two more scoreless frames with four Ks in the combined no-hitter against Cal Baptist.
A righty is in his first season with the Pokes after a JUCO All-American career at Cowley County CC, Stebens recorded his first-career win with 2 1/3 shutout innings and five strikeouts vs. Austin Peay.
Random Fact: Drew Blake's dad, Randy, was teammates with Josh Holliday on the Stillwater High School football team in the mid-1990s; Holliday was the Pioneers' quarterback, while Blake starred at wide receiver.
