Oklahoma (19-18) at #24 Oklahoma State (24-13)
Tues., April 18 • 6 p.m.
O'Brate Stadium (8,000) • Stillwater, Okla.
Video/TV: Big 12 Now on ESPN+
(Dave Hunziker & Tom Holliday)
Radio: 93.7 KSPI FM (Rex Holt & Matt Davis)
The Varsity Network - okla.st/GetVarsity
Live Stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com
Twitter In-Game Updates: @OSUBaseball
About Oklahoma State
• OSU is 24-13 overall and fifth in the Big 12 standings with an 8-7 conference mark. The Cowboys conclude a five-game homestand Tuesday night when they host Bedlam-rival Oklahoma in a non-conference game before traveling to Lawrence for a weekend series with Kansas.
• 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 386-212-2 at his alma mater. The Cowboys have earned an NCAA Region berth each year under his watch.
About Oklahoma
• OU is 19-18 overall and ninth in the Big 12 standings with a 4-8 league mark.
• Skip Johnson is in his sixth season as OU’s head coach and owns a 176-122 career record.
• OSU is 181-157 all time against OU, including a 29-11 mark under Josh Holliday. Last season, the Pokes went 2-2 against the Sooners, winning the final two games in the Big 12 series in Stillwater; the Sooners also won a non-conference midweek game in Tulsa.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
OSU was ranked as high as No. 8 in the preseason national polls, receiving that ranking from USA TODAY Sports. This week, the Cowboys are ranked No. 24 by Baseball America and USA TODAY Sports and 26th by the NCBWA.
OSU has been nationally ranked for 47 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.
RPI Talk
Oklahoma State enters the week No. 36 in the official NCAA RPI; OU is 73rd.
K Kounter
The 2022 OSU pitching staff shattered the program record for strikeouts in a season with 679, besting the previous mark by 91.
The Cowboys' 679 strikeouts ranked fifth nationally, and they ranked seventh in the NCAA in strikeouts per nine innings at 10.7.
With an influx of new arms, this year's staff has continued to pile up Ks. The Cowboys lead the Big 12 and rank seventh in the NCAA with 395 strikeouts, and they have three pitchers — Juaron Watts-Brown, Ben Abram and Isaac Stebens — in the top five in the conference in punchouts.
OSU's 11.2 strikeouts per nine innings this season is tops in the Big 12 and ranks eighth nationally.
Cowboys Who Rake
OSU's offense is putting up some impressive numbers at the plate.
• The Cowboys rank third in the Big 12 with a .295 team batting average.
• Five regulars in the OSU starting lineup are hitting at least .300. Garrett Benge leads the way with a .370 average that ranks fifth in the Big 12.
• OSU's 86 doubles rank 12th nationally.
• The Pokes have smashed a Big 12-best 67 home runs, which ranks ninth nationally. Fifteen players have homered, and Roc Riggio leads the team with 11 round trippers to rank third in the league.
• OSU's .534 slugging percentage leads the Big 12 and is 13th nationally.
• The Cowboys have posted five run-rule wins this season.
