Friday, April 5
Stillwater, Okla.
7:05 p.m.
West Virginia University
at
Oklahoma State
Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
WVU Travels to No. 23 Oklahoma State
April 04, 2019 06:11 PM | Baseball
STILLWATER, Okla. – Winners of three in a row and four of its last five games, the West Virginia University baseball team travels to No. 23 Oklahoma State for a weekend series from April 5-7, in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
The series at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium begins on Friday, April 5, at 7:05 p.m. ET, in a contest broadcasted on FCS. Saturday's matchup is set for 3:05 p.m., and the series concludes on Sunday on FCS, with first pitch moved up one hour, to 1 p.m.
The Mountaineers (17-11, 2-4 Big 12 Conference) are coming off a 5-4, Backyard Brawl win over Pitt on Wednesday night in front of a school-record 3,487 fans at Monongalia County Ballpark. Facing its seventh opponent that made the 2018 NCAA Tournament, West Virginia is looking for a second consecutive weekend series win over a top-25 foe.
The Cowboys (18-9, 5-1 Big 12) are tied for first place in the Big 12 thanks to a sweep of Kansas and a series win at No. 19 TCU. OSU is ranked in the top-25 in four national polls and comes in as high as No. 23 by Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball.
Two junior right-handers will square off on Friday night, as WVU's Alek Manoah (3-2, 2.89 ERA) faces OSU's Jensen Elliott (3-1, 3.44 ERA). Sophomore lefty Jackson Wolf (2-2, 4.11 ERA) will get the ball for the Mountaineers against Cowboy senior right-hander Joe Lienhard (2-1, 2.67 ERA). A pair of righties toe the rubber on Sunday, as junior Kade Strowd (3-2, 3.73 ERA) gets the ball for West Virginia against Oklahoma State freshman Brett Standlee (2-0, 3.81 ERA).
FOLLOWING ALONG
There are a number of ways to follow along with this weekend's action.
SCOUTING OKLAHOMA STATE
Oklahoma State is 18-9 on the season, 12-5 at home and 5-1 in Big 12 play. The Cowboys are coming off an 8-4 loss to Central Arkansas on Tuesday after a series win at No. 19 TCU over the weekend.
Carson McCusker's .344 batting average and 33 hits leads the team, while Colin Simpson paces OSU with 22 RBIs and Andrew Navigato has a team-best seven home runs. Peyton Battenfield is one of three pitchers with three wins, and he has a team-high 32 strikeouts with a 1.93 ERA in 28.0 innings.
Josh Holliday is in his seventh season at his alma mater, where he owns a record of 258-141-1. He has led the Cowboys to six consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, two Big 12 championships and a College World Series berth in 2016.
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE COWBOYS
West Virginia is 9-15 all-time against Oklahoma State. The Mountaineers are 4-6 in Stillwater, but have won four of their last five road games in the series. WVU lost last season's series in Morgantown, from April 13-15, but followed it up with an 8-5 victory in the Big 12 Championship on May 23. In a 10-7 victory on April 14, Tyler Doanes drove in three runs on two hits, his first career RBIs and first career multi-hit and multi-RBI contest. In the Big 12 Championship opener, four Mountaineers had multiple hits, and Darius Hill had two hits and two RBIs to power WVU's 8-5 victory.
WVU won its last series in Stillwater against then-No. 23 OSU. West Virginia lost the opener, 3-2, before a 5-3 victory in 10 innings the next day. The Mountaineers won the series with a 9-8 win in the finale.
LAST TIME OUT: RECORD-BREAKING CROWD SEES BACKYARD BRAWL VICTORY
A program-record 3,487 fans watched West Virginia score the go-ahead run in the eighth inning to beat Pitt, 5-4, in the Backyard Brawl on April 3, at Monongalia County Ballpark.
ON DECK: MIDWEEK AT MARYLAND
The Mountaineers travel to face Maryland on Wednesday, April 10. First pitch at Bob "Turtle" Smith Stadium, in College Park, Maryland, is set for 4 p.m. ET.
Single game tickets and flex plan mini-packages for the 2019 season are on sale now. Fans can join the excitement of WVU baseball and support the Mountaineers by purchasing tickets at WVUGAME.com, calling 1-800-WVU GAME or visiting the Mountaineer Ticket Office at the WVU Coliseum.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow WVU Baseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
The series at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium begins on Friday, April 5, at 7:05 p.m. ET, in a contest broadcasted on FCS. Saturday's matchup is set for 3:05 p.m., and the series concludes on Sunday on FCS, with first pitch moved up one hour, to 1 p.m.
The Mountaineers (17-11, 2-4 Big 12 Conference) are coming off a 5-4, Backyard Brawl win over Pitt on Wednesday night in front of a school-record 3,487 fans at Monongalia County Ballpark. Facing its seventh opponent that made the 2018 NCAA Tournament, West Virginia is looking for a second consecutive weekend series win over a top-25 foe.
The Cowboys (18-9, 5-1 Big 12) are tied for first place in the Big 12 thanks to a sweep of Kansas and a series win at No. 19 TCU. OSU is ranked in the top-25 in four national polls and comes in as high as No. 23 by Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball.
Two junior right-handers will square off on Friday night, as WVU's Alek Manoah (3-2, 2.89 ERA) faces OSU's Jensen Elliott (3-1, 3.44 ERA). Sophomore lefty Jackson Wolf (2-2, 4.11 ERA) will get the ball for the Mountaineers against Cowboy senior right-hander Joe Lienhard (2-1, 2.67 ERA). A pair of righties toe the rubber on Sunday, as junior Kade Strowd (3-2, 3.73 ERA) gets the ball for West Virginia against Oklahoma State freshman Brett Standlee (2-0, 3.81 ERA).
FOLLOWING ALONG
There are a number of ways to follow along with this weekend's action.
- Friday and Sunday's games will be broadcast on FCS, and Sunday's contest also will be available on Fox Sports Go. Saturday's game will be streamed on YouTube on the "Oklahoma State Athletics" channel.
- Fans can listen to the games on the Mountaineer Sports Network from Learfield IMG College on various affiliates throughout the state, while fans across the country can tune into the broadcast online at WVUsports.com/Watch and on the WVU Gameday and TuneIn Radio Apps.
- Live stats can be found at OKState.Statbroadcast.com.
- Direct links to video and radio streams and live stats are available on the baseball schedule page on WVUsports.com.
- Additional behind-the-scenes updates, news and notes can be found on social media by following and connecting with the team on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @WVUBaseball.
SCOUTING OKLAHOMA STATE
Oklahoma State is 18-9 on the season, 12-5 at home and 5-1 in Big 12 play. The Cowboys are coming off an 8-4 loss to Central Arkansas on Tuesday after a series win at No. 19 TCU over the weekend.
Carson McCusker's .344 batting average and 33 hits leads the team, while Colin Simpson paces OSU with 22 RBIs and Andrew Navigato has a team-best seven home runs. Peyton Battenfield is one of three pitchers with three wins, and he has a team-high 32 strikeouts with a 1.93 ERA in 28.0 innings.
Josh Holliday is in his seventh season at his alma mater, where he owns a record of 258-141-1. He has led the Cowboys to six consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, two Big 12 championships and a College World Series berth in 2016.
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE COWBOYS
West Virginia is 9-15 all-time against Oklahoma State. The Mountaineers are 4-6 in Stillwater, but have won four of their last five road games in the series. WVU lost last season's series in Morgantown, from April 13-15, but followed it up with an 8-5 victory in the Big 12 Championship on May 23. In a 10-7 victory on April 14, Tyler Doanes drove in three runs on two hits, his first career RBIs and first career multi-hit and multi-RBI contest. In the Big 12 Championship opener, four Mountaineers had multiple hits, and Darius Hill had two hits and two RBIs to power WVU's 8-5 victory.
WVU won its last series in Stillwater against then-No. 23 OSU. West Virginia lost the opener, 3-2, before a 5-3 victory in 10 innings the next day. The Mountaineers won the series with a 9-8 win in the finale.
LAST TIME OUT: RECORD-BREAKING CROWD SEES BACKYARD BRAWL VICTORY
A program-record 3,487 fans watched West Virginia score the go-ahead run in the eighth inning to beat Pitt, 5-4, in the Backyard Brawl on April 3, at Monongalia County Ballpark.
- In front of the largest crowd to ever watch a WVU home game, the Mountaineers regained a 5-4 lead in the eighth inning on a sacrifice fly by junior first baseman Kevin Brophy after the Panthers tied the game with a three-run sixth inning. WVU scored four runs in the bottom of the second inning to take a 4-1 lead, which included a two-run home run by Brophy.
- In the oldest and most-played rivalry in program history, West Virginia has won five in a row against Pitt and 10 of the last 13 meetings. With the win, WVU increased its lead in the all-time series to 107-88.
- Freshman right-hander Zach Ottinger earned his first career win (1-0), while junior righty Sam Kessler picked up his fifth save. Ottinger gave up just one hit in 2.0 shutout innings with four strikeouts and no walks.
- Junior left-handed starter Nick Snyder allowed one run on one hit in 5.0 innings. The Mountaineers have won all six games that Snyder has started this season.
ON DECK: MIDWEEK AT MARYLAND
The Mountaineers travel to face Maryland on Wednesday, April 10. First pitch at Bob "Turtle" Smith Stadium, in College Park, Maryland, is set for 4 p.m. ET.
Single game tickets and flex plan mini-packages for the 2019 season are on sale now. Fans can join the excitement of WVU baseball and support the Mountaineers by purchasing tickets at WVUGAME.com, calling 1-800-WVU GAME or visiting the Mountaineer Ticket Office at the WVU Coliseum.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow WVU Baseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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