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Oklahoma State Team Capsule
Posted: Fri June 11, 1999 at 12:37 p.m. EDT
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Coach: Tom Holliday (3rd year)
Nickname: Cowboys
Record: 46-19
Conference: Big 12
Location: Stillwater, Oklahoma
Enrollment: 20,466
NCAA Tournament Region and Seed: Wichita, 2nd
College World Series appearance: 19th
National Championships: 1 (1959)
Last CWS appearance: 1996
1999 NCAA Tournament Results
Regional: Lost to UCLA, 12-6
Beat Oral Roberts, 12-4
Beat UCLA, 17-10
Beat Wichita St, 11-8
Beat Wichita St, 7-6
Super Regional: Beat Baylor, 18-11
Lost to Baylor, 17-7
Beat Baylor, 6-2
Probable Starting Lineup
C -- Ryan Budde (.277, 1 HR, 39 RBI)
1B -- Jay McCullough (.320, 13, 57)
2B -- Kevin Lucas (.342, 7, 46)
SS -- Billy Gasparino (.372, 24, 90)
3B -- Josh Holliday (.291, 15, 64)
LF -- Carlos Gautreaux (.345, 2, 30)
CF -- Jimbo McAuliff (.305, 7, 31)
RF -- Lamont Matthews (.396, 30, 105)
DH -- Chris Becerra (.356, 10, 39)
SP -- Matt Smith (9-5, 2.93 ERA)
SP -- Thom Dreier (8-5, 3.61)
SP -- Jeremy Krismer (6-0, 5.30)
RP -- Rusty Rushing (4 saves, 2.68)
OUTLOOK: The Cowboys are the party crashers of the CWS. Of the
top eight seeds for the tournament, only Baylor, which was
beaten by the Cowboys in the Super Regional, failed to reach
Omaha. Only Texas and USC have more trips to the CWS, but
Oklahoma State is still saddled with just one national crown. It
has been to the championship game five times since 1959, most
recently in 1990, losing to Georgia. This is the school's first
trip to Omaha under Tom Holliday, who has compiled a respectable
132-59 record at the helm. Pitching staff posted a 4.52 ERA
compared to 9.93 for opponents. LH Matt Smith is a workhorse,
having tossed 107 2/3 innings with 134 strikeouts and an
impressive 2.93 ERA. He does have a sore arm, however, and
might be pushed back in the rotation. Smith and C Ryan Budde
will represent OSU at the 1999 USA Baseball National Team
tryouts during the summer. RHs Thom Dreier and Jeremy Krismer
help form an effective starting rotation, while RH Rusty Rushing
can be dominant out of the bullpen, as his 45 strikeouts in 37
innings demonstrate. The Cowboys belted 130 home runs this year,
an average of 2.0 per game. RF Lamont Matthews and SS Billy
Gasparino were voted second and third team All-Americas,
respectively, by Louisville Slugger. Matthews' 30 homers and
105 RBI are staggering. 3B Josh Holliday is near the top of the
school's all-time lists in several offensive categories. 2B
Kevin Lucas has struck out only 11 times in a team-leading 260
at-bats. Team batting average was .326 with 130 homers and 632
RBI. The Cowboys are 31-0 when scoring 10 or more runs.
© 2000 Sportsticker Enterprises, LP
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