The Oklahoma State baseball team takes on the Saint Louis Billikens tomorrow at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium with first pitch at 4 p.m. CT.
The Oklahoma State baseball team faces a tough test against the 6-1 Saint Louis Billikens tomorrow at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium in Stillwater. OK State won their first series of the season last weekend against the Texas State Bobcats. The Cowboys took two of the three games in the series.
COWBOYS WIN! 1st series win for Pokes of 2017! pic.twitter.com/G1cMTxMCE2
— OSU Cowboy Baseball (@OSUBaseball) February 26, 2017
Moreover, OK State enters tomorrow’s matchup with a 4-3 record and 2-1 at home. It’s a great opportunity to gain some more momentum heading into the Frisco College Baseball Classic. The Pokes take on the Arkansas Razorbacks, Nebraska Cornhuskers, and Arizona Wildcats, in the three game Classic in Frisco.
After a huge week from catcher Travis Wacker and third baseman Garrett Benge, both players received Big 12 weekly honors. Wacker was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week after hitting .500 and knocking home eight runs batted in.
After leading #okstate with a .500 batting avg. & 8 RBIs last week, Cowboy catcher @wacker_10 was named #BIG12BSB’s top newcomer! #GoPokes pic.twitter.com/BVjj9NC5fy
— OSU Cowboy Baseball (@OSUBaseball) February 27, 2017
Benge was named overall Big 12 Player of the Week after hitting .471 with one home run and eight RBI. Both Benge and Wacker sparked the Cowboy offense to three double digit scoring efforts last week.
He hit .471 with a homer, 2 doubles and 8 RBIs in 4 games last week & today #okstate's @Gbenge7 earned #BIG12BSB POW honors! #GoPokes pic.twitter.com/TB4AXaD8mJ
— OSU Cowboy Baseball (@OSUBaseball) February 27, 2017
SLU has put together an impressive run to start the season. The Billikens started their season 4-0 in the Alamo Irish Classic in San Antonio, highlighted by two wins over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. They also defeated Creighton and Santa Clara in their second tournament/event of the season at the Jack Glifford Memorial Tournament in Santa Clara, CA.
OK State slid down to no. 24 in the Baseball America top 25 rankings this week. A victory over the Billikens and a solid performance at the Frisco College Baseball Classic would get them trending in the right directions in the rankings once again.
Some things that need to happen for the Pokes to get on the right track consistently include keeping the offense going in the right direction. Also the starting rotation needs to perform better. Tyler Buffett, Jensen Elliott, and Carson Teel are all off to rough starts this season when they’re supposed to be the cornerstone of the Cowboy baseball team.
Next: Oklahoma State Basketball: Predicting Iowa State
You can watch tomorrow’s game live on YouTube here. You can view the entire 2017 OK State baseball schedule here. You can view the entire Baseball America top 25 rankings here.