Oklahoma (16-12, 7-2) at Oklahoma State (19-10, 5-4)

Fri., April 5 • 6 p.m. / Sat., April 6 • 2 p.m. / Sun., April 7 • 1 p.m.
O'Brate Stadium (8,000) • Stillwater, Okla.

 
 
  Video/TV: Big 12 Now on ESPN+
                      (Dave Hunziker & Tom Holliday)
  Radio: KSPI 93.7 FM (Rex Holt & Matt Davis)
               The Varsity Network - okla.st/GetVarsity
  Live Stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com
  X In-Game Scoreboard/Updates: @OSUBaseball
       • The Cowboys are 19-10 overall and fifth in the Big 12 standings at 5-4 in conference play. OSU hosts the Bedlam Series with Oklahoma this weekend at O'Brate Stadium.
     • OSU finished 41-20 in 2023 and earned its 10th consecutive NCAA Regional bid. It was the second-straight 40-win season for the Pokes and the sixth under head coach Josh Holliday.
     • The Cowboys shared the Big 12 regular season championship with Texas and West Virginia after finishing 15-9 in conference play.
     • OSU returns six position starters, four of those All-Big 12 performers, from a year ago.
     • A total of 23 newcomers joined the OSU program for the 2024 season. The Cowboys brought in 15 players from the high school ranks, while adding six Division I transfers and a pair of JUCO products.
     • The 2024 season is OSU's 12th under head coach Josh Holliday, who is 422-229-2 at his alma mater. The Cowboys have earned an NCAA Regional berth each year under his watch.
       • Oklahoma is 16-12 and atop the Big 12 standings with a 7-2 conference mark.
     • Skip Johnson is in his seventh season as head coach at OU and owns a 205-144 record.
     • OSU is 186-159 all time against OU, including a 34-13 mark under Josh Holliday. The Cowboys won a midweek contest against the Sooners on March 12 in Norman by a score of 14-5.
     • OU's starting pitching rotation vs. the Cowboys is expected to be:      Oklahoma State enters the weekend No. 29 in the official NCAA RPI; Oklahoma is 22nd.
      OSU is hitting .325 with runners in scoring position this season. Ian Daugherty (5-for-10), Jaxson Crull (8-for-16), Aidan Meola (11-for-25), Avery Ortiz (7-for-19), Kollin Ritchie (8-for-23) and Carson Benge (13-for-40) are among the top Cowboy hitters with RISP.
      OSU is 93-61 (.604) in one-run games with Josh Holliday at the helm, including a 3-4 mark this season.
       OSU leads the Big 12 and ranks fifth nationally with a 3.49 team ERA; 10 Cowboys own an ERA of 3.32 or under, with Brian Holiday ranking second in the conference and 13th nationally with a 1.75 ERA.
     The Cowboys' staff ranks seventh in the NCAA with three shutouts and is ninth nationally in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.01) and WHIP (1.22).
       OSU is 7-2 over its last nine games, including series wins over TCU and West Virginia, and a big reason why is its pitching.
     During that stretch, the Cowboys have allowed only 18 earned runs over 82.0 innings for an ERA of 1.98, while also racking up 107 strikeouts, including seven games in which they struck out 12 or more.
     The Pokes' five opponents over the nine-game span — Missouri State, TCU, Wichita State, West Virginia and Oral Roberts — hit just .168.
       The Cowboys' pitching staff under Rob Walton is again putting up big strikeout numbers in 2024.
     OSU has recorded 304 strikeouts in 258 innings through 29 games; the Cowboys' rank 12th in the NCAA in strikeouts and are 17th nationally with 10.6 Ks per nine innings. Brian Holiday (56) and Sam Garcia (52) have each eclipsed 50 strikeouts and rank second and fourth in the Big 12 in strikeouts.
     The Pokes have reached double digits in strikeouts in 16 games, including nine of the last 13 outings.
       After two years at the junior college level, Brian Holiday has adjusted well to life in Division I baseball.
     OSU's Saturday starter, the righty has been dominant. Opponents are hitting just .160 against Holiday, which leads the Big 12, and he is second in the league and 13th nationally in ERA at 1.75, having allowed only 10 earned runs in a conference-high 51 1/3 innings pitched.
     He ranks second nationally in WHIP (0.70) and is 12th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (7.00).
     Holiday is also second in the Big 12 and 16th in the NCAA with 56 strikeouts. He turned in a complete game, 14-strikeout performance in a win over No. 18 TCU in which he took a no-hitter into the seventh inning. That came on the heels of an 11-strikeout effort in eight innings of work against UCF.
    Random Fact: Holiday was named the 2023 NJCAA JUCO World Series Most Outstanding Pitcher after helping lead Central Florida to the NJCAA national championship as a sophomore.
       As a redshirt freshman in 2023, Carson Benge earned Freshman All-America honors, was a semifinalist for the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award and was an All-Big 12 First Team selection as a utility player while earning second-team honors as an outfielder.
     After redshirting in 2022 following Tommy John surgery, Benge posted a team-high .345 batting average to go along with seven home runs, 17 doubles and 43 RBIs. Spending most of his time in right field, he also recorded a .468 on-base percentage and drew 42 walks as opposed to striking out just 32 times in nearly 200 at-bats. On the mound, he made 10 starts and was 2-2 with 35 strikeouts in 35.0 innings.
     This season, Benge leads OSU with 26 RBIs and 10 doubles while hitting .313, and he has posted a pair of saves to go along with 13 strikeouts in nine innings of work over nine mound appearances.
     Random Fact: Carson's older brother, Garrett, was a two-time All-Big 12 infielder for OSU in 2016-17.
       A move to Stillwater is paying off for Sam Garcia.
     After graduating from High Point in three years, Garcia transferred to OSU and has established himself as the Cowboys' Friday night starter. In seven outings, the southpaw is 3-3 with a 3.11 ERA, and he ranks fourth in the Big 12 with 52 strikeouts. He has struck out six or more batters in five of his starts, including a season-high 11 in a win at West Virginia.
     Garcia struggled to a 1-8 record and 7.57 ERA in 18 outings last season at HPU, but as a sophomore in 2022 he won five games and had a 1.64 ERA in 16 appearances to earn All-Big South First Team honors.
     Random Fact: Garcia graduated from E.A. Laney High School in Wilmington, North Carolina, which is also the alma mater of NBA legend Michael Jordan.
       Zach Ehrhard went on a tear at the plate in the month of March.
     In 20 games, the Cowboy outfielder hit .405 (32-for-79) with 10 doubles, and he posted 10 multi-hit performances. In doing so, he raised his batting average from .200 to .349.
     Ehrhard is hitting a conference-best .556 in Big 12 play, and he went 10-for-13 with a double, homer and five runs during last weekend's series at West Virginia.
     Random Fact: At Wharton High School, Ehrhard was coached by MLB Hall of Famer Wade Boggs, who was a volunteer coach for the baseball team.
       With a 5-0 record in nine relief appearances, Tommy Molsky leads the Cowboys and ranks second in the Big 12 in wins. Three of those wins have come in conference play as the right-hander has picked up a victory in each of OSU's league series.
     Following a career-high eight strikeouts against Oklahoma on March 12, Molsky has been electric out of the bullpen over his last four outings. During that span, which includes games against UCF, TCU, West Virginia and Oral Roberts, he has tossed 9 2/3 shutout innings and struck out 15 while allowing just three hits, all singles, and he has earned a win in each appearance.
     Random Fact: In 2022 and 2023, Molsky played for the Chatham Anglers in the Cape Cod League. The Anglers were managed by former OSU head coach and current ESPN+ analyst Tom Holliday.
       Brian Holiday is one of 45 players on the Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List.
     Additionally, Holiday was named to the Perfect Game Midseason All-America Second Team and the D1Baseball.com Midseason All-America Second Team.
     Carson Benge is also on the Perfect Game Midseason All-America Second Team as a two-way player.