Cowboys Break the Seal on O'Brate Now Move On and Build Off Opener
STILLWATER – O’Brate Stadium gets another first before the next game even begins in the new stadium as Friday’s opening game of the weekend series between the Cowboys and the Illinois State Redbirds will be the first game between unbeatens. Oklahoma State is 3-0 after opening O’Brate with a 7-2 win over Little Rock while Illinois State is 2-0 after sweeping Southern Illinois-Edwardsville in a doubleheader earlier this week. Illinois State made it to the finals of the NCAA Louisville Regional in 2019.
The Cowboys will have an advantage before either team crosses the white lines to find their position on the diamond. Oklahoma State got the jitters out on Wednesday. They have now played a game in maybe the finest ballpark in college baseball. I truly believe it is the best in Oklahoma and surpasses both the Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City and OneOk Stadium in Tulsa.
It definitely is going to get the attention of visiting teams the first time they play in it. Oklahoma State Cowboy parent Andre Johnson, who played football at Oklahoma State and is the father of Cowboys freshman outfielder Dom Johnson, said his son couldn’t turn down the opportunity to play in the new stadium.
“I enjoyed listening to the players talk about what was going on, lots of smiles, lots of grins, a lot of happy kids and that is a great thing to see.,” Oklahoma State head coach Josh Holliday said of the atmosphere down on the field.
“Obviously, we played those games with Wichita State to get the jitters out, but yesterday I woke up with a whole different case of jitters,” admitted OSU right fielder Cade Cabbiness, who had a double for the first hit in the stadium. “It was crazy but it was awesome that it finally happened.”
The Oklahoma State players saw all the gazing that the Little Rock players were doing. They spoke to them and heard them saying how it was an honor just to play in the stadium.
“Going out in a new stadium can be overbearing,” Cabbiness added. “Josh talked to us about that and said we were going to go out and focus on playing good baseball and not be overhyped.”
Once the game started the Cowboys settled in quickly and got their work done.
“There was a lot of joy in our team before the game. Then during the game just taking in all the first moments, the first run scored, the first hit, the first home run, and the first chance for the crowd to make themselves heard. I think the kids in rightfield kind of did that. I was excited that Alix got the first home run and Cade (Cabbiness) got the first hit. Those are two kids back for their fifth year. Coming back and playing in this stadium was a major reason they came back.”
It is why so many talented players in the future will come like Dom Johnson did. I remember talking with Josh Holliday at the batting cage during pregame BP before a game his first season. I asked Josh what he needed to get Oklahoma State baseball back to where it was under his Gary Ward and his father. He told me the Big 12 needed to get games on television to match the SEC Network. He told me they would need a new ballpark because Allie P. Reynolds had long outlived it’s worthiness in the sport.
Today, none other than his dad and former assistant and head coach at Oklahoma State said this.
“Josh has got it,” the elder Holliday said. “The games are on television and he has a ballpark that will bring in a lot of players like Dom (Johnson) and (Trevor) Martin the freshman pitcher from Asher. This is a game changer, no doubt.”