Big 12 Baseball Tournament Starts for Oklahoma State with Bedlam

STILLWATER – Oklahoma State sitting with a 32-16-1 record and fourth in the standings in the Big 12 Conference and looking strong for an at-large bid, what would be their eighth NCAA Regional bid under head coach Josh Holliday. Now, they could earn the automatic bid, which they have done twice already under Holliday. The 2017 tourney saw the Pokes knock off Texas in the title game in Oklahoma City as OSU became the first No. 8 seed in tourney history to claim the crown. In 2019, the Cowboys claimed another crown, defeating West Virginia, 5-2, in the final.

The Cowboys will open the Big 12 Tournament with the conference foe they have faced the most this season. It’s Bedlam for the sixth time this season as the Cowboys lost the conference series with Oklahoma two games-to-one, but the Pokes took both of the non-conference meetings this season.

* counted as a conference game

OSU is making its 22nd appearance at the Big 12 Baseball Championship and owns a 29-38 all-time record in the tournament, including a 16-11 mark under Josh Holliday. The 2021 season is OSU’s ninth under head coach Josh Holliday, who is 312-173-2 at his alma mater.

Oklahoma State is the No. 4 seed in Division 2 of this year’s double-elimination Big 12 tourney field, along with top-seeded Texas, fifth-seeded Oklahoma and the winner of No. 8-seed West Virginia/No. 9-seed Kansas on Tuesday night.

The Division 1 teams include No. 2-seed TCU, No. 3-seed Texas Tech, No. 6-seed Baylor and No. 7-seed Kansas State.

In the national rankings, Oklahoma State is currently ranked as high as 22nd by Collegiate Baseball. The Cowboys' highest ranking in 2021 is No. 9, which they reached on March 8 (USA Today) and again on March 15 (Collegiate Baseball).

Oklahoma State is No. 16 in the RPI, a major tool for the NCAA Baseball Selection Committee.

The Cowboys are led by fresh honorees from the Big 12 coaches in their Big 12 awards and the All-Big 12 Baseball team announced on Monday. Third baseman Christian Encarnacion-Strand garnered Newcomer of the Year.

Oklahoma State Athletics

Encarnacion-Strand with a home run swing at O’Brate Stadium as he has 15 this season. 

A native of Pleasant Hill, Calif., Encarnacion-Strand joined the Cowboys this season following a standout JUCO career at Yavapai College. The only OSU player to start all 49 games this season, he ranks among the NCAA and Big 12 leaders in a number of offensive categories.

Sporting a .360 batting average, Encarnacion-Strand ranks second in the Big 12 with 15 home runs, 64 RBIs, 140 total bases and a .690 slugging percentage. He is third in the league with 73 hits and sixth in batting average.

Named the NCBWA Player of the Month for April, Encarnacion-Strand is a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy, presented to the top player in college baseball.

Pitcher Justin Campbell, who had a no-hitter at Kansas this month was selected as a first-team pitcher on the All-Big 12 Team.

Campbell, also a California native, is the second player in OSU history to earn All-Big 12 honors at two different positions in the same season, joining Jordy Mercer on that list. He is the first Cowboy to earn first-team accolades at two positions as Mercer was named to the first team as a utility player and made the second team as a shortstop in 2008.

Bruce Waterfield/OSU Athletics

Campbell on the mound.

On the mound, Campbell sports a 6-1 record and ranks second in the Big 12 with a 2.25 ERA. In 12 appearances, 11 of those starts, the second-year freshman has racked up a team-high 93 strikeouts in 72 innings. Campbell led the Big 12 with a 2.57 ERA in conference-only games and was 3-1 in league play, and he tossed the third nine-inning no-hitter in OSU history on May 8 at Kansas.

Bruce Waterfield/OSU Athletics

As a hitter, Campbell had the game winning RBI in the first game with Oklahoma.

Also playing in 27 games as a DH and pinch hitter, Campbell owns a .254 batting average to go along with a homer, four doubles and seven RBIs.

The Cowboys and Sooners are scheduled for 7:30 on Wednesday night at the Bricktown Ballpark. The winner will advance to the winner’s game in the pool at 7:30 p.m. Thursday night, the loser will play at 12:30 p.m. in an elimination game on Thursday.