Oklahoma State Heads to the Desert for Tuscon Regional, Open with UCSB

STILLWATER – Oklahoma State is heading to the desert to play in the Tucson Regional and while the Arizona Wildcats had a strong season in the Pac-12 winning the league with a 21-9 record the fifth-seed nationally also lost a game to Grand Canyon and lost a non conference game to Dixie State this past weekend. The Wildcats are good, but this regional, while loaded, is winnable.

Bruce Waterfield/OSU Athletics

Holliday is charged up for postseason.

“I’m thrilled. I’m very proud of our team for the way they finished,” head coach Josh Holliday, who is a perfect eight-for-eight in taking the Cowboys to NCAA postseason as the head coach. “I’m very proud of how they competed so fiercely through the challenges of the season. I really appreciate the character of our group. I think watching the selection show it showed how important it was to finish strong.

“Obviously, Arizona is a really good team and they wouldn’t be a national seed and hosting if they weren’t,” Holliday continued. “Obviously, Grand Canyon and UCSB, we know about Grand Canyon from playing them (two wins 11-5 and 3-0 with a 4-4 tie) and we know about UCSB from reading about them and knowing their talent. It should be a heckuva regional.”

The Cowboys will open the regional on Friday, June 4 at 3 p.m. (central) on ESPN3 against UC-Santa Barbara (39-18). The Gauchos (Spanish for Cowboys) had no common opponents with Oklahoma State, but they did post a win over UCLA in the Pac-12 and finished 29-11 in their conference finishing second behind UC-Irvine, which is the two-seed in the Palo Alto Regional.

UC-Santa Barbara was second in the Big West Conference and played Oregon (swept in four games) and UCLA (lost two out of three) as their big non conference series. They appear to be a strong hitting team 113 doubles, 61 home runs, and a .288 team batting average. They have a really dynamic starting pitcher from each side with left-hander Rodney Boone (10-4) with a 2.20 era and right-hander Michael McGreevy (9-1) with a 2.92 era. Lefty Carter Benbrook is the top reliever (7-1) with five saves and a 2.82 era.

Top-seed Arizona (40-15) will open with the four-seed Grand Canyon (39-19-1) at 9 p.m. (central) and also streamed on ESPN3

The Cowboys got credit on the selections show from ESPN’s top College baseball analyst in Kyle Peterson.

“I think Oklahoma State is dangerous as they are getting hot at the right time,” Peterson said. “They are a good offensive team going to an offensive ballpark that fits them. Josh Holliday has been impressive taking them to the postseason all eight-years he has been head coach. They could make it to Omaha, but I think overall when we get to Omaha it (tournament) will be really chalky.”

Peterson pointed out Hi Corbett Field, the host ballpark and how it is a big expansive outfield and could really fit the Cowboys with the big gaps in right and left-center field. Cowboys volunteer coach and former Major League All-Star Matt Holliday knows the park well having trained there when he was part of the Colorado Rockies organization. His brother, Josh, kind of agrees with that assessment.

“It’s a big park and you are going out to the desert, light air, hard dirt, and fast grass. We know field and nature of those elements pretty well,” Josh Holliday said pointing out he also coached at Arizona State and knew the ballpark from coaching against Arizona.

The dimensions are 349 down the rightfield line, 366 down the leftfield line, and a short 392-feet to dead center. The alleys are 410 to leftfield and 405 to rightfield.

Bruce Waterfield/OSU Athletics

Cabbiness sliding catch vs. Texas in Big 12 Tournament.

“We do play very good defense in the outfield and that will be a strength,” Holliday added. “I think it is an offensive ballpark and a place where we can be dangerous as well. I like the fact that it is a new challenge for us. I like the fact the committee wasn’t committed to busing teams and allows our team to have a new experience and go play in a Pac-12 venue against a good team UCSB from the West Coast and two other West Coast teams in Grand Canyon and Arizona.

“There is a lot of space out there to make plays and we do run well in the outfield, so I think it will be a good place for us,” added right fielder and stellar defender Cade Cabbiness.

In the Big 12, there were only four teams that got in, but all three teams hosting were named national seeds in the top eight. Texas is the two-seed overall, TCU is the six-seed, and Lubbock got the final national seed, slated to host a Super Regional, at eight.

“I thought on the high end the Big 12 was treated with great respect with Texas, TCU, and Texas Tech being considered as three of the top eight teams in the country, and deservedly so,” Holliday said of the Big 12 and how it fared. “Our inclusion, as well, tells you how the four teams included from our conference were very powerful. I’m disappointed other members of our conference that had good seasons didn’t make it.”

The Cowboys will get some rest on the rest of the day Monday while the coaching staff crams and watches video and gathers scouting reports on the three teams with them in Tucson. Holliday mentioned that they get a head start as they played and know a lot about Grand Canyon. UCSB, the opening opponent, and Arizona will be more work.

The team will get in good practices at O’Brate Stadium on Tuesday and Wednesday before departing for Tucson.