Home Sweet Home: OSU Back in O'Brate for Game One of Stillwater Regional
STILLWATER – No. 7 Oklahoma State baseball is set to face Missouri State on Friday, June 3, in game one of the NCAA Stillwater Regional.
First pitch is slated for 6 p.m. CT and will be streamed on ESPN+.
The winner will advance to face the winner of game one between Arkansas and Grand Canyon.
This will be the second time these two teams will have faced off this year, with the Pokes taking a 5-1 win in the first game back on March 8.
“It’s nice to be home,” Holliday said. “It’s nice to have the benefit of preparing for this Regional all week long here at home. Taking the travel day out of the week has given us a chance to get our feet back on the ground after what, five games we played in the Big 12 tournament? Five games in four days and were on the road there for about a week and we were on the road at Baylor the week before that.
“So, the kids had spent a long time on the road and had put in a lot of hard work in terms of competing on the road. So, get home, get a couple of lifts under our belt, get some good nights sleep, get some practices and those are pretty valuable pieces of the equation this time of year.”
This marks the first time since the 2019 season hosting for the Pokes, although that tournament was played in OKC due to extreme rain in Stillwater. Prior to that, the Pokes hosted following the 2015 season.
The Cowboys are finally back in Stillwater for the first time since the middle of May as they closed out Big 12 play with a three-game series in Waco, followed by a week-long stint in Arlington at the Big 12 tournament.
They won two out of three against Baylor, followed by going 3-2 in the Big 12 tournament with wins over Baylor, TCU and Texas, which allowed them to host by bumping them up into the top-10 in the RPI.
Victor Mederos is getting the nod to start game one against the Bears. The sophomore out of Miami, FL, has a 5.84 ERA in 57.0 innings this season. He’s given up 61 hits while recording 51 strikeouts to just 18 walks.
“Victor’s been throwing the ball really well and obviously at the [Big 12 tournament],” said Holliday. “Game one’s critical and he’s in a good spot to throw game one. He threw game one last week, he threw game one the week before [at Baylor] and he’s been setting a good tone for our ball club with the way he’s been competing and throwing the ball and we feel he has a chance to go and match up well tomorrow and give us a great chance to win. You’ve got to win multiple games to win a tournament and we feel good with the matchup in game one with Victor and Justin in game two.”
“It’s great, it’s a blessing,” Mederos said. “I’m excited for the Regional to start, but we’ve just got to keep going forward and we’ve got to keep competing and it’s just part of the program. We’ve got to all buy in and Josh always says at this time of year, you’re just competing for more time with your boys and to keep going.”
Other than the two losses to Texas, which bookended the Big 12 tournament, the Cowboys were solid both on the mound and in the batter’s box. They scored a combined 27 runs against Baylor, TCU and Texas, while allowing just six runs.
The Cowboys were in high spirits during the selection show this past week, with receiving the No. 7 national seed the cherry on top of the morning. However, once the show was over, the team hit the weight room and got right back to work preparing for the Regional.
The Cowboys have played well throughout the season, but just like in games two, three and four of the Big 12 tournament, they’ll need solid play on both sides of the ball in order to get through the Stillwater Regional.