OSU pitching performing at high level
BIG 12 BASEBALL
kept dealing on TCU, the league’s top hitting team, and it became apparent that Oklahoma State was surely in line to claim the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week award — again.
Sure enough, Hatch’s 10-strikeout, complete-game shutout of TCU brought him the honor this week. That’s six Big 12 Pitcher of the Week awards — spread among four OSU hurlers — for the Cowboys this season.
As for pitching coach Rob Walton, he’s oblivious.
Sure, he knows the Cowboys are mastering the mound in this 2016 season, sitting No. 1 amid the Big 12 pitching ranks with a 3.02 team earned run average heading into a big weekend series at Texas, which used to be the standard-bearer for elite pitching.
Walton just doesn’t know, or care to know, who’s noticing.
“I go to each guy and ask, ‘Are we improving?’ ” Walton said. “That’s the only thing I focus on.”
Even in this age of ultra-analysis and analytics, there’s some information Walton prefers to ignore.
“I did that as a player,” he said. “No offense, but I never read the paper, because I didn’t want to get into thinking too much. I got on some really good rolls, but I didn’t want to get to thinking that things were too good. I wanted to just keep that even keel. And when I wasn’t going good, I didn’t want to feel like I was getting stepped on, either.
“So I made the point that I was just going to focus on getting better and what I can control. And that’s kind of my approach as a coach.”
With the standards already established by the Cowboys, it’s difficult to be much better.
Hatch, OSU’s Friday night starter, sits second in the Big 12 with a 1.72 ERA. Closer is third at 1.93, with seven saves.
and Jensen rounding out the Cowboys’ weekend rotation, have also won Pitcher of the Week nods. So has Buffett, twice.
And the theme of stout pitching extends throughout the staff, even with
and so far limited to a combined 3 1/2 innings due to injuries. And pitching is what makes the Cowboys dangerous, both down the stretch in the Big 12 and ahead in the NCAA Tournament.
No team in Big 12 history has claimed more than six Pitcher of the Week awards. And there’s four weekends remaining for the Cowboys to pad their total.
“It’s nice that those things happen,” Walton said, “but they happen because we’re moving in the right direction. Hopefully we can continue to do good things like that.”
FOR SOONERS, REPLACING HALEY WON’T BE EASY
Oklahoma is still coming to terms with the reality that left fielder Hunter Haley will be out for the remainder of the regular season.
and have started in the spot in the two games since Haley went down with a broken left wrist in last Friday’s win over West Virginia.
Sooners coach Pete Hughes said replacing Haley would be a group effort.
is likely to play there against left-handed pitchers while Southerland and Walker will see plenty of time as well. Hughes also said and would see increased at bats win Haley’s absence.
“We’ll just fill in and keep going,” Hughes said. “I trust our bench and I trust the preparation.”
Hughes said he hoped Haley would be able to return for the Big 12 Tournament.