Oklahoma State Cowboys baseball

1959 national championship

The 1959 Cowboys baseball team entered the season not expected to do much. Only four players, left fielder Don Soergel, and pitchers Roy Peterson, Joel Horlen, and Dick Soergel, were on the roster from the previous season. The preseason prospectus for 1959 read, "The baseball outlook for coach Toby Greene's 16th edition of Cowboy baseball is quite questionable. Despite the return of key members from last year's pitching staff, it's hard to consider the Pokes much of a threat with graduation, grades and the pros robbing the veteran OSU mentor of all but one of his starters." The team compiled a 17–3 conference record, winning the Big Eight conference title.

OSU opened the 1959 national tournament with a 10–2 victory over Western Michigan behind a Joel Horlen five-hitter. They had to rally for three runs in the seventh in its next game against Penn State and won 8–6 with eleven team hits. In their next game, the Cowboys lost to Arizona by a score of 5–3, as Soergel lost his first career game in twelve decisions. In the losers bracket, the Pokes found themselves down 3–2 in the ninth, but scraped across two runs to earn the 4–3 victory. A Fresno State victory over Arizona that night left three teams with one loss each. Arizona won the coin toss and became the odd man out as Oklahoma State and Fresno State met for the chance to play the Wildcats for the national championship. The Cowboys beat the Bulldogs 4–0 to advance to the championship game.

In the championship game, Jim Dobson, who was voted the Most Valuable Player, opened the O-State scoring with a towering home run over the left-field fence in the fourth inning. Arizona picked up single runs in the fourth and fifth and led 2–1. Bancroft tied the score with a solo home run in the top of the sixth, but the Wildcats added a run of their own in the bottom of the sixth to lead 3–2. It was another sophomore, Bruce Andrew, who sparked the game-winning three-run rally in the top of the seventh, and OSU led 5–3. Soergel shut out the Wildcats in the final three innings and OSU had its first NCAA Baseball Championship.

Four Cowboy players were named to the College World Series All-Tournament team, including third baseman and MVP Dobson. Also selected were Bruce Andrew at second base, Connie McIlvoy in the outfield and Horlen at pitcher.

Head coaches

Conference affiliations

Allie P. Reynolds Stadium

Allie P. Reynolds Stadium is a baseball stadium in Stillwater, Oklahoma. It is the home field for the Oklahoma State Cowboys college baseball team. It is named after the former OSU player Allie Reynolds, who went on to play professionally for the Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees. The park opened in 1981 at a cost of $2.2 million. The park's capacity is 3,821.

Player awards

The following Cowboys were given the following awards, as voted on by the American Baseball Coaches Association, Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, and Sporting News:

First-Team All-Conference teams

From 1958–1996, players were chosen from as the best of the Big Eight Conference. Players chosen since 1997 were chosen from the Big 12 Conference. The following is a list of First-Team All-Conference Cowboys:

Hall of fame

The Oklahoma State Cowboy baseball program has produced three National College Baseball Hall of Famers, who were inducted in the first three years of its existence. Oklahoma State baseball has its own Hall of Fame, in which players and coaches have been inducted.

National College Baseball Hall of Famers