Holt walks off in first home run, victory for Cowboys and little guys

Riggio got to hims first.

Little guys stick together, the redshirt freshman Holt said.

Roc Riggio sauntered to where dirt intercepts the green turf near home plate. Riggio clapped his hands, stretched out his arms and lifted Cowboy outfielder Brennan Holt toward the sky. Holt fought through many embraces on his way back to the dugout, but

Riggio and Holt are both listed as 5-foot-9, tied for the shortest on the OSU roster. Holt said he hears the short jokes all the time from his teammates, but loves them for it. Holt’s first college home run came in walk-off grand slam fashion to beat Baylor 13-2 in seven innings. He silenced his teammate’s quips, but only momentarily.

“Hey why is the kid (in the postgame autograph session) taller than you?” One Cowboy joked, as Holt signed for a fan he was taller than, but not by much.

Holt is a transfer from LSU who started just his fourth game of the season Sunday against the Bears. His home run, which completed a Baylor sweep via the mercy rule, is his biggest moment in an OSU uniform. Baylor right fielder Gavin Brzozowski’s face smashed against the chain-link fence in right field as he watched Holt’s grand slam soar just above reach and crash land in the BU bullpen.

“I knew I got a barrel on it, but I really didn’t think it was going out,” Holt said. “And then it went out and I realized it was a grand slam, and then I realized it was a walk-off grand slam. It felt really good.”

The hit wasn’t as impressive as when first baseman David Mendham launched a ball into the right field seats on Friday, one-hopping the concourse and finding the track behind O’Brate Stadium, but it triggered a bigger reaction from the OSU dugout than any home run this season.

It’s easy to root for Holt, by all accounts a great teammate and the little guy who is clawing his way into a lineup full of power-hitters.

“Brennan is well liked,” OSU coach Josh Holliday said. “It’s shared energy. When you put energy into the group, it returns. He’s a good energygiver and therefore what happens is the group returns it, so that’s a response by the group based on how he’s shared himself.” sports.ed@ocolly.com

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Due to Jim Crow laws, it was understood that when Davis was admitted to OSU, she was required to sit outside classrooms in the hallway. After receiving the secondhighest score on a test, her white classmates acknowledged her intelligence and made complaints to the professor which resulted in her access to join other students inside the classroom. Davis was no longer seen as a danger to the educational environment by her peers but rather as someone who could enrich their own education.

Davis’ drive to attend Oklahoma A&M was mainly due to its closeness to Dunjee High School where she taught home economics and because it was her right.

Even though she is now known as a civil rights activist and trailblazer for equity in higher education, Davis didn’t see herself as a change-maker at the time.

“One does not need to see themselves as a leader or be in a position of authority to become a changemaker,” Bryan said. “Institutional transformation is situated in how we interact and advocate for diverse students to become everyday leaders.”

At the celebration, on top of the keynote speaker, a panel of faculty and graduate students from various back- grounds and academic areas engaged in discussion on the historical influences of Davis’ pioneering efforts for equitybased practices in higher education.

Panelist Olajumoke Beulah Adigun, an assistant professor in the School of Educational Foundations, Leadership and Aviation, feels the way people can foster a commitment to equity is in creating a good environment for conversation.

“Everyone wants to be heard,” Adigun said. “As a society, we often spend more time talking and not enough time listening – not just listening to what is being said but to who is saying it.”

With Davis, people eventually began listening to her needs which paved the way to a more inclusive and equitable environment for all people seeking a degree in higher education.

College of Education and Human Sciences Dean Jon Pedersen shared the honor of being a part of the celebration.

“We feel strongly about what Nancy Randolph Davis means to the college, campus and our greater community,” Pedersen said. “Her legacy will continue to have a positive impact for years to come.”

Echoing this sentiment, OSU’s provost and senior vice president, Jeanette Mendez, said that everyone can all learn from Davis’ acts of leaning back to help others.

“Woven in the university’s academic mission are the ways by which we can prepare students within the classroom to do good beyond the classroom,” she said.

When thinking about what it means to uphold diversity, equity and inclusion, values such as empathy, advocacy, benevolence and commitment are at the forefront of that mission.

Emily Tucker is the assistant professor and program director for OSU’s Opportunity Orange Scholars. She added that when spaces are created where an individual is allowed to be whoever they are, that is where people have an opportunity for connection and belongingness among individuals from all backgrounds.

For information about Nancy Randolph Davis and her impact, please visit education. okstate.edu.

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Meg Clowers, a sophomore secondary education major with a focus in history and geography, said she has aspirations to become a men’s basketball coach and she took the time to ask the panelists a question of her own during the Q&A at the end of the panel.

“I was very excited to see somebody who was in athletics on the panel because education itself is a pretty female-dominated field so I feel like there are not a lot of barriers there,” Clowers said. “But when you add on coaching, especially a men’s sport and then also history, It’s mainly men. So it was really nice to see women in education and women in athletics, both here today.”

The tone of the panel was extremely uplifting and encouraging. All of the panelists reminded the people who attended that they are capable of doing anything they set their mind to in the workplace.

“Advocate, advocate, advocate all the time,” Dedra Ibañez said. “I have had women that have advocated for me and I will continue to advocate for them through mentorship and organizations making sure that their voices are heard and that they know that they need to take that role. You need to go for it.” news.ed@ocolly.com

“I just know I’m leaving here feeling better, my spirits are higher,” Clowers said.

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