STILLWATER — Oklahoma State starting pitcher Joe Lienhard was in the middle of a gem of a pitching performance that helped the Cowboys claim a regional championship Monday night when the ESPNU broadcast cut to an old video.
It was grainy tape from the mid-1980s showing former Cowboy Steve Lienhard, Joe’s father, pitching in the College World Series at Omaha’s old Rosenblatt Stadium.
Quite a lot has changed about baseball, the Cowboys and the College World Series since that video, but one image was unmistakable: the Lienhard smile.
Joe’s smile hides behind his beard a little more than his dad’s did on a clean-shaven face, but it’s clearly the same one that has been a staple in the Cowboy dugout since Joe arrived in the fall of 2015.