Cowboy Baseball Beats No. 11 Oklahoma, 7-6
STILLWATER, Okla. – Second baseman Davis Duren drove in four runs and center fielder Dusty Harvard scored the winning run on a wild pitch to lift the Oklahoma State baseball team to a 7-6 win in 10 innings over No. 11 Oklahoma Tuesday night in front of 2,072 at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium.
The Cowboys improved to 19-12 on the year with the win, while the Sooners fell to 25-8.
It was the first Bedlam baseball clash played on a campus site since 1996 and the game was counted as a non-conference tilt. Additionally, it was the first extra-inning Bedlam affair since 2005.
OU entered Tuesday’s contest with a perfect 8-0 record in midweek games, but the Cowboys blighted that mark by manufacturing the winning run with two outs in the 10th inning. Sooner closer Ryan Duke (0-1) retired Kevin Chambers and Luis Uribe to start the inning, then coaxed a ground ball to first base out of Harvard, but OU first baseman Cameron Seitzer’s flip to Duke covering the bag was high and Harvard reached on the error. Harvard took second on a wild pitch, then back-to-back walks issued to Duren and designated hitter Dane Phillips loaded the bases. With Cowboy third baseman Mark Ginther at the plate, Duke bounced another wild pitch to the backstop to score Harvard and send OSU home victorious.
OSU starter Mike Strong turned in a quality outing, but took a no-decision after going seven innings. He left the game with the Cowboys on top, 6-3. The Sooners tied the game with Brad Probst on the hill for the Pokes, but Ian McCarthy improved to 1-1 on the year after going 1 1/3 innings to claim the win.
Though they ended up with no runs to show for it, the Pokes hit OU starter J.R. Robinson hard in the first inning, driving Sooner center fielder Chris Ellison to the warning track twice for well-hit putouts off the bats of Duren and Mark Ginther, respectively. The Cowboys continued to make solid contact and broke through in the second when a Kevin David double down the left field line set the stage for an RBI single through the right side from Kevin Chambers two batters later.
OSU starter Mike Strong motored through the first 3 2/3 innings before giving up a solo home run to left field off the bat of Sooner third baseman Garrett Buechele.
The Pokes answered in the bottom half of the inning with a two-out bases-loaded double from Duren off the base of the left-center field fence that plated three runs. Robinson retired the first two Cowboy batters of the inning before OU second baseman Max White booted a grounder off the bat of Chambers. Right fielder Luis Uribe singled to center and center fielder Dusty Harvard walked to load the bases for Duren’s timely double.
The Sooners scored via the big fly again in the top of the fifth, but again it was a solo job, this time off the bat of Kaleb Herren in line-drive fashion over the left-field fence. A single from designated hitter Drew Harrison followed before Strong hit Cody Reine with a pitch to set the stage for a two-out RBI single up the middle off the bat of Chris Ellison. Strong got out of the inning with some help from an impressive defensive play from Duren. Sooner catcher Tyler Ogle hit a grounder that bounced off Strong’s glove and rolled free on the right side of the infield, where Duren scooped it up with his glove and flipped it to Chambers at first without the ball ever touching his throwing hand. With runners on second and third at the time, Duren’s scoop saved at least one run.
Duren continued his productive night when he drove in an insurance run in the bottom half of the sixth with a bloop single to center that scored Uribe from second. David added more cushion to the Cowboy advantage when he walked to lead off the seventh, then stole second and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt from Tom Belza. He then scored on a wild pitch to bring the OSU lead to 6-3.
Those insurance runs proved crucial one inning later, when OU’s Buechele struck again for his second home run of the evening, this time a two-run sock to left off of OSU’s Probst. After the Cowboys went scoreless in the bottom of the eighth, the Sooners tied the game on the strength of a two-out single from Reine in the top of the ninth.
The Cowboys went down in order in the bottom of the ninth to send the game into extra innings.
The Cowboys return to action when they travel to Columbia, Mo., for a three-game weekend set with Missouri. First pitch for Friday’s clash is set for 6 p.m.
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Win: McCarthy (1-1)
Loss: Duke (0-1)
Save: None
Doubles: Oklahoma – None; Oklahoma State – David (10), Duren (11), Rosthenhausler (8)
Triples: Oklahoma – None; Oklahoma State – None
Home Runs: Oklahoma – Buechele 2 (7, 8), Herren (2); Oklahoma State – None
Updated 04-14-2010
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