OSU overcomes 12-run deficit, crushes MSU to set up rematch with Hogs
It’s not very often that you see a 26-run swing within a single baseball game, but that’s just what happened at O’Brate Stadium on Sunday.
Oklahoma State turned an early 12-0 deficit into a 29-15 win over Missouri State in an elimination game at the Stillwater Regional.
The win moves the Cowboys into the regional final and sets up a rematch with Arkansas in just 55 minutes. They have to win that to force a winner-take-all game at 6 p.m. CT Monday, while the Razorbacks need to win just once to advance to the super regionals.
It was a remarkable turnaround considering the Bears put up a nine-spot in the second inning, highlighted by a Cam Cratic grand slam, and then added another three runs in the third.
At that point, combined with the end of Saturday night’s wild winner’s bracket matchup with Arkansas, Oklahoma State had been outscored 27-2 over its last six innings.
The Cowboys flipped a switch in the fourth, though, and were off to the races.
It started with a six-spot in which they chipped away at the deficit one run at a time. After a fifth-inning sacrifice fly, Oklahoma State finally got an explosive hit courtesy of Roc Riggio, who blasted a two-run home run to center.
The inevitable finally happened in the sixth, when a Griffin Doersching grand slam gave Oklahoma State its first lead of the game. That capped a seven-run inning, plus they added five in the eighth and seven in the ninth.
Meanwhile, Trevor Martin turned in a herculean effort on the mound. He did give up three solo home runs, but had 16 strikeouts over the final 6 2/3 innings on 126 total pitches.
The right-hander preserved the Cowboys’ bullpen as well as they could have imagined. Here’s a breakdown of how many pitches each Oklahoma State and Arkansas player has thrown this weekend heading into the regional final…
| Pitcher | Pitches | Stats Entering the Regional |
|---|---|---|
|
RHP Trevor Martin |
139 (13 on Sat., 126 on Sun.) |
4.72 ERA in 40 IP |
|
RHP Justin Campbell |
89* (on Sat.) |
3.43 ERA in 94.1 IP |
|
RHP Victor Mederos |
78* (on Fri.) |
5.84 ERA in 57 IP |
|
RHP Ryan Bogusz |
49* (on Sun.) |
1.69 ERA in 32 IP |
|
RHP Kale Davis |
45 (29 on Fri., 16 on Sun.) |
3.79 ERA in 40.1 IP |
|
RHP Roman Phansalkar |
33 (20 on Fri., 13 on Sat.) |
2.44 ERA in 51.2 IP |
|
RHP Hueston Morrill |
29 (on Sat.) |
5.14 ERA in 21 IP |
|
RHP Nolan McLean |
23 (on Sat.) |
3.91 ERA in 23 IP |
|
RHP Bayden Root |
18 (on Sat.) |
7.36 ERA in 25.2 IP |
|
LHP Ryan Ure |
16 (on Sat.) |
6.97 ERA in 10.1 IP |
|
LHP Dillon Marsh |
13 (on Sun.) |
3.65 ERA in 24.2 IP) |
| Pitcher | Pitches |
|---|---|
|
RHP Connor Noland |
89* (on Fri.) |
|
LHP Zack Morris |
49 (on Sat.) |
|
RHP Kole Ramage |
48 (30 on Fri., 18 on Sat.) |
|
LHP Hagen Smith |
46* (on Sat.) |
|
RHP Brady Tygart |
41 (on Sat.) |
|
LHP Evan Taylor |
31 (on Sat.) |
|
RHP Will McEntire |
14 (on Sat.) |
|
RHP Zebulon Vermillion |
6 (on Sat.) |