Cowboy Baseball Advances in the Tucson Regional After Eliminating GCU, 5-3
Oklahoma State found new life in the NCAA tournament as they beat Grand Canyon 5-3 in an elimination game of the Tucson Regional.
The Pokes are now 3-0-1 against the Lopes this season and will now face the loser of the Arizona-UC Santa Barbara game at 2 p.m. CT on Sunday. With the win, the Cowboys move to 36-18-1 on the season.
“It was a very competitive matchup,” said head coach Josh Holliday following the Cowboys’ 5-3 win over Grand Canyon. “Parker [Scott] did a heck of a job, very difficult day to pitch. I don’t know what the temperatures were, but they were triple digits. Man, [Scott] put it together and gave us the start we need in order to win this game and have a chance in this tournament. Clutch relief pitching by Kale [Davis] behind it, great job by Brett [Standlee] to fall behind the leadoff hitter 3-0 but come right back and get him, it’s so big in these games to get the leadoff hitter out. Then he retired the next two guys without letting the tying run get up.”
Parker Scott got the start for the Pokes today and had a solid outing. He’d go 6.1 innings giving up seven hits, with four strikeouts and two walks with three runs, two of which were earned.
Kale Davis came in for relief of Scott and had a solid outing. He’d go 1.2 innings allowing no runs or hits with one strikeout.
Brett Standlee came in to close the game out in the bottom of the ninth and did a masterful job recording a groundout, a fly out and another ground out to end the game.
It was a great day for Cowboy senior Cade Cabbiness who went 2-for-5 from the dish with a home run and a stand-up double and an RBI. Carson McCusker also had a solid day as he too went 2-for-5 from the plate with an RBI as well.
Things started off a little hairy in the bottom half of the first as GCU hit two-straight two-out singles, putting runners on first and second. But Scott was able to get out of the inning with a ground ball, leaving the game scoreless.
Carson McCusker started the top half of the second inning with a single up the right side, followed by a blast off the right field wall by Cade Cabbiness for a stand-up double. Cabbiness was advanced to third by a bloop single into left field by Marcus Brown, scoring McCusker from third, which marked the Pokes’ first lead of the Tucson Regional.
The threat would end there as Kaeden Trenkle grounded out to shortstop for the third out.
The Pokes had a chance to put another run across in the top half of the third as Hewitt singled to left to start the inning, then advanced to second on a wild pitch. Christian Encarnacion-Strand picked up a walk with the next at-bat, but Jake Thompson hit into a double play, followed by a ground out to short for McCusker.
Cabbiness continued his hot streak at the plate with a solo blast over the wall in left field, his ninth of the season, putting the Pokes up 2-0 in the top of the fourth.
With two runners on and one out in the bottom half of the fourth, Marcus Brown fields a grounder, steps on second and throws to first, but the throw isn’t fielded cleanly at first and puts a run across. Scott records his second strike out of the day to finish the inning, the score at 2-1.
After a ground out from Trenkle, back-to-back singles from Hewitt and Encarnacion-Strand and a walk for Jake Thompson loaded the bases for the Pokes in the top half of the fifth. McCusker then hit into a fielder’s choice at short stop, resulting in Thompson being thrown out at second, but McCusker was called safe at first. GCU’s Andy Stankiewicz called for a review of the play, but the original call stood scoring Hewitt from third putting the Pokes up 3-1.
The Cowboys would plate one more run in the fifth as GCU pitcher Connor Markl threw the ball into left field trying to keep Encarnacion-Strand in check on third, but Cabbiness hit a deep flyout to left center to end the threat.
GCU’s Jacob Wilson hit a solo shot to left field to start the bottom half of the sixth, getting the Lopes back to within two, 4-2. That was followed up by a single up the middle by Buries, his third hit of the day. Scott was able to get out of the inning and limit the damage with a strikeout, a ground out and a lineout.
The Cowboys had a chance to really blow the doors open on this game in the top half of the seventh. Three-straight walks is how the Cowboys would start the inning, but freshman pitcher Carter Young would strike out Jake Thompson, Carson McCusker and Cade Cabbiness flew out to right to end the threat.
The Lopes got one back in the bottom of the seventh, but Cowboy freshman Nolan McLean sent a ball over the right field wall in the top of the eighth to put the Pokes back up two, 5-3. That marked his first homer since April 11 in the 10-4 win over UN Wilmington.
The Pokes would get solid pitching from both Kale Davis and Brett Standlee as they didn’t allow a hit in the final two innings to finish the game.