Cowboys Win Again in Manhattan, Go for Sweep on Sunday
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Oklahoma State is still undefeated in Big 12 play as the No. 2 Cowboys clinched a series win Saturday with an 8-6 triumph over Kansas State at Tointon Family Stadium.
The victory moved the Pokes to 20-7 overall and 5-0 in conference play, while K-State fell to 13-13 on 0-5 in the league.
Victor Mederos earned the win on the mound to improve to 3-1 as the right-hander worked 5 2/3 innings and struck out four. He allowed three runs on three hits and a walk.
Seven different Cowboys drove in runs in the contest. Marcus Brown went 2-for-3 with a double, triple and RBI, while Chase Adkison picked up two RBIs.
Trevor Martin worked a perfect ninth to record his second save of the series and ninth of the season. The nine saves is tied for the fifth most in a season in program history.
K-State took the game's initial lead in the first inning when Dylan Phillips delivered his seventh home run of the season, a solo shot to center field.
The Cowboys were not down long. In the third, they overtook K-State with a two-out rally. Hueston Morrill got things started with a single, and following a walk to Roc Riggio, Zach Ehrhard tied the game with a single. Up next, Jake Thompson delivered a go-ahead single to put the Pokes up, 2-1.
OSU went up 3-1 in the fourth before surging further ahead with a four-run rally in the sixth.
In that inning, the Cowboys recorded five hits, including four consecutive RBI knocks. Nolan McLean opened the inning with a double, and two batters later, Trenkle brought him home with a single. Up next, Brown delivered an RBI triple before an RBI double by Adkison and an RBI hit by Morrill made the score 7-1.
The Wildcats added a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning, with Phillips' second round tripper of the day, a two-run shot, making the score 7-3.
The eighth inning saw the Cowboys add an insurance run on an RBI groundout by Riggio to go up 8-3 before K-State mounted a late rally for the second-straight day in the bottom of the inning.
The Wildcats opened the inning with back-to-back doubles against McLean to cut their deficit in half. After a walk and a lineout into a double play, another walk put two runners on for Nick Goodwin, who doubled down the left-field line to make the score 8-6.
With the tying run at the plate, Kale Davis came out of the bullpen and struck out Josh Nicoloff to escape further damage.
Martin set down the Wildcats in order in the ninth to secure the win.
Sunday's series finale is scheduled for 1 p.m.