STILLWATER – Oklahoma State’s late rally evened the Bedlam Series as the No. 4 Cowboys posted an 8-7 win over Oklahoma in a game that ended early Sunday morning in front of a record crowd of 7,811 fans at O’Brate Stadium. The win sets up a Sunday rubber game, with first pitch for the finale set for 3 p.m. The Cowboys are now 22-9 overall and 6-2 in Big 12 play, while OU is 18-11 and 4-4 in the league.
Marcus Brown, who singled to open the bottom of the ninth, scored the winning run on a wild pitch, and Nolan McLean earned the first win of his career after working a perfect top of the frame.
Roc Riggio had a career night at the plate for the Cowboys as the freshman went 3-for-5 with two home runs, a double and five RBIs. McLean and Caeden Trenkle also drove in runs for OSU.
It was the Cowboys who struck first in this one. With one out in the bottom of the first, Riggio sent the 10th pitch of the at-bat deep into the seats in right-center field to give OSU a 1-0 lead.
Riggio once again put runs on the board for the Cowboys in the second, this time roping a two-out, two-RBI double into the gap to give the home team a 3-0 advantage.
Oklahoma struck back in the top of the third, tying the game against OSU starter Victor Mederos. The Sooners plated three runs in the inning on three hits and two walks, with all three runs scored on two-out hits.
The game would remain tied until the seventh inning when the Sooners would strike again. Oklahoma plated four runs on four hits, with the runs scoring via an error, fielder’s choice, sacrifice fly and a single, to take a 7-3 lead.
OSU got a run back in the bottom of the seventh off the bat of McLean. On a 2-1 pitch, McLean sent a pitch over the batter’s eye in center field for a 471-foot solo home run. The blast was his team-best sixth of the year and made the score 7-4.
The game turned again in the eighth as the Pokes rallied for three runs to tie the score. Trenkle brought home the first run with a double, and up next, Riggio blasted his second round tripper of the night over the right-field wall to tie the score at 7-7.
After McLean dominated the Sooners in the ninth, OSU opened the bottom of the inning with Brown’s base hit, and a sacrifice bunt by Hueston Morrill moved him into scoring position. Following a single by Jaxson Crull to put Cowboys on the corners with one out, Brown came home with the winning run on a wild pitch by Trevin Michael.
