Cowboys Make It Wire to Wire on Sunday to Take Bedlam Series

STILLWATER – Coming off the crazy Saturday night comeback where Oklahoma’s lead turned into a bright orange pumpkin at midnight with the walk-off wild pitch for a 7-6 Cowboys win, Oklahoma State must have had a good night’s sleep and a couple of good meals because the world looked right for the Cowboys at O’Brate Stadium. Oklahoma State looked like the No. 4 team in a 9-4 win where the verdict was never really threatened after the Cowboys took a second inning lead. Bryce Osmond had a stellar Sunday start on the mound and Roman Phansalkar took charge late. All day the Cowboys barrelled up on Oklahoma pitching with 15 hits and nine runs.

Oklahoma State rallies after losing game one of the series to take the series and move to 23-9 on the season and 7-2 in Big 12 play. Oklahoma State is tied with Texas Tech in second as West Virginia with a sweep of Baylor in Morgantown this weekend went to 5-1 to surge into first. The Cowboys have a Tuesday date at home with Wichita State and then will go to Morgantown to challenge the first place Mountaineers and their strong one-two pitching rotation.

Both teams threatened in the first inning of the later than normal but needed 3 p.m. start after the late Saturday. The Cowboys second baseman Roc Riggio threw a ball away at first after a walk and Oklahoma had runners at first and third, but catcher Jimmy Crooks grounded to the left of first and despite both David Mendham and pitcher Bryce Osmond going for it, Mendham got back for a diving tag to get the third out.

Zach Ehrhard gave the Cowboys a base hit as the second batter in the bottom of the first but Oklahoma kept him at bay.

In the bottom of the second the Cowboys rocked O’Brate Stadium as Mendham led off with a single up the middle into center field. Catcher David Adkison took a Chazz Martinez delivery and slapped it deep to left field for a single and runners at first and second. That was just a precursor and Oklahoma State’s feast or famine pitcher/slugger Nolan McLean came up and reached down on a Martinez fastball and crushed it into the Cowboys bullpen for a three-run homer.

McLean’s blow was impressive, his seventh homer of the season and his second in the Bedlam series.

In the bottom of the fourth the Cowboys lit the board again as McLean hit a hard line drive between the shortstop and third baseman into left field for a single and that was followed by Marcus Brown with a single to put runners on first and second. Freshman Aidan Meola crushed the Martinez pitch over the leftfielder Orduno and that scored McLean to make it 4-0 and moved Brown over to third. Roc Riggio was hit on the next pitch and the bases were loaded. After Zach Ehrhard struck out on a check swing for the first out, Jake Thompson flared a single into right field and that scored Brown to make it 5-0. Unfortunately, Riggio made a base running mistake and got caught past second. That out was costly because Doersching struck out to end the rally.

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Meola one of three freshmen that Josh Holliday was elated with.

“Roc Riggio hit the ball really well last night and today, Zach Ehrhard, and Aidan Meola those three freshmen had some really good swings and I don’t know that Roc could hit the ball any harder today. He only had one hit but he crushed the ball,” Cowboys head coach Josh Holliday said to the Cowboy Radio Network in postgame. “You have to stick with guys that have good swings and are on the verge. He set the tone and Zach did good, Jake Thompson is always good, Griff (Doersching) looks like he is settling in, Nolan had the big home run, and Marcus Brown keeps doing his thing. It was just a really outstanding effort.”

Every Cowboy in the line-up got a hit and there were six Cowboys that had two hits. It was spread up and down the order, which hasn’t always been the case.

The Cowboys added one more run in the bottom of the fifth as left-hander hitter Mendham sliced a ball the opposite way into the corner in left field for a double. He moved up on a pitch that got by Crooks and despite being called out, the review came back with Mendham safe. Adkison walked and the ball got by again and the gutsy Mendham charged to home and thanks to a bobble he was safe to make it 6-0.

In the bottom of the sixth the Pokes added two more runs off OU reliever Javier Ramos as Griffin Doersching singled up the middle to score Zach Ehrhard from third base and Jake Thompson replaced him at third. The next hitter, Mendham closed the book on Ramos giving up three runs as he bounced into a fielder’s choice up the middle and OU got the force out at second, but Mendham beat the throw to first and Thompson scored to make it 8-0.

Bryce Osmond was strong with his Sunday start as the Jenks product allowed Cade Horton of Oklahoma to lead off the seventh with a double to right-center. The Cowboys pulled Osmond and the first hitter greeted Dillon Marsh with a ground ball to the shortstop side of second and Marcus Brown was charged with an error as it went under his glove into left field and Horton scored. The run was unearned, so Osmond left after six innings allowing one run, unearned and he allowed five hits, three walks and struck out eight Sooners. For Osmond it was a key part to the Cowboys successful Sunday puzzle.

“This was a lot about Bryce Osmond and the way he pitched and gave us six good innings and then we got the game to Roman Phansalkar and he did what he has been doing for us,” Holliday said. “Those two kids really did their jobs and this win was a lot about their contributions.”

The puzzle got sloppy in the top of the seventh as Oklahoma pushed across two more runs off ineffective relief from Marsh and then Kale Davis, who had a back weekend all around. The Cowboys left-handed giant 6-8 Mitchell Stone came on and struck out Jimmy Crooks to finish the inning and kept an 8-3 lead.

Finally, in the eighth inning the Cowboys brought in Roman Phansalkar, undeniably their best pitcher out of the bullpen. He had a seven pitch eighth in putting down Oklahoma. 

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Riggio with a double in the eighth and a run.

Oklahoma State got another insurance run in the bottom of the eighth as Riggio led off with a blast deep to the wall to center field for a stand up double and then Ehrhard singled to right field to push Riggio home for the 9-3 lead. 

Phansalkar allowed a solo home run by Peyton Graham in the ninth, but that was all he gave up for the 9-4 finish.