Cowboy Baseball Routs TCU In Opener
STILLWATER – Oklahoma State scored in each of the first five innings en route to a 13-2 win in its series opener against 10th-ranked TCU Friday night at O'Brate Stadium.
With the win, the No. 2 Cowboys improved to 27-11 overall and maintained the top spot in the Big 12 standings with a 10-3 conference mark.
Justin Campbell was magnificent on the mound, tying a career high with 14 strikeouts to improve to 6-1 on the season. The right-hander worked eight innings, allowing two runs on three hits and not issuing a walk.
Offensivley, the Cowboys racked up 17 hits, led by Nolan McLean's 4-for-5, four-RBI performance that included his team-leading ninth home run. Caeden Trenkle had three hits and a pair of RBIs, while Chase Adkison was 2-for-5 and drove in two runs.
The Pokes took an early lead with a big two-out hit in the first. Trenkle led off the inning with a single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. After a flyout, David Mendham doubled to center field, driving in the run from second and giving OSU a 1-0 advantage.
OSU extended its lead in the second. Back-to-back singles opened the inning and, when the lineup turned over, Trenkle poked a single through the right side to drive in both runners, making it a 3-0 ballgame.
The Cowboys really opened up the score in the third with a big fly. Back-to-back singles once again led off the inning, and McLean followed with a three-run blast to left-center field to push the lead to 6-0.
TCU (25-13, 10-6) simultaneously got its first hit and run in the fourth. After the first two batters of the inning were retired, Brayden Taylor hit his seventh home run of the season to right field, putting TCU on the board.
OSU answered with its biggest inning yet. Jake Thompson led off the frame with a solo shot off the batter's eye in center field on the first pitch he saw, and two batters later, Griffin Doersching hammered a 3-1 pitch into the parking lot in left-center field for another solo home run. Adkison punctuated the inning with a blooper that fell in with two outs and scored two more runs, making it 10-1.
The Cowboys continued their trend of scoring every inning in the fifth. Three walks loaded the bases with two outs, and McLean lined an 0-2 pitch into left field to bring in two runs and extend the lead to 11.
TCU's final run came in the eighth when, with one out in the inning, Luke Boyers hit a solo home run to left field to make it a 12-2 game.
Game two of the series has been rescheduled for Saturday at 2 p.m. due to weather concerns.