Nolan McLean Hits A Bomb Out of O'Brate and Oklahoma State Wins Sixth Straight
STILLWATER – Oklahoma State clinched a series win Saturday night with an 11-6 victory over Southeast Missouri State at O'Brate Stadium. The win extended the No. 3 Cowboys' winning streak to six as they improved to 33-13 on the season.
The Pokes tallied 15 hits on the night, with Marcus Brown’s 3-for-5, three-RBI effort leading the way. Griffin Doersching also drove in three runs and had a pair of hits, while Nolan McLean and Zach Ehrhard both homered.
Roman Phansalkar collected the win in relief of starter Bryce Osmond as he tossed three shutout innings to move to 5-2 on the year.
The Redhawks (30-15) took an early lead in the first at-bat of the game. In a 1-1 count, Jevon Mason lifted a pitch into the wind and sailed it over the left-field wall, putting the Cowboys behind 1-0.
OSU responded with a three-run bottom of the first. Roc Riggio singled on the first pitch he saw to lead off the inning and, after a lineout, Jake Thompson also singled. Doersching then ripped a single to left center to bring in a run. A walk loaded the bases before McLean's sacrifice fly scored another run. Finally, Brown doubled just inside the left-field line to drive in the third run of the inning.
The Cowboys extended their lead with a big fly in the second. With two outs in the inning, Ehrhard hit a 2-0 pitch into the seats in left-center field for a solo home run. It was the first home run of his collegiate career and made the score 4-1.
SEMO got two runs back in the top of the fourth. After a flyout and a single, a triple off the base of the center-field wall brought home a run. A strikeout made it two outs in the inning, but a single drove in another run before the Cowboys got out of trouble with another strikeout.
OSU opened up a five-run lead with a four-run outburst in the bottom of the fourth. Three-straight hits to open the inning, including an RBI-triple from Caeden Trenkle and an RBI single from Ian Daugherty, led to two of the runs. The other two came later in the frame when Doersching deposited a two-out double into the gap in right-center field to drive in a pair of runners, giving the Cowboys an 8-3 lead.
The Redhawks scored two more in the fifth as three singles and an error to open the inning led to two runs scoring. Phansalkar then came out of the bullpen and got a groundout and a double play to stop the bleeding.
The Cowboys once again answered in the form of a leadoff home run. In a 1-0 count, McLean turned around a breaking ball 463 feet over the left-field foul pole for his team-best 12th home run of the season and a 9-5 lead.
OSU broke double figures and scored for the third inning in a row in the sixth. David Mendham drew a walk, and McLean singled to start a two-out rally. Then, in a full count with the runners in motion, Brown singled up the middle, scoring both runners.
The two teams conclude the series Sunday at 1 p.m.