Oklahoma State Completes Big 12 Series Sweep of Kansas Jayhawks

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Oklahoma State won its fifth-straight game Sunday, completing a series sweep of Kansas with an 8-3 win at Hoglund Ballpark.

With the victory, the 24th-ranked Cowboys improved to 28-13 overall and moved into second place in the Big 12 standings at 11-7; KU is now 19-21 and 5-10 in the league.

Roc Riggio and David Mendham each recorded a pair of RBIs for the Cowboys, while Riggio, Nolan Schubart, Marcus Brown and Tyler Wulfert had two hits apiece.

Bayden Root picked up the win in relief of starter Carson Benge. Root tossed four shutout innings, allowing just two hits and striking out five, to move to 4-1 on the season.

Benge worked three innings, giving up one run and posting four strikeouts, one shy of his career high.

KU took the game's initial lead on a solo home run by Luke Leto in the second inning, but OSU answered in the top of the third to go on top for good.

Beau Sylvester got things started with a leadoff walk, and after Brown was hit by a pitch, Zach Ehrhard moved both runners into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. Up next, Riggio ripped a two-RBI single to right-center field to put the Cowboys up 2-1. OSU added a third run in the inning on an RBI groundout by Benge.

The Pokes made it 4-1 in the fourth. Following a one-out double by Wulfert, he advanced to third on a wild pitch before Mendham brought him home with a groundout.

OSU posted another three-run inning in the fifth. Chase Adkison's RBI single plated the first run, and he was followed by an RBI double off the bat of Schubart and a sacrifice fly by Wulfert that pushed the lead to 7-1.

The final run for the Cowboys came when Mendham followed a triple by Wulfert with an RBI single in the seventh.

OSU returns to action Tuesday when the Cowboys host Wichita State at O'Brate Stadium; first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.