Riggio Stakes Cowboys, But Win Streak Ends as Oklahoma State Loses to ORU

TULSA, Okla. – Oklahoma State had its seven-game winning streak snapped Tuesday as 24th-ranked Oral Roberts knocked off the 16th-ranked Cowboys, 9-7, at J.L. Johnson Stadium. With the loss, OSU fell to 30-14, while the Golden Eagles improved to 33-11.

Roc Riggio returned to the Cowboy lineup after a two-game absence and went 4-for-5 with two home runs and five RBIs, while Chase Adkison and Tyler Wulfert had two hits apiece.

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Benge struck out eight tonight.

Carson Benge had a strong start on the mound, racking up a career-high eight strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings, a career long, and allowing three runs on four hits.

OSU took the game's initial lead in the second inning. With the bases loaded and one out, Jaxson Crull smacked a ball to deep center field for a sacrifice fly and a 1-0 advantage for the Pokes.

In the third, the Cowboys used the long ball to increase their lead as Riggio blasted his team-leading 13th home run over the season over the wall in center field. The two-run shot put the visitors up 3-0.

That lead increased to four in the fourth as Wulfert led off the inning with a double and later scored on a balk.

Riggio made it 5-0 when he led off the fifth with his second round-tripper of the night, which carried to nearly the exact same spot as his first of the contest.

ORU plated its first run in the bottom of the inning, getting a solo homer from Mac McCroskey, and drew closer with two more runs in the sixth to make the score 5-3.

The seventh inning proved pivotal as the Golden Eagles smacked a pair of homers and rallied for four runs, taking the lead when Jake McMurray delivered a three-run shot down the right-field line to put ORU on top, 7-5.

The Golden Eagles plated a pair of crucial unearned runs in the eighth to take a 9-5 advantage.

Down to their final out, the Cowboys rallied when Riggio drove in two runs with a single to cut their deficit to two and bring the tying run to the plate, but Benge flied out to end the game.

OSU returns to action Friday when the Cowboys open a three-games series against East Tennessee State at O'Brate Stadium.