Abram Back in Norman Helps Pitch Oklahoma State to a Bedlam Series Win

STILLWATER – The Cowboys came off the big win on Thursday and the complete flip of the 5-0 shutout loss on Friday to put the ball in the hands of a former Sooner to win the series. Ben Abram got the start he wanted and the result too. The big 6-8 graduate that pitched at Oklahoma last season started on his old home field and held his former team to four hits and one run in five innings gaining his seventh win of the season. The key was Abram allowed no walks and struck out four Sooners, all in the span of five hitters in the third and fourth innings.

Abram retired seven OU hitters in a row before leaving and turning the game over to Isaac Stebens. 

“He (Ben Abram) did a great job of handling the emotions of going back and pitching at his old school and to his former teammates,” Oklahoma State head coach Josh Holliday said of the Cowboys hurler. “He did it classy and he had his good stuff. He was tough out there.”

The 11-1 win allows the Cowboys 37-16/15-9) to finish in a three-way tie for first with Texas and West Virginia as the Big 12 regular season tri-champions. 

Oklahoma State got their 11 runs on 14 hits and had no errors, while Oklahoma had the one run on seven hits and no errors.

“When we won the game I thought we fought hard and we earned that,” Holliday said sounding like it was a long series. “I’m proud of the team and the coaching staff. It has been a fun and challenging season and it is awesome we have a share of the conference championship.”

There will be Bedlam again on Wednesday in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament inside Globe Life Stadium. Oklahoma State will be the two seed and face Oklahoma, the seven seed, at 4 p.m. 

“We’ll get ready to play them again,” concluded Holliday. “I’m going to get on the nus and we’re going to stop and get some ice cream. That is how we celebrate at Oklahoma State baseball. I’m going to take some time to enjoy it.”

Oklahoma State took the lead in the top of the first and it was still kind of a weird inning. The Cowboys had four straight base hits and should have had more. Leadoff hitter Zach Ehrhard singled past the shortstop into leftfield and was leading off  first when Roc Riggio hit a scalding ground ball seemingly in the hole on the right side. The problem was it hit Ehrhard in the back ankle as he was going to second. Riggio on first with a single, but Ehrhard was out on runner’s interference. 

It worked out okay as Carson Benge singled to left center. Catcher Chase Adkison continued his hot month of May and singled up the middle to score Riggio. The second run scored on Nolan Schubarts ground out to third. After one, Cowboys led 2-0. 

Oklahoma tallied a run in the bottom of the second on an RBI double to rightfield by catcher Easton Carmichael. That was the only run that Abram allowed in his return. 

Back to work in the third the Cowboys ran OU left-handed starter James Hitt, a transfer from Texas Tech, out of the game. Ehrhard okay after being hit running the bases by Riggio’s ground ball, walked to lead off. After two fly ball outs to leftfield, back to back doubles as Adkison caught a hanging breaking ball off Hitt and punched it deep to rightfield to score Ehrhard. Then Nolan Schubart hit one over rightfielder Bryce Madden’s head and Adkison scored easily. Oklahoma State up 4-1.

Out on the mound Abram had it all under control in the middle innings and the Cowboys offense kept it going. In the top of the sixth Schubart got a one out walk ahead of Tyler Wulfert’s double. Schubart scored on Nolan McLean’s sac flyball to leftfield. Then Wulfert scored on the double into the rightfield corner by first baseman David Mendham. The score was 6-1. 

Isaac Stebens got some duty as he pitched three and a third innings to help close it out. 

The hits just kept on coming and Mr. RBI, Nolan Schubart had a five RBI day when his monster home run went to the berm beyond the rightfield wall and Oklahoma State led 9-1. 

Then for good measure in the top of the ninth, almost as if they were rubbing it in, catcher Chase Adkison hit his seventh home run of the season. It was a two-run shot with Carson Benge ahead of him. For the Cowboys it was the number 21 in double-digit scoring outputs on the season. 

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Schubart with five RBI on the day.

Adkison was three-for-five with a double, a home run, and three RBI. Schubart finished with three hits in four at bats and he had two doubles, a home run, and five RBI. 

You would like to think that finishing in a tie at the top of the Big 12 standings would just about guarantee you a regional host role, but you cannot take anything for granted. The Cowboys need a good showing in Arlington and hope for more than a regional and work to see if a national seed could still be achieved.