Oklahoma State Baseball Routs BYU In Series Opener
STILLWATER – Oklahoma State powered its way to a 17-5 win over BYU in the series opener Thursday night at O’Brate Stadium.
With the win, the 19th-ranked Cowboys improved to 28-14 and 12-7 in the Big 12, while BYU fell to 16-22 and 6-16 in the league.
OSU smashed a season-high six home runs in the contest, with Carson Benge and Nolan Schubart each going deep twice and Ian Daugherty and Avery Ortiz also homering.
Schubart had season-highs with four hits and five RBIs, while Benge was 3-for-4 and drove in three runs. Daugherty set a career high with five RBIs.
Benge also picked up the win on the mound in his first start of the season, improving to 1-1; the right-hander worked five innings, striking out six while allowing just one run on three hits.
Ryan Bogusz was strong out of the bullpen as he struck out a season high six and allowed only one run on one hit over the final 2 2/3 innings.
The Cougars took a 1-0 lead in the first, but OSU found four runs in the bottom of the frame in response. The first two Cowboy batters were walked before Zach Ehrhard tallied a single to load the bases for Schubart, who tied the game with a single to center field. A throwing error allowed Daugherty to reach base and brought home two more runs, and the final score came on an RBI single from Ortiz.
The scoring continued in the second with back-to-back home runs from Schubart, who recorded his eighth of the season with a two-run blast, then two pitches later from Daugherty, who continued his hot streak with his seventh of the year.
The bats stayed hot for the Pokes as they tallied homers three and four of the day in the fourth inning. Benge hit his eighth round-tripper of the season to lead off the frame, and two batters later, Schubart continued his big day with his second homer and ninth of the season to extend the lead to 9-1.
The Pokes couldn’t get enough as Ortiz led off the home half of the fifth with OSU’s fifth bomb of the day and his sixth of this year. Later in the inning, Benge went yard for the second time in the contest to put OSU up 12-1.
The Cougars rallied for three runs in the seventh frame, but their efforts only cut their deficit to eight runs.
The first three Cowboys reached base in the seventh, leading to a Daugherty two-RBI double to add more insurance, and pinch hitter Jaxson Crull produced a sac fly for the 15th run of the game.
Freshman Max Knight recorded his first-career RBI in the eighth inning with a double down the right field line, and Schubart rounded out his perfect night with his fifth RBI to plate OSU’s 17th run.
The Pokes will look to clinch the series Friday with first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m.