Oklahoma State Baseball Takes Game One 6-2 Over Arizona State

STILLWATER – Oklahoma State defeated Arizona State by a 6-2 score in Thursday night's series opener at O'Brate Stadium.

With the win, the Cowboys improved to 25-22 overall and 13-12 in Big 12 play, while ASU fell to 35-19 and 18-10 in conference play.

Harrison Bodendorf got the ball for his 14th start of the season and once again made his case as the Big 12's top pitcher. The junior southpaw worked seven innings, striking out eight and allowing just one run to move to 10-1 on the season.

Bodendorf became the first Cowboy pitcher to record double-digit wins in a season since Jensen Elliott, who also recorded 10, in 2019. Bodendorf also completed the regular season without allowing a stolen base against him in 81 1/3 innings.

On offense, Nolan Schubart and Colin Brueggemann both homered, and Brayden Smith provided the biggest knock of the night with a three-run double.

Bodendorf got himself into trouble in the first inning as the first three Sun Devil batters got a hit, with the third off the bat of Matt King bringing home a run. But the Cowboy ace escaped further damage, ending the inning by inducing a 4-6-3 double play.

Schubart evened the score in the bottom of the inning, launching a two-out home run to right field. The blast was Schubart's 15th of the season and 55th of his career, moving him into a tie for fourth on OSU's all-time list with Billy Gasparino and Ray Ortiz.

After a 1-2-3 inning from Bodendorf in the second that included a pair of strikeouts, the Pokes had a big inning with the bats. Kollin Ritchie, Avery Ortiz and Alex Conover loaded the bases, and Brock Thompson brought in the Cowboys' second run of the game with an RBI walk. The next batter, Smith, drove in all three Cowboys with a double to the left-center field gap to extend the lead to 5-1.

With his strikeout of Isaiah Jackson to end the top of the fifth inning, Bodendorf had retired 15 consecutive ASU hitters. In the bottom of the inning, Brueggemann hit a ball off the centerfield batter's eye to push the lead to 6-1.

After retiring 18-straight Sun Devils, Bodendorf surrendered a single to King in the seventh. ASU would go on to load the bases with one out, but Bodendorf got out of the jam with a strikeout and an inning-ending groundout.

Ryan Ure replaced Bodendorf in the eighth and was able to get out of the inning after catcher Ian Daugherty did a textbook job of backing up first base after an errant throw, and Landon Hairston was caught in no man's land between first and second base.

Gabe Davis pitched the ninth, and after allowing one run, was able to get Brody Briggs to fly out with the bases loaded to hold on for the win.

The Cowboys will look to clinch the series Friday, with first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m. Saturday's finale is set for a noon start.