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Oklahoma State Baseball

Oklahoma State Struggles In Regional Opening 12-5 Loss to Duke

May 31, 2025
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ATHENS, Ga. – Oklahoma State dropped a 12-5 contest to Duke in its opener at the NCAA Athens Regional Friday night at Foley Field.

With the loss, the third-seeded Cowboys fell to 28-24, while No. 2 seed Duke is now 38-19. OSU will face fourth-seeded Binghamton in an elimination game Saturday at 11 a.m. (CDT).

The Cowboys smacked four home runs in the loss, with Kollin Ritchie, Garrett Shull, Ian Daugherty and Brock Thompson all going deep, but left nine runners on base in the game.

Mario Pesca took the loss on the mound to fall to 7-3 on the season. The right-hander worked three innings, allowing nine runs on nine hits with two walks and a pair of strikeouts.

Brennan Phillips was strong out of the bullpen, finishing the final five innings on the mound and racking up a career-high eight strikeouts while allowing three runs.

Duke jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second inning. Following a single and a hit by pitch, a double by Sam Harris brought both runners home. Later in the frame, a two-out single plated the Blue Devils' third run.

The Blue Devils rallied for six runs in the third to extend their lead. Ben Miller got things started with a solo home run to lead off the inning, and Duke tallied five more hits, including a pair of two-run homers, to take a 9-0 advantage.

OSU got on the scoreboard in the fifth as Ritchie delivered his 11th homer of the season, a no-doubter to right field, and added its second run in the sixth when Shull went deep for the third time this year.

The Cowboys plated three runs in the eighth, cutting their deficit to 12-5, as Daugherty delivered a solo homer and Thompson smacked a two-run blast over the wall in right field.

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