Cowboy Baseball Rallies Late To Clinch Series
STILLWATER – Oklahoma State clinched its first Big 12 Conference series win of the season Saturday night as the 13th-ranked Cowboys posted a 4-2 victory over Kansas State at O'Brate Stadium.
With the win, OSU improved to 14-6-1 overall and 3-2 in Big 12 play, while the Wildcats fell to 13-9 and 0-2 in the league.
Cade Cabbiness drove in the go-ahead run in the eighth with one of his two doubles on the night, and Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Caeden Trenkle also had two hits apiece for the Cowboys.
Brett Standlee earned the win in relief on the mound as he kept K-State off the scoreboard over the final 1 1/3 innings and struck out three to improve to 2-0 on the year.
Justin Campbell made his first weekend start of the season and turned in another impressive outing as he struck out 11 in seven innings of work. The right-hander allowed just two runs, both of them unearned, and four hits.
As it did in Friday's opener, OSU jumped out to a lead in its first at bat. After loading the bases on a single and two hit by pitches, Encarnacion-Strand delivered a sacrifice fly to right field to plate the Cowboys' first run. Up next, Max Hewitt collected an RBI on a groundout to make the lead 2-0.
The two-run lead help up until the fifth when the Wildcats rallied, loading the bases with no outs on a single, hit by pitch and throwing error. A wild pitch on a strikeout brought home K-State's first run, and the tying run came home on a passed ball before Campbell escaped further damage.
The score remained knotted at 2-2 until the eighth. After Brock Mathis drew a one-out walk, he was replaced at first by pinch runner Jaxson Crull. A flyout then brought Cabbiness to the plate, and he delivered the clutch two-out hit, ripping a double to right field. Crull raced home to score as the K-State catcher bobbled the ball trying to make the tag at the plate.
Following the go-ahead run, OSU added some insurance when Cabbiness advanced to third on a wild pitch and then scored on a balk.
In the ninth, Standlee struck out the first two Wildcats he faced before getting a pop up to end the game.
The two teams conclude the series Sunday, with the finale scheduled for a 1 p.m. first pitch.