Oklahoma State Crumbles in 13-9 Loss to Kansas State To Drop Series
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Oklahoma State dropped the game and the series to Kansas State Saturday as the Wildcats came from behind for a 13-9 win at Tointon Family Stadium.
With the loss, the Cowboys fell to 21-14 overall and 6-8 in Big 12 play, while K-State improved to 23-12 and 7-7 in the conference.
OSU smacked five home runs in the contest, including Evan Saunders going deep twice en route to tallying a career-high four RBIs. Kollin Ritchie also homered, his 20th of the season.
Stormy Rhodes took the loss on the mound in relief of starter Mario Pesca. Rhodes allowed six runs on six hits in 1 1/3 innings to fall to 1-2 on the season.
Pesca worked 6 1/3 innings and struck out seven. He walked four and surrendered seven runs on eight hits.
OSU jumped on the Wildcats with a power surge early. On the second pitch of the game, Alex Conover delivered a homer over the left field wall. Following a double by Aidan Meola, Ritchie smashed a round tripper to center field to put the Pokes up 3-0.
The Cowboys extended their lead in the third, this time getting a two-out, RBI single from Colin Brueggeman to go up by four.
K-State cut its deficit in half in the fourth, plating its first run when Bear Madliak scored from third on a double play before a solo homer off the bat of AJ Evasco made the score 4-2.
The Wildcats erased OSU's lead in the fifth. For the second-straight inning, K-State drew a leadoff walk, and two batters later, Shintaro Inoue delivered a two-run homer to left field to tie things at 4-4.
OSU would go back on top in the sixth, getting a pair of big flies. Saunders led off the inning with a blast to left field, and Brock Thompson smashed his sixth of the year to give the Cowboys a 6-4 advantage.
Saunders' second bomb of the contest extended the lead in the seventh as the DH sent an offering over the wall in left-center field; the three-run shot made the score 9-4.
However, K-State would answer with a three-run homer of their own in the bottom of the inning, ending Pesca's day on the mound. And the Wildcats weren't done as, following consecutive hit by pitches with two outs, an RBI single brought the home team within one.
But the Cowboys would maintain the lead as TP Wentworth gunned down a runner at the plate to end the inning and keep the score at 9-8.
K-State overtook OSU in the eighth. A leadoff double got things started, and an RBI single by Madliak tied the score. With runners on the corners and one out, a fielder's choice led to the go-ahead run as the Wildcats went up, 10-9. An infield single and a throwing error added two more runs for the home team before another RBI single pushed the lead to 13-9.
Sunday's series finale is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start.
