STILLWATER – Oklahoma State ended the regular season with a series-clinching 7-5 victory over Arizona Saturday at O'Brate Stadium.
With the win, the 21st-ranked Cowboys improved to 36-19 overall and 18-12 in Big 12 play. OSU won six conference series on the season, including its last four. Arizona concluded its season 19-34 overall and 9-21 in league play.
Up next for OSU is the Big 12 Baseball Tournament in Surprise, Ariz. The Pokes will be among the top five seeds and receive a double bye in the tourney; they will play Thursday, with opponent and time still to be determined.
Stormy Rhodes earned the win in Saturday's finale to improve to 4-2 after tossing a career-high seven innings in his start. He also matched his career high with six strikeouts while allowing five runs.
Mario Pesca notched his second save of the season, working a scoreless ninth inning to secure the series win.
A six-run fourth inning powered by three home runs gave the Cowboys a lead they would not relinquish as Colin Brueggemann, Remo Indomenico and Aidan Meola each homered during the pivotal frame. Meola finished the contest with four RBIs, while Kollin Ritchie was 3-for-4 on the day.
Rhodes worked around a leadoff error in the first inning, and the Cowboys capitalized in the bottom half when Meola delivered a two-out RBI single to score Brock Thompson.
Arizona answered with a two-out rally in the second inning to tie the game before lifting a pair of sacrifice flies in the third to grab a 3-1 advantage. The Wildcats threatened again in the fourth, opening the inning with a leadoff double, but Rhodes worked out of the jam with the help of two strikeouts.
The Pokes answered in the bottom of the inning with six runs fueled by three bombs. Brueggemann started the surge with a 437-foot blast, his 16thhomer of the season. After Garrett Shull drew a walk, Indomenico launched the first home run of his career, a go-ahead shot that made the score 4-3. Later in the inning, Meola stepped to the plate with two runners aboard and crushed a three-run homer off the top of the scoreboard in left field to extend the lead to four.
Arizona joined the home run party in the fifth when Dom Rodriguez smashed a two-run blast to bring the score to 7-5.
Rhodes cruised through the sixth inning, recording his first 1-2-3 frame of the afternoon, and capped off his outing in the seventh by inducing an inning-ending double play.
Noah Wech took over on the mound to begin the eighth inning and, after surrendering a leadoff hit, retired the next three batters in order.
The Wildcats brought the tying run to the plate twice in the ninth, but Pesca got a pair of fly outs to end the game.
