SURPRISE, Ariz. – Oklahoma State dropped a 9-2 contest to 13th-ranked Kansas in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals Friday at Surprise Stadium.
With the loss, the 19th-ranked and fifth-seeded Cowboys fell to 37-20 on the season, while the top-seeded Jayhawks are now 41-16.
OSU now awaits the unveiling of the NCAA Tournament field of 64, which will be announced Monday at 11 a.m. (CDT). The Cowboys are expected to be awarded an at-large bid and make their 13th consecutive NCAA Regional appearance.
Avery Ortiz and Aidan Meola each had two hits for the Pokes against Kansas, with Ortiz and Campbell Smithwick collecting RBIs.
Ethan Lund took the loss on the mound to fall to 5-2 as he worked six innings and allowed three runs on five hits. The southpaw tallied eight strikeouts to bring his season total to 127, which is tied for ninth on OSU's single-season list.
KU took a lead in the first. After back-to-back walks to open the inning, Lund recorded two outs before consecutive RBI hits made the score 2-0.
The Jayhawks added to that lead in the second, with an RBI double by Tyson LeBlanc giving them a 3-0 advantage.
From there, Lund settled into a pitcher's duel with KU's Mason Cook, who kept the Pokes off the scoreboard over the first five innings and allowed only two hits during that span.
But in the sixth, OSU would snap the shutout bid. Kollin Ritchie drew a leadoff walk to open the inning and with two outs, Ortiz delivered an RBI double off the wall in center field to trim the Cowboys' deficit to 3-1.
OSU added another run in the eighth. After a leadoff walk to Brock Thompson and a one-out double by Meola put two runners in scoring position, Smithwick delivered a sacrifice fly to center to make the score 3-2 before KU escaped further damage with an inning-ending groundout.
The Jayhawks rallied for six runs on four hits in the bottom of the frame to put the game away, the big blow coming on a two-out grand slam by LeBlanc.
