OSU Baseball: Cowboys Top USC-Upstate 12-1, Will Face Alabama in Tuscaloosa Regional Final

BOXSCORE

It’s a shame they don’t enact the mercy rule in regionals.

Oklahoma State defeated USC-Upstate 12-1 in an elimination game in the Tuscaloosa Regional. The Pokes will face 1 seed Alabama in the regional final. To get there, the Cowboys had to deal with a brief lightning delay that followed the type of heat that sent the home plate umpire to the locker room for the final two innings.

The Cowboys started the Tuscaloosa Regional with an 8-5 loss to the Spartans. But despite that upset on Friday, the Cowboys have one big statistical advantage over Upstate and it showed on Sunday afternoon.

Coming into this game, OSU ranked second nationally with 143 home runs while USC-Update ranked T-303rd, allowing 88. This one followed that blueprint early and often, as 11 of OSU’s 12 runs came by way of homer.

Campbell Smithwick broke the seal with a two-run homer in the second, and then the Cowboys stamped their name all over the third inning.

Orange Crushed @campbellrsoup with a no doubter to put us up early#GoPokes pic.twitter.com/xxKHP6rzq5

— OSU Cowboy Baseball (@OSUBaseball) May 31, 2026

After Alex Conover struck out swinging to start the third, the Cowboys scored seven runs before their next out and they had blown it open 9-0.

Avery Ortiz drilled his second pitch from the plate 461 feet into the parking lot for a three-run bomb.

This @averyortiz_7 bomb was our 142nd HR of the season, the third most in school history.

The top two
1. 154 in 1988
2. 149 in 1997#GoPokes pic.twitter.com/nyusgQj38J

— OSU Cowboy Baseball (@OSUBaseball) May 31, 2026

Colin Brueggemann added an RBI double to make it 6-0. It was OSU’s only score that didn’t result from a round-tripper. After walking Garrett Shull, Upstate starter Max Eichenberger was benched. But Remo Indomenico drilled the first pitch from Upstate reliever Andrew Kummer for his second three-run homer of the regional.

Stay hot kid

2nd 💣 of the weekend for @RemoIndomenico #GoPokes pic.twitter.com/rAFke2fSBO

— OSU Cowboy Baseball (@OSUBaseball) May 31, 2026

Smithwick also hit a solo bomb with two outs to push the lead to 10-0 in the fourth. That second was Smithwick’s 10th homer of the season, making it seven Cowboys with double-digit home runs on the year.

Indomenico homered again in the top of the seventh, as did Terrance Bowen (his first of the season) to make it 12-0 after seven. If this weren’t the postseason, the game would have stopped there via mercy rule. Instead, the teams played through a sweltering afternoon in Tuscaloosa that saw the home plate umpire have to leave the game due to some type of overheat issue and then a brief lightning delay during the top of the eighth.

From the mound, Hudson Barrett pitched a season-high 102 pitches, earning the win to move to 6-1 his junior season. He pitched seven innings, allowing just two hits and no walks while striking out 10 Spartans. His ability to keep Upstate scoreless so long should pay off in the regional final.

Kyler Zagar finished things up for the final two innings, allowing three hits and one run. The Spartans were able to avoid the shutout in their season finale with an RBI double in the bottom of ninth with two outs.

The Cowboys will face 1 seed Alabama in the Tuscaloosa Regional Final set to get started at 7 p.m. CST. If the Pokes win, they stay alive and will face Alabama again to move to the Super Regionals. A loss on Sunday night would end the season for Oklahoma State.