Cowboys Take Sunday Finale against West Virginia 11-6

Oklahoma State ended a five-game skid on Sunday, defeating West Virginia 11-6 at home, but the Cowboys needed a six-run eighth inning to pull it off.

No. 14 OSU dropped games to No. 25 West Virginia on Friday (6-3) and Saturday (9-5) and needed Sunday’s win to keep from falling below .500 in Big 12 play. The Cowboys moved to 24-13 and 8-7 in league play.

Tyler Wulfert went 4-5 and Roc Riggio went 3-5 including his 11th homer of the season helping the Cowboys to their first double-digit run game in nearly a month.

But things got started when Marcus Brown’s three-run bomb in the bottom of the second answered a three-run first from the Mountaineers.

Riggio and Chase Adksin each delivered a moonshot in the third to give the Pokes a 5-3 lead. But WVU battled back scoring two in the seventh and one in the bottom of the eighth to take a 5-2 lead into the bottom of the eighth and threaten the Cowboys’ first series sweep of the season.

Then the Cowboys unleashed their bats on the eighth.

Adkinson and David Mendham started with singles before a Wulfert single brought the tying run home and a walk loaded the bases. Pinch-hitter Colin Brueggemann’s cracked the first pitch he saw for two runs to put the Pokes ahead.

Riggio followed with an RBI single and Jaxon Crull and Mendham each added RBIs to make it 11-6.

Six different Cowboy pitchers threw from the mound on Sunday with Carson Benge getting the start, pitching three innings and allowing three runs. Brian Hendry earned the win pitching the final one and two-third innings, striking out three Mountaineers and allowing no runs.

Next up, the Cowboys will look to make it a win streak when they host Bedlam rival Oklahoma on Tuesday at 6 p.m.