OSU Baseball: Cowboys Best UCF 12-6 in Quarterfinal Round of Big 12 Tournament

The Cowboys passed their first test in Arizona.

Oklahoma State beat UCF 12-6 on Thursday in the quarterfinal of the Big 12 Tournament. The Cowboys advance to play the winner of Baylor and Kansas at 6:30 p.m. (Central) on Friday.

Thursday’s game was a back-and-forth affair until the Cowboys busted things open late.

Tied at 5 going into the eighth, the Cowboys rattled off five runs in the top of the inning with some plate discipline and some timely hitting.

With runners on second and third and one out, the Knights elected to intentionally walk superstar slugger Kollin Ritchie to load the bases. Then Aidan Meola drew a seven-pitch walk to score a run before Campbell Smithwick lifted a ball to right-center, with the sacrifice fly making it 7-5.

Avery Ortiz then drew a walk to load the bases before Colin Brueggemann thumped a ball into right center that clear them and make it 10-5.

Bruegge delivers

A 3-RBI 1B… and another milestone#GoPokes pic.twitter.com/39FuZVCL1C

— OSU Cowboy Baseball (@OSUBaseball) May 21, 2026

The Knights clawed one back in the bottom of the inning, but then the Cowboys added two more in the top of the ninth.

The first run of the final inning came off Alex Conover’s bat, as he tripled to right. It scored freshman Danny Wallace, who was hit by a pitch to start the frame.

Doing what he does@AlexConover36 with an RBI 3B to add to our lead in the 9th#GoPokes pic.twitter.com/M8Sf4drSvO

— OSU Cowboy Baseball (@OSUBaseball) May 21, 2026

The Cowboys used a heady play to get their final run across. After another hit-by-pitch and back-to-back strikeouts left Conover on third, OSU used a delayed steal to get Brock Thompson caught in a rundown between first and second while Conover scurried in from third.

Things got a little dicey for the Pokes in the home half of the inning, as Noah Wech loaded the bases with no outs. But after a mound visit to clear his head, Wech forced an infield pop up and then a double-play ball to secure the win.

OSU is a team known for its power. The Cowboys entered Thursday second nationally in home runs with 137. Well, the Pokes scored a dozen runs Thursday without a homer. That’s a good sign.

Another solid sign, though it might not exactly sound like it, is that the Cowboys scored 12 runs with Ritchie and Meola, two of their better hitters, combining to go 1-for-8 at the dish. The duo did, though, draw a pair of walks and accounted for an RBI and three runs scored. So, even without those two mashing baseballs out of the park, the Cowboy offense was productive.

Brueggemann probably gets the Player of the Game nod. The Cowboys’ senior fist baseman went 2-for-3 at the dish with four RBIs and a run scored. Conover, Thompson, Ortiz and Shull joined Brueggemann as Cowboys with multiple hits.

Pitching is important all the time but especially in a tournament setting where you want as many fresh arms as possible. The Cowboys used three hurlers Thursday, starting with Hudson Barrett.

Barrett was in the rotation at the start of the season but after missing time with injury, he had been coming out of the bullpen. He threw five innings against the Knights, giving up five runs (only one earned thanks to a fifth-inning error) on five hits while walking one, hitting another and striking out four.

Barrett made way for Mario Pesca in the sixth. Pesca would get the win to move to 6-4 on the year after throwing three innings where he gave up a run on three hits while walking one and striking out four before Wech closed in that ninth inning.