OSU Baseball: Cowboys Drop Single Game against West Virginia 8-6

If you showed up to O’Brate Stadium hoping to see homers, you got your fill. Unfortunately for Cowboys fans, there were a ton of strikeouts too.

Oklahoma State fell to No. 13 West Virginia 8-6 in the Cowboys’ Big 12 opener and the single game of the weekend series on Sunday. Both Friday and Saturday’s games were cancelled because of the wildfires in Stillwater on Friday. If you’d like to help, here’s how.

After a fast start by West Virginia, OSU fans were treated to a nice momentum swing for the home team before the game turned from a slugger’s feast to a slugfest which the Mountaineers won.

The first six runs scored (both ways) came off of home runs. WVU’s Gavin Kelly sent a solo homer to right-center in the second, followed by a two-run dinger by Kyle West to put the Mountaineers up 3-0. The Cowboys got on the board thanks to a Kollin Ritchie solo home run in the second to make it 3-1.

The momentum really swung in the fourth, along with the Cowboys’ bats. Ian Daugherty nailed a solo homer to pull within 3-2 before Ritchie homered again, this time scoring Colin Brueggemann as well to put OSU up 4-3.

TUFF@iandaugherty22 pic.twitter.com/jDh79iyuyk

— OSU Cowboy Baseball (@OSUBaseball) March 16, 2025

But the Mountaineers answered with a run in the top of the fifth, and the two teams traded runs back and forth until WVU took the momentum back for good with a three-run seventh capped by Jace Rinehart’s two-run home run to take that 8-6 lead.

Oppo taco from @JaceRinehart18 🌮

T7 | Mountaineers 8, Cowboys 6 pic.twitter.com/yOBWHQGibJ

— WVU Baseball (@WVUBaseball) March 16, 2025

Both teams looked intent on trading blows the rest of the way, but then the Cowboys ran up against a buzzsaw when Chad Meyer left the bullpen.

Being that the normally three-game series was condensed to just one, everyone was available. The Cowboys employed seven different arms from the mound, and WVU used five pitchers. The biggest difference was the K count.

West Virginia’s Chase Meyer moved to 4-0, pitching the final three and two third innings, allowing no hits, walking one and striking out nine Cowboys. He matched OSU’s total Ks alone as part of a 19-9 advantage in strikeouts. OSU’s Harrison Bodendorf got the start and lasted four and a third innings, giving up four runs, walking two and striking out five. Rob Walton went through his roster looking for an answer to stop the bleeding. He just didn’t find the success that WVU’s staff had. Ryan Ure was credited for the loss and moved to 1-1 on the year.

With the loss, the Cowboys fall to 9-8 and 0-1 in conference play. Next up, the Cowboys host North Dakota State for a two-game series Tuesday and Wednesday before heading to Salt Lake City for a weekend series against Utah. Tuesday’s game against NDSU is scheduled for 6 p.m.