OSU Baseball: Cowboys Fall to Sooners 9-5 in First Round of Big 12 Championship

Four days ago, Oklahoma State thumped Oklahoma by 10 runs to earn a share in the Big 12 regular season championship. On Wednesday, the Sooners got some revenge.

No. 18 Oklahoma State, the 2 seed in the tournament, fell to 7-seeded Oklahoma 9-5 in Game 3 of the Big 12 Baseball Championship.

The Sooners jumped on the Pokes early, scoring three in the first, one in the second and three more in the third to build a 7-0 lead before the Cowboys could get on the board.

Zach Ernhard’s RBI double in the bottom of the third broke the seal. On the very next at-bat, Carson Benge sent a two-run single to left field to pull the Pokes to within 7-3.

Marcus Brown was the brightest spot of orange on offense, going 3-for-4 (the only Cowboy with multiple hits), including a solo home run in the fifth to make it 7-4. It was his ninth moonshot of the year.

The Sooners gave the Cowboys’ pitching staff fits. Carson Benge got the start on the mound but walked his first two batters. He only lasted 2 and 1/3 innings, allowing seven runs, three walks to just one strikeout, and moving to 2-2. Drew Blake, Bayden Root, Isaac Stebens and Janzen Keisel all took turns from the mound. Stebens’ 2.35 ERA was, by far, the lowest.

Despite those nine runs, the Sooners left some points in the diamond. Oklahoma left 16 runners on and was 4-of-19 with runners on. So, on the bright side, it could have been worse, and the Cowboys continued to fight. Down 9-4 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Roc Riggio hit a double RBI deep to right field which scored Erhnard, pulling OSU to within 9-5. Benge flied out on the next at-bat.

The Cowboys will face the loser of Game 4 between West Virginia (3) and Texas Tech (6) which plays directly after this game.

Depending on how things progress, the loss could affect the Cowboys’ ability to host a regional when the NCAA Tournament gets going next weekend. Earlier this week the Cowboys moved up to the 10 seed and a host according to Baseball America’s projection. An early exit from Arlington could open it up for another team to take their spot.