OSU Baseball: Cowboys Suffer Walk-Off Loss to Kansas, Will Await NCAA Fate

The Cowboys’ resume is complete, and their fate is in the committee’s hands.

Oklahoma State lost to Kansas 7-6 on Thursday in the Big 12 Championship quarterfinal. The Pokes entered the tournament on the bubble, with D1Baseball having them in as a projected 3 seed. After beating Baylor on Wednesday, OSU still has a decent-to-good shot at being in the field, but a win against the Jayhawks — a projected 2 seed — would’ve gone a long way to ease the nerves of the Cowboy faithful.

OSU led this game 6-2 entering the seventh-inning stretch before things started to go downhill.

Cowboy starter Harrison Bodendorf, an All-Big 12 first-teamer, walked the leadoff batter that inning before a single put runners on the corners with no outs. A sacrifice fly made it 6-3 before Bodendorf issued another walk. Hunter Watkins came out of the bullpen, inheriting the two base runners with one out. He struck out the first batter he faced, but then Brady Ballinger homered to right. The three-run shot tied the game at 6.

The score stayed that way until the ninth when Mike Koszweski singled to left with the bases loaded to send KU to the semis.

ROCK CHALK WALK OFF!!!!! pic.twitter.com/fx3RyVuvPf

— Kansas Baseball (@KUBaseball) May 23, 2025

Bodendorf’s outing was pretty solid outside of that sixth inning. He gave up back-to-back doubles to start the game, but Bodendorf allowed just one run on three hits in innings two through five.

OSU scored three runs each in the third and fourth innings.

Brayden Smith hit a two-run home run with two outs in the third to get OSU on the board.

Start us up, @BraydenSmith47 #GoPokes pic.twitter.com/fD9O8twY55

— OSU Cowboy Baseball (@OSUBaseball) May 22, 2025

Alex Conover then battled to a 10-pitch walk and stole second. That allowed Nolan Schubart to single to right and bring Conover in.

Avery Ortiz, who missed much of the season with injury, singled to score Kollin Ritchie with two outs in the fourth. Then Conover got a ball through the left side later in the inning with the bases loaded to score two more and give OSU that 6-2 lead.

So, The Cowboys head into Monday’s selection show at 28-23 on the season. OSU will learn its fate at noon Monday on ESPN2.