Cowboy Baseball Wins Series On Opening Weekend

Sunday, February 18

San Marcos, TX

1:00 PM

Oklahoma State University

2-1

Texas State

1-2

Oklahoma State

Texas State

Andrew Rosa

February 18, 2018 | Cowboy Baseball

Box Score

Box Score (PDF)

SAN MARCOS, Texas – Oklahoma State opened 2018 with a road series win at Texas State as the Cowboys claimed a 6-5 win in Sunday's rubber game at Bobcat Ballpark.

Andrew Rosa led the Cowboys' offense with a 3-for-4 day, while Colin Simpson homered for the second time this season and drove in three runs. Joe Lienhard picked up the win in relief on the mound, while Carson Teel collected his first save of the season.

OSU wasted no time taking a lead on Sunday. Rosa led off the game with a single, and Matt Kroon followed with a base hit of his own to put Cowboys on the corners. Two batters later, Jon Littell picked up his first RBI of the season with a groundout to put the visitors up, 1-0.

The lead was short lived, however, as for the second-straight day OSU's starting pitcher failed to make it out of the second inning. Making his collegiate debut, southpaw Mitchell Stone allowed three runs on five hits in the second frame and was knocked from the game after just 1 1/3 innings.

Lienhard came out of the OSU bullpen to relieve Stone with a pair of runners in scoring position and picked up two big outs to limit the damage and hold TXST to a 3-1 lead after two innings.

The Cowboys quickly regained the lead in the top of the third. With a pair of runners on, Simpson continued to swing a hot bat as he crushed an offering by Brandon Lewis over the right-field wall to put OSU up, 4-3.

OSU extended its lead in the next inning as Kroon picked up his first RBI as a Cowboy with a two-out double high off the wall in center field to give the Pokes a 5-3 advantage.

After the Bobcats trimmed their deficit to one in the bottom of the fourth, OSU answered with a run in the sixth. Trevor Boone led off the frame with a double down the left-field line and following a sacrifice bunt by Cameron Dobbs, Rosa stepped to the plate and delivered his third hit of the day, an RBI single, to give the Cowboys a 6-4 edge.

The Cowboys used five pitchers in the contest, with Reza Aleaziz and C.J. Varela both coming up big as each tossed two scoreless innings and bridged the gap between Lienhard and Teel.

Teel worked the final two frames and struck out four, including two in a perfect ninth, to earn the save.

OSU is scheduled to play its 2018 home opener Tuesday against Oral Roberts. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium.