Cowboy Baseball Opens Big 12 Play With Win At Texas

Friday, March 23

Austin, TX

7:00 PM

Oklahoma State University

11-8-1, 0

Texas

13-10, 0

Oklahoma State

Texas

Joe Lienhard

March 23, 2018 | Cowboy Baseball

Box Score

Box Score (PDF)
Postgame Interviews

AUSTIN, Texas – Oklahoma State got off to a strong start in Big 12 Conference play Friday night with a 6-1 win over Texas at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.

With the victory, the Cowboys improved to 11-8-1 on the season and snapped UT's four-game winning streak, handing the Longhorns their first league loss as they fell to 13-10 overall and 3-1 in the Big 12.

Friday's contest saw Joe Lienhard and Jake Taylor turn in career performances for the Cowboys as Lienhard picked up the win on the mound while Taylor helped carry OSU at the plate.

A junior right-hander, Lienhard worked a career-high 8 1/3 innings and also posted a career best with eight strikeouts. He allowed just one run on three hits in improving to 2-1 on the season.

Taylor, a freshman, went 3-for-4 with a pair of RBIs in his first conference game. Trevor Boone also had three hits, while Jon Littell and Michael Neustifter added two apiece.

OSU took an early lead in the second inning. With two outs and Cowboys on the corners, Taylor delivered the first-ever pitch he saw in Big 12 play through the left side for an RBI single to put the visitors up 1-0.

With Lienhard keeping the Longhorns off the scoreboard, his battery mate struck again in the fifth as Taylor led off the inning with a home run over the left-center field wall. The blast was the first homer of Taylor's career and gave OSU a 2-0 advantage.

The Cowboys broke the game open in the seventh, rallying for four hits on five hits to take a 6-0 lead.

Trevor Boone got the big inning started with a triple to left-center field, and he plated the first run on a throwing error on a pickoff attempt. After a Ryan Cash single, Matt Kroon drove in a run with a double, and Colin Simpson followed with a two-run homer over the bullpen in right field. The round tripper was Simpson's team-leading sixth of the season.

Lienhard took a shutout into the ninth, but UT's Zach Zubia led off the inning with a home run to make the score 6-1. After a walk, Lienhard recorded his final out on a ground ball.

With a runner on second, OSU called on Carson Teel out of the bullpen. The southpaw retired the first batter he faced before the Longhorns loaded the bases on a hit by pitch and a single.

But Teel would slam the door and seal a win for the Cowboys by striking out Masen Hibbeler to end the game.

The two teams return to action Saturday at 2:30 p.m.