Oklahoma State University Athletics
Baseball Falls To Kansas State, 14-7
June 05, 2003 | Cowboy Baseball
The win also gave head coach Mike Clark his 650th win as a college head coach in 20 seasons at Northeast Oklahoma A&M and Kansas State. He has a 650-522 record overall, including a 357-387 mark in 14 seasons at the helm of the Wildcat program.
With the victory, Kansas State posted its first Big 12 Conference series win since the Wildcats won two of three games from Missouri on May 8-9 of last season at Phil Welch Stadium in St. Joseph, Mo. K-State had not taken a season series from Oklahoma State since the Wildcats took three of four games from the Cowboys on April 22-23, 1977 at Frank Myers Field. The Wildcats move to 11-20 on the season and 3-14 in conference action, while Oklahoma State fell to 19-14 overall and 6-9 in league play.
Kansas State took charge from the opening posting three runs on three hits in the bottom of the first inning to take a 3-0 lead. Junior outfielder Kasey Weishaar (Topeka, Kan.) doubled home senior second baseman Chad Tabor (Wichita, Kan.) to start the inning followed by singles by junior first baseman Mark English (Roeland Park, Kan.) and junior shortstop J.D. Loudabarger (Lawrence, Kan.).
After Oklahoma State scored a run in the top of the second inning, the Wildcats responded with one more in the bottom of the inning then a pair in the third inning to hold a convincing 6-1 lead. After a couple of scoreless innings, the Cowboys responded with four runs in the fifth inning as shortstop Nebasett Brown pounded a three-RBI triple to left field with the bases loaded to cut the lead to 6-5. Kansas State responded with two runs in the bottom of the sixth to move the lead to 8-5 on a pair of sacrifice flies. Once again, OSU cut the lead to a single run as the Cowboys scored two runs on two singles as the game stood at 8-7.
Kansas State then seized the momentum with three runs in the bottom of the seventh as pinch hitter Kelvin Day (Highland, Calif.) blasted a double off the center field wall to score a pair of runs with two outs. Senior Chad Tabor followed with a triple in right-center field to advance Day home. The Wildcats then posted three runs in the bottom of the eighth as junior outfielder Ben Oleen (Manhattan, Kan.) cracked his second home run of the year with a three-run shot over the center field wall.
"I think the keys for us the last two games have been that we have been competing hard and staying focused," said head coach Mike Clark. "That's the thing about hitting when you get some momentum going it kind of builds on itself. We were able to create offense and we responded every time the momentum shifted in their favor. It's a great win after the struggles we have had this year."
Junior Ben Oleen led four Wildcats with two or more hits in the contest as he finished 2-for-4 with four RBI and two runs scored. Senior Chad Tabor and junior J.D. Loudabarger had solid days at the plate as the duo each went 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. For the third consecutive day, Tabor also posted a pair of stolen bases as he finished the series 6-for-6 in stolen bases. Juniors Kasey Weishaar and Kelvin Day each posted two RBI in the game as Weishaar connected on 1-of-3 plate appearances with one run scored and Day was 1-for-1 with a run scored.
Kansas State hit at a .349 clip in the three-game series against Oklahoma State with 37 runs on 33 hits, 12 doubles and four triples. Junior Mark English went 7-for-14 in the series with two triples and a double to go along with six RBI and four runs scored. Senior Chad Tabor also looked impressive from the plate as he connected on 6-for-13 opportunities with three doubles and a triple to go along with his seven runs scored and three RBI. Tabor also went 6-for-6 in stolen bases in the series.
Shortstop Nebasett Brown led Oklahoma State offensively with his 3-for-4 performance from the plate and four RBI, while outfielder Toby Rhodes posted a 1-for-3 afternoon with two runs and one RBI.
Kansas State senior pitcher Jason Wells (Salina, Kan.) posted a solid outing to move his record to 2-5 on the season as he allowed seven runs on six hits with seven walks and eight strikeouts. Freshman pitcher Todd Lundwall (Tucson, Ariz.) collected his second save of the season as he allowed no runs on two hits with one walk and three strikeouts.
Oklahoma State starting pitcher Frank Bludau lasted 2.1 innings as he allowed six runs (five earned) on six hits with one walk and two strikeouts to take the loss for the Cowboys. Bludau, who dropped to 3-4 on the season, was one of five different pitchers used by the Cowboys in the game.
