Cowboys Drop Tournament Opener To Missouri

OKLAHOMA CITY - Second-seeded Oklahoma State had its six-game winning streak against conference opponents snapped on Wednesday as Missouri topped the Cowboys, 9-5, at the Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship at AT&T Bricktown Ballpark.

Missouri, the tourney's No. 7 seed, erased a 4-4 tie by scoring five runs in the top of the ninth inning to drop the 12^th-ranked Cowboys to 39-16 on the season.

“This game wasn't unlike our last 25,” OSU head coach Frank Anderson. “We were able to stay even, but we didn't get scores in the end.”

Oliver Odle suffered the loss for OSU. The junior right hander allowed seven runs, five of them earned, in 8.1 innings of work and fell to 4-4 on the season.

The Cowboys jumped out to an early lead in the bottom of the first inning against Missouri starter Nathan Culp (11-5). Corey Brown led off with a single and promptly stole second. Brown then scored when Shelby Brown singled, and Tiger catcher J.C. Field let a throw from the outfield get past him for an error.

OSU increased its lead to 2-0 on a sacrifice fly by Rebel Ridling, which scored Ford from third base.

Missouri (30-24) trailed until the third inning when a three-run rally gave the Tigers the lead. Derek Chambers drove in the first run, and Zane Taylor and Ryan Lollis each collected RBI singles in the frame.

The Tigers' lead did not last long. In the bottom of the third, Brown blasted a solo home run over the wall in center field to tie the score at 3-3.

The score remained tied until the seventh when Missouri took the lead with an unearned run as Field scored on shortstop Jordy Mercer's throwing error.

But OSU quickly knotted the score again. Ty Wright led off the bottom of the seventh with a single through the left side, and back-to-back bunt singles by Adam Carr and Keanon Simon loaded the bases with no outs. The Cowboys tied the score at 4 -4 on pinch hitter John Schindler's sacrifice fly to right field, but Mizzou escaped further damage.

In the pivotal ninth inning, three of Missouri's first four hitters singled, with Taylor's base hit providing the go-ahead run and knocking Odle out of the game.

The Tigers added to their lead with RBI's by Lollis, Brock Bond, Evan Frey and Gary Arndt completing the rally.

Mercer provided the Cowboys' final run with a solo homer in the bottom of the ninth. It was the freshman's sixth round tripper of the season.

Wright led the OSU offense with a 3-for-4 night, while Brown and Ford were each 2-for-4. Brown extended his hitting streak to 12 games, his longest of the season.

The Cowboys will have a day off before returning to tournament action Friday against Kansas. First pitch is scheduled for 8 p.m. OSU's final game in pool play is Saturday at 5 p.m. against Oklahoma, while Sunday's championship game is set for 1 p.m.

Oklahoma State University Athletics

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