Cowboys Suffer First Loss

Thursday, February 26

Greenville, N.C.

3:00 PM

Oklahoma State University

East Carolina

February 27, 2009 | Cowboy Baseball

GREENVILLE, N.C. Â— Oklahoma State suffered its first loss of the 2009 season Thursday as No. 23 East Carolina topped the 11th-ranked Cowboys, 14-7, in front of 3,596 fans at Clark-LeClair Stadium.

OSU, which fell to 4-1 with the loss, led 7-1 after three innings, but six Cowboy pitchers allowed 20 hits in the contest and the Pirates used an eight-run rally in the seventh frame to propel them to the win.

The Cowboys got on the scoreboard in the second inning as Doug Kroll led off the frame with his team-leading third home run of the season, a shot over the right-centerfield wall.

OSU wasn't done. Back-to-back singles by Dean Green and Tyrone Hambly followed by a sacrifice bunt from Davis Duren put runners on second and third. And with two outs, Dusty Harvard delivered with a two-RBI single to center field to give the Cowboys a 3-0 lead.

In the fourth inning, it was Kroll once again adding to OSU's run total via the long ball as he blasted a two-run homer to the opposite field to put the Cowboys up 5-1. The home run was Kroll's fifth consecutive hit, with four of those hits being homers.

Four batters later, it was Micheal Dabbs duplicating Kroll's effort with a two-run bomb of his own. Dabbs' first homer of the season was crushed over the right field wall to give the Cowboys a six-run advantage.

But ECU (4-0) chipped away at the Cowboys' lead in the middle innings with a run in the fourth and two in the fifth, and Pirate reliever Kevin Brandt kept OSU off the scoreboard.

OSU still led 7-4 heading into the bottom of the seventh, but in that pivotal frame, the home team overtook the Cowboys with an eight-run rally. In the decisive inning, ECU collected seven hits off of four different Cowboy hurlers.

In the ECU seventh, Trent Whitehead, Dustin Harrington and Ryan Wood each had RBI singles, Austin Homan brought home a run on a fielder's choice and Stephen Batts provided the final blow with a three-run home run.

Brandt worked the final 6.1 innings for the Pirates to pick up his first-career win. The freshman southpaw did not allow a run and struck out seven, and OSU managed just three hits against him.

Kroll led the OSU offense with a 2-for-5, three-RBI night and has now hit safely in each of OSU's five games this season. Dabbs, Harvard and Green also added two hits apiece for the Cowboys.

Matt Peck suffered the loss on the mound for the Cowboys, allowing two runs on two hits and failing to record an out.

Jeff Breedlove started the game on the mound for OSU and worked 4.2 innings. The senior right hander allowed four runs on 10 hits and struck out three.

OSU opens play in the Keith LeClair Classic, which is hosted by ECU, on Friday. In anticipation of rain in Greenville Saturday, the tournament schedule has been altered, and OSU will now play two games Friday. The Cowboys will face College of Charleston at 8 a.m. (CST) and battle host ECU at approximately 3 p.m.