Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State University
Missouri State
Cowboys Drop 4-3 Contest At Missouri State
April 09, 2009 | Cowboy Baseball
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — An unearned run in the eighth inning cost Oklahoma State Wednesday night as Missouri State topped the 17th-ranked Cowboys, 4-3, at Hammons Field.
The loss drops the Cowboys to 21-11 on the season, while
Despite a strong effort in relief, Jeff Breedlove (0-1) suffered the loss on the mound for the Cowboys. The senior right hander allowed just one hit and struck out five in 3.2 innings and the lone run he gave up was of the unearned variety.
Neil Medchill and Tom Belza collected two hits apiece to combine for four of OSU's nine hits in the contest.
The Cowboys left 10 runners stranded on the bases, including leaving the tying run on second in the ninth.
OSU fell behind early as the Bears struck for a pair of runs in their first at bat. After a leadoff walk and an infield single to open the bottom of the first, Brayden Drake doubled into the left-center field gap to give MSU a 2-0 lead before Cowboy pitcher Thomas Keeling struck out the next three batters to avoid further damage.
The Cowboys trailed 3-0 in the fifth when they mounted their first rally of the game. Jared Womack and Davis Duren led off the inning with back-to-back singles, and following a sacrifice bunt by Micheal Dabbs and a line out by Tyrone Hambly, Medchill delivered a clutch two-out single to bring home a pair of runs and trim OSU's deficit to one.
OSU tied the game in the sixth. Belza led off the frame with a single and then stole second base. That brought up Doug Kroll, who collected a game-tying RBI on an opposite-field single to knot the score at 3-3.
The Cowboys mounted another threat in the eighth but failed to produce a run. Kevin David walked to open the inning, and Belza reached safely on an error by the pitcher on a sacrifice bunt.
After another sacrifice bunt by Kroll moved runners to second and third with one out, Womack grounded to the pitcher, who tossed the ball to third to retire David.
In the bottom of the inning, MSU went back on top with an unearned run. With two outs, Ben Carlson doubled, and after Breedlove worked the count to 1-2 on the next batter, Dallas Hord, Carlson took off for third. Carlson slid in safely with a stolen base and then scampered home on a throwing error by David to plate the go-ahead run.
With OSU down to its final three outs, Micheal Dabbs led off the ninth with a single, which extended his career-high hitting streak to 12 games. Following a sacrifice bunt by Hambly, Medchill struck out looking before Dean Green grounded out to end the game.
OSU returns to Big 12 Conference action Friday when they open a three-game series at
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