Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State University
Arizona State
Cowboys Fall To Arizona State
March 02, 2014 | Cowboy Baseball
March 2, 2014
SURPRISE, Ariz. – Oklahoma State had its three-game winning streak snapped Sunday night as No. 29 Arizona State knocked off the 11th-ranked Cowboys, 6-1, on the final day of the Sanderson Ford College Baseball Classic at Surprise Stadium.
The Cowboys struggled offensively, managing just three hits, as they fell to 10-2 on the season, while freshman Thomas Hatch suffered the first loss of his career to fall to 2-1.
“Arizona State came out and played an Arizona State brand of baseball – aggressive, feisty, couple of nice arms on the mound – but beyond that I wasn't satisfied with the brand of baseball we brought to the party,” said OSU head coach Josh Holliday. “That's what we have to look at internally as a ball club, and I have to take responsibility as a coach of making sure that our team brings the style of baseball that people have come to expect from Oklahoma State to the party. We did not do that tonight.”
The Cowboys took the game's initial lead in the top of the second inning. After ASU starter Ryan Kellogg issued three walks to load the bases, Craig McConaughy laid down a perfect bunt that went for an RBI single to put OSU up, 1-0.
But that was all the damage OSU could muster as Kellogg retired the next two batters to avoid any further damage in the inning.
ASU (6-4) would tie the score in the bottom of the second on the last of three singles in the inning, a two-out RBI hit by Jordan Aboites.
The scored remained knotted at 1-1 until the fourth when the Sun Devils rallied for three runs on a pair of hits against Hatch. An RBI single up the middle by Christopher Beall plated the go-ahead run, and Aboites tallied his second RBI of the game with a groundout. ASU pushed its lead to 4-1 when Beall scored on a wild pitch.
“(ASU) did a really good job offensively of attacking a quality young right-hander and putting him on his haunches,” Holliday said. “They were aggressive early in the count, they got some good swings off and they were opportunistic when runners were in scoring position – they did a good job of getting them home.
“And then we really had no counter punch; we didn't do a whole lot as far as getting off an aggressive swing or making solid contact. I'm disappointed in our competitive nature at home plate.”
OSU struggled at the plate throughout the contest. Kellogg recorded 10 strikeouts in five innings of work before yielding to fellow southpaw Brett Lilek, who was equally as dominant.
Following a leadoff double by Conor Costello to open the fourth inning, Kellogg and Lilek combined to retire 17-straight Cowboys before Costello delivered his second hit of the game with two outs in the ninth inning.
Kellogg picked up the win on the mound to improve to 1-1 on the season, while Lilek worked four shutout innings and recorded five strikeouts to earn the save.
OSU returns to action Wednesday when it hosts Grambling State at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium.
