Cowboys Top Arkansas To Extend Streak To Five

Tuesday, March 29

Stillwater, Okla.

6:00:00 PM

Oklahoma State University

18-7

Arkansas

18-7

Arkansas

Oklahoma State

March 29, 2016 | Cowboy Baseball

Box Score

PHOTO GALLERY

STILLWATER, Okla. — Oklahoma State knocked off 15th-ranked Arkansas, 5-4, Tuesday night at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium to give the 16^th-ranked Cowboys their fifth-straight win.

With the win, OSU improved to 18-7 and recorded its fourth victory over a ranked opponent this season. The Cowboys also notched their ninth triumph in a one-run game and have now won four consecutive games by a single run.

"It's never easy," said OSU head coach Josh Holliday. "Nobody goes down without a fight at this level, and as you can see we've been in a lot of close games. In the end, we were one run better, and that's really the name of the game — to find a way to win."

It was timely at bats in the seventh inning that gave OSU its first lead of the game.

Collin Theroux was the first Cowboy up to bat and grounded to the third base side, but a wide throw to first allowed him to reach safely. After consecutive singles by J.R. Davis and Corey Hassel to load the bases, Jacob Chappell grounded into a double play, allowing Theroux to score and put OSU in front, 4-3.

An action-packed second inning was responsible for most of the game's other scoring.

After a throwing error by Davis, the Razorbacks (18-7) had runners at the corners with no outs. Luke Banfield then singled up the middle to drive in the first run of the game. A passed ball doubled the lead and then Michael Bernal doubled to straight-away center, making it 3-0 in favor of the Hogs.

When the Cowboys came up to bat in the bottom half of the inning, Ryan Sluder opened up the action with a double down the left field line. After Jon Littell grounded out to move Sluder to third, Andrew Rosa drew a walk to put runners on the corners with only one out.

Theroux then smashed his second home run of the season over the wall in the left field to knot the game at 3-3.

"In baseball you can feel the momentum shift from dugout to dugout," Sluder said of the Cowboys' rally. "When we put up those three (runs), we kind of got things rolling. We started barreling some balls and having some really good at bats."

On the mound, Michael Mertz kept Arkansas off the board over the next two innings as the junior surrendered just two earned runs and struck out six in his five innings of work.

After OSU reliever Garrett Williams opened up the sixth inning with back-to-back walks, Remey Reed came on to pitch. Reed walked Banfield to load the bases, but he responded by striking out Chad Spanberger to get the second out of the inning. Reed then got some big help from his defense to get out of the jam as Sluder charged in to make a diving catch in center field and end the threat.

Reed faced another bases-loaded situation in the seventh, but some timely pitching forced Cullen Gassaway to ground into a 1-2-3 double play and keep the score tied at three.

Reed pitched three innings of shutout baseball and earned his third win of the season, improving to 3-1.

The Cowboys would tally a key insurance run in the bottom of the eighth as a perfectly executed double steal of second and home by Sluder and Rosa scored Sluder to make it 5-3.

In the ninth, Tyler Buffett came out of the OSU bullpen and found himself in some early trouble after a leadoff double and error put Hogs on first and second with no outs.

But following an RBI single by Carson Shaddy to pull the visitors to within 5-4, Buffett recorded two-straight outs to end the game and secure his fourth save.

"It was a great win," Holliday said. "When you go down three and then answer and it's a player who has fought with some early season struggles is the one who answers, you can't help but get a huge smile across your face."

Having won 12 of its last 13 contests, OSU now heads to Morgantown, W.Va., for a three-game series with West Virginia beginning Friday.