Cowboys Open Series With Shutout Of Indiana State

Friday, March 4

Stillwater, Okla.

4:00:00 PM

Oklahoma State University

5-5

Indiana State

6-4

Indiana State

Oklahoma State

Garrett McCain

March 04, 2016 | Cowboy Baseball

Box Score

PHOTO GALLERY

STILLWATER, Okla. – Outstanding pitching and a clutch late-inning hit lifted No. 22 Oklahoma State to a 1-0 victory in its series opener against Indiana State Friday at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium.

Dustin Williams broke open a scoreless game in the bottom of the eighth inning by ripping a double into the right-center field gap to drive in his team-high 12th run of the season as the Cowboys improved to 5-5.

Friday's victory, OSU's third in a row, marks the Cowboys' second consecutive one-run win and first shutout of the season.

"It was a great win — an exceptionally well-pitched game, a clutch hit by (Williams) and really good defense — just a really good win for our team and I'm proud of our kids," said OSU head coach Josh Holliday.

Added Williams, "Early in the season, these games are good for us and down the road it's going to help us a lot. Those tough games are hard to deal with. Being up one or down one in tight situations, whenever those happen down the road, we're prepared for them because we've been there."

On the mound, right-hander Thomas Hatch kept the Cowboys in the ball game as the sophomore surrendered just six hits and no walks and struck out a career-high five in seven shutout innings.

"(Hatch) has thrown the ball good to this point and continues to grow and evolve as a pitcher, learn and get better," Holliday said. "He's a good guy to kick it off each weekend, and as you saw today he threw a lot of good pitches to home plate, a lot of strikes, pitched deep into the game — he did a good job for us."

Tyler Buffett came in to replace Hatch in the eighth inning and recorded two strikeouts in a perfect inning of action, and he would be the beneficiary of OSU's eighth-inning rally as he earned the win to improve to 2-1.

OSU designated hitter Garrett McCain led off the bottom half of the eighth by dropping a bunt down the first-base line, where it hugged the chalk and stayed fair, resulting in a single.

After ISU's Jeremy McKinney retired Donnie Walton, Williams stepped to the plate and brought McCain around to score with his second double of the season.

"I was just hoping we could do our job and find some grass out there in the outfield and get that run home to give us the lead," Williams said.

The game was then left in the hands of Trey Cobb to close it out in the ninth inning.

Cobb forced back-to-back groundouts to record the first two outs and bring up ISU's leading hitter, Kaden Moore.

The Cowboys' closer wasn't fazed as he struck out Moore on four pitches to clinch the 1-0 victory and earn his second save.

OSU's victory also saw J.R. Davis make his first start as a Cowboy, and the junior second baseman took advantage by collecting two of the Pokes' five hits in the contest. Davis recorded his first-career hit in the fifth inning when he singled through the left side, and he added another base hit in the seventh, this one finding the grass in right field, to finish the game 2-for-2 with a walk.

The Cowboys and Sycamores will be back in action tomorrow for game two of the series. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. at Reynolds Stadium.