Cowboys Sweep Doubleheader Against Kansas

Friday, May 20

Stillwater, Okla.

6:00:00 PM

Oklahoma State University

34-18, 0

Kansas

20-34-1, 0

Kansas

Oklahoma State

May 20, 2016 | Cowboy Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

PHOTO GALLERY

STILLWATER, Okla. – After weather postponed Thursday's series opener, Oklahoma State took both games of a Friday doubleheader against Kansas at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium as the 12^th-ranked Cowboys picked up a 4-3 in the opener and before a 9-2 victory in the nightcap.

With the wins, OSU clinches the series and improves to 34-18 overall and 15-8 in Big 12 play, while Kansas falls to 20-34-1 and 6-16 in conference action. The doubleheader sweep is the third of the season for the Cowboys, as they previously won both contests in doubleheaders on the road against Texas and Baylor.

Friday's results also give OSU its fifth Big 12 series win of the season, and the Cowboys clinched the No. 2 seed at next week's Big 12 Championship.

"I don't know how these kids do it," said OSU head coach Josh Hollliday. "It's a tough thing to do. It's a lot of baseball and a lot of mental grind. We did it at Baylor, we did it down in Austin and now we did it again here today."

After conceding a run in the top of the first of Friday's opener, OSU jumped in front in the home half of the inning and grabbed a lead they wouldn't surrender.

Leading off for the Cowboys, J.R. Davis reached on an infield single to immediately give OSU a runner at first. Davis reached second base after Corey Hassel laid down a sacrifice bunt, and Donnie Walton followed with a walk to put runners on first and second.

Garrett Benge then reached base on a fielder's choice, but a throwing error by KU's Colby Wright kept all runners safe and loaded the bases. The Cowboys struck quickly as Conor Costello singled to short, which scored Davis to tie the game at 1-1.

Dustin Williams followed Costello and put OSU in front, 2-1, as his sharp grounder to third brought Walton across the plate.

In the fourth, Ryan Sluder reached on another infield single for the Cowboys, and with two outs, Jon Littell doubled the payoff pitch down the right field line to increase the OSU lead to 3-1.

The Cowboys needed only one swing of the bat to add a fourth run to their total in the fifth inning, as Hassel blasted his fourth home run of the season over the left field wall to make it 4-1 in favor of the Pokes.

On the mound, Thomas Hatch was his usual dominant-self for the Cowboys as the right-hander struck out eight batters across 7 1/3 innings to improve to 6-2.

Hatch gave up the run in the game's opening frame, but followed it with six shutout innings of baseball. After coming back out to pitch the eighth, the Cowboy surrendered two more runs and was relieved by Tyler Buffett.

Buffett sat down all five batters he faced to seal the 4-3 victory and record his ninth save of the season. His nine saves tie him with Jordy Mercer for fifth most by a Cowboy in a single season.

"Thomas (Hatch), once again pitched very well," Holliday said. "We weren't very explosive on offense, but we were good enough and our pitching was able to come in and lead us out of some tough situations. That was a very good win for us."

In the nightcap, OSU jumped on the Jayhawks quickly as Walton lifted a two-run shot over the left field wall, his third of the season, in the first inning. The Cowboys added one more in the first as Williams singled into left field to score Benge and put OSU on top, 3-0.

Walton would pick up another RBI in the bottom of the second when he hit a chopper to second base that ricocheted off the base, allowing Collin Theroux to score from second and give the Cowboys a 4-0 lead.

The offense continued to click for the Pokes as Williams blasted a two-run shot, his Big 12-leading 14^th home run of the season, off of the scoreboard in right center as OSU took a 6-0 lead after three innings. The junior first baseman is the first Cowboy to hit 14 home runs in a season since Neil Medchill accomplished that feat in 2009.

On the mound, Jensen Elliott took care of business for the Cowboys as the right-hander rolled through six innings of work, allowing just one run on two hits. Elliott picked up his eighth win and improved to 8-2 on the year.

The OSU bullpen surrendered just one run across the game's final three frames to secure the victory. It could've been more, but Remey Reed escaped a bases loaded, no-out jam in the eighth by striking out KU's Tanner Gragg and then inducing an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play.

In the bottom of the eighth, Davis went to the opposite field as he doubled down the right field line to push the Pokes lead to 7-2. That was the first run in a three-run eighth inning as Hassel followed Davis' RBI double with a triple to left center, scoring Davis, and then Walton brought Hassel across the plate with a single back up the middle.

Five Cowboys recorded multi-hit games in the nightcap, but it was Walton who led the offense, going 4-for-5 at the dish and driving in a career-high four RBIs. Walton's four hits also tied his career high.

"That was one of our best offensive games all year long and certainly our best against a left-handed pitcher," Holliday said. "Donnie's home run was just what we needed to put a gap early in the game. He played one heck of a game tonight and really all day long. Four big RBIs in the nightcap and that home run early was huge."

With a 9-2 lead heading into the ninth, OSU sent Reed back out to the mound to finish things off. The right-hander got the job done as he sat down all three batters he faced in the inning to secure the win.

The Cowboys will wrap up the regular season in the series finale against KU Saturday at 3 p.m.