Cowboy Baseball Walks Off TCU To Advance To Big 12 Title Game

Sunday, May 26

Oklahoma City, OK

9:00 A.M.

Oklahoma State University

35-18

TCU

32-26

TCU

Oklahoma State

Alix Garcia

Photo by: Scott Weaver/Big 12 Conference

Cowboy Baseball Walks Off TCU To Advance To Big 12 Title Game

May 26, 2019 | Cowboy Baseball

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OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma State's Alix Garcia played hero for the third-seeded Cowboys as his walk-off RBI single gave OSU a 6-5 win over TCU in 10 innings Saturday in a Big 12 Baseball Championship elimination game at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark.

The Cowboys plated two runs in the decisive 10^th inning to improve to 35-18 and advance to the Big 12 title game against West Virginia.

Andrew Navigato led the Pokes with a 3-for-5 performance that included two RBIs, while Hueston Morrill and Trevor Boone each had two hits. Cade Cabbiness also hit his second home run of the tournament to help carry the Cowboy offense.

Peyton Battenfield picked up the win in relief to improve to 4-3 on the season as he worked the final two innings and allowed just one run while striking out three.

Jake Lyons made his second start of the season on the mound and worked 3 2/3 innings, allowing four runs on five hits while striking out four and walking two.

Morrill led off the first for the Pokes with a single and scored when TCU catcher Zach Humphreys made a throwing error on a Christian Funk sacrifice bunt, allowing Morrill to come all the way around from first. The Cowboys added to the early lead when Navigato put together a long at-bat that resulted in an RBI single to make the score 2-0.

Carson McCusker singled to lead off the second inning, and Cabbiness blasted his second home run in as many days and seventh of the season, an opposite field two-run blast that doubled the OSU lead.

The four-run advantage did not last, however, as TCU pushed across a run in the third on a two-out RBI single up the middle by Josh Watson before tying the game in the next inning.

Lyons was sharp through three innings but found himself in a bases-loaded jam in the fourth. After a walk and a sacrifice fly cut the OSU lead in half, Logan Gragg entered in relief with two outs and the bases juiced and surrendered a two-RBI single to right field that tied the game at 4-4 before getting a strikeout to end the inning.

In the top of the sixth, TCU took its first lead of the game on a two-out RBI double down the right-field line by Hunter Wolfe to put the Frogs up 5-4.

Navigato led off the bottom of the sixth with a single, and Boone drew a walk before Garcia induced a hard hit ground ball that resulted in an error by the TCU second baseman, allowing Navigato to score and tie the game.

Brady Basso made his 11^th appearance of the season when he took the mound for the Cowboys in the seventh. The junior southpaw allowed just one baserunner in two innings of no-hit ball, striking out one and walking one.

Battenfield took over for OSU in the ninth and struck out two Horned Frogs, stranding a runner on first to keep the game tied, but TCU's Austin Henry led off the 10^th inning with a solo home run to put TCU back on top, 6-5.

The Pokes were down but not out. Funk led off the bottom of the 10^th with a single that got by the TCU right fielder for an error, allowing Funk to reach third on the play. Navigato then lined an RBI single to tie the game, and Boone followed suit with a single of his own.

Two batters later, with two outs and Cowboys on the corners, Garcia came up clutch as he ripped a single to left field to bring home the game-winning run.