Oklahoma State University Athletics
Sunday, March 10
Stillwater, OK
12:00 PM
Oklahoma State University
10-6
4
vs
3
Mercer
10-6
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Mercer
0
0
0
0
0
3
0
0
0
3
7
0
Oklahoma State
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
2
X
4
8
1
Carson Benge
Cowboy Baseball Clinches Series Win Over Mercer
March 10, 2024 | Cowboy Baseball
STILLWATER – Carson Benge led Oklahoma State to a late-game comeback win over Mercer Sunday at O'Brate Stadium as the Cowboys posted a 4-3 victory to clinch the series.
With the win, OSU improved to 10-6, while Mercer fell to 10-6.
Benge did it all in the win, going 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs and also earning the first save of his career with a scoreless ninth inning.
Zach Ehrhard also had a strong day at the plate for the Pokes, going 3-for-4 and driving in a run, and Drew Blake picked up the win on the mound with a shutout inning out of the bullpen.
Trailing 3-2 in the eighth, Ian Daugherty was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, and he advanced to third following a passed ball and wild pitch. Ehrhard would bring him home with a double into the left-center field gap to tie the score, and Benge followed with a single to center to plate Ehrhard with what proved to be the winning run.
With no outs and a runner on first in the ninth, Benge left his post in right field in search of the save. After allowing a double to put Bears on second and third with no outs, Benge retired the next three hitters, getting a groundout before striking out the final two hitters to secure the win.
OSU took an early lead in the game when Benge launched a breaking ball for a solo home run in the first inning; it marked his third homer of the season and extended his streak of reaching base safely to 16 games.
The starting pitcher for the Pokes, Janzen Keisel, did not allow a hit over the first five innings.
But the sixth inning would be a different story for the Mercer offense.
Alex Ramirez led off with a double to right field for the only hit Keisel would allow before Robert Cranz entered the game and faced a single batter who reached via an error that allowed the tying run to score. Brennan Phillips then came out of the pen, but the Bears got consecutive two-out RBI hits from Parker Lester and Noah Best to take a 3-1 lead.
OSU closed the gap in the seventh, getting doubles from Aidan Meola and Tyler Wulfert to make the score 3-2, before the exciting eighth.
Up next, the Cowboys will travel south to Norman to face Oklahoma in a non-conference matchup at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
With the win, OSU improved to 10-6, while Mercer fell to 10-6.
Benge did it all in the win, going 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs and also earning the first save of his career with a scoreless ninth inning.
Zach Ehrhard also had a strong day at the plate for the Pokes, going 3-for-4 and driving in a run, and Drew Blake picked up the win on the mound with a shutout inning out of the bullpen.
Trailing 3-2 in the eighth, Ian Daugherty was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, and he advanced to third following a passed ball and wild pitch. Ehrhard would bring him home with a double into the left-center field gap to tie the score, and Benge followed with a single to center to plate Ehrhard with what proved to be the winning run.
With no outs and a runner on first in the ninth, Benge left his post in right field in search of the save. After allowing a double to put Bears on second and third with no outs, Benge retired the next three hitters, getting a groundout before striking out the final two hitters to secure the win.
OSU took an early lead in the game when Benge launched a breaking ball for a solo home run in the first inning; it marked his third homer of the season and extended his streak of reaching base safely to 16 games.
The starting pitcher for the Pokes, Janzen Keisel, did not allow a hit over the first five innings.
But the sixth inning would be a different story for the Mercer offense.
Alex Ramirez led off with a double to right field for the only hit Keisel would allow before Robert Cranz entered the game and faced a single batter who reached via an error that allowed the tying run to score. Brennan Phillips then came out of the pen, but the Bears got consecutive two-out RBI hits from Parker Lester and Noah Best to take a 3-1 lead.
OSU closed the gap in the seventh, getting doubles from Aidan Meola and Tyler Wulfert to make the score 3-2, before the exciting eighth.
Up next, the Cowboys will travel south to Norman to face Oklahoma in a non-conference matchup at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Blake, Drew (1-0)
L: Jaxon O'Neal (0-2)
S: Benge, Carson (1)
Batting:
2B: Noah Best 1 ; Conner Todaro 1 ; Alex Ramirez 1
RBI: Parker Lester 1 ; Noah Best 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Carter Sanford 1 ; Bradley Frye 1 ; Alex Ramirez 1
SB: Noah Best 1
HBP: Carter Sanford 1
Batting:
2B: Ehrhard, Zach 1 ; Meola, Aidan 1 ; Wulfert, Tyler 1
HR: Benge, Carson 1
RBI: Ehrhard, Zach 1 ; Benge, Carson 2 ; Wulfert, Tyler 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Ehrhard, Zach 1 ; Benge, Carson 1 ; Meola, Aidan 1 ; Daugherty, Ian 1
CS: Benge, Carson 1
HBP: Daugherty, Ian 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
1
H
3
RBI
1
rf/p
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
dh/rf
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF/RHP
/ Cowboy Baseball
LHP
/ Cowboy Baseball
RHP
/ Cowboy Baseball
C
/ Cowboy BaseballOF
/ Cowboy Baseball
RHP
/ Cowboy BaseballINF
/ Cowboy Baseball
LHP
/ Cowboy Baseball
INF
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