Oklahoma State Takes Second Win In Big 12 Tournament

Michael Freeman is not to be messed with. The Oklahoma State pitcher and Big 12 pitcher of the year went __ innings in a 10-1 Cowboy win over the Kansas State Wildcats on Thursday night at ONEOK Field in Tulsa. The Cowboys started off the first inning getting two runners on base and with two outs second baseman Tim Arakawa hit a deep fly ball to center field where Kansas State outfielder Max Brown dropped it. The drop allowed Arakawa to reach third base and score catcher Gage Green and first baseman Dustin Williams to take a quick 2-0 lead. The Cowboys would plate another three runs in the second to give Freeman a 5-0 lead to work with against Kansas State (27-29). Wildcat pitcher Nate Griep, the ace for the team, didn't have his best stuff, forcing KSU to go to the bullpen early.

"Nate Griep is a extremely accomplished pitcher," OSU coach Josh Holliday said. "We did a really good job in the first two innings, putting five runs on a very good competitor and a very accomplished pitcher. So I thought on offense we were dialed in right out of the shute and we were able to get in their bullpen and continue to score right out of the gate."

The Cowboys would calm down a bit, scoring only one run in the next three innings but Freeman did what he does best by keeping the ball on the ground and striking out multiple batters before allowing the one Wildcat run in the fourth.

"When Mike [Freeman] is on the mound you tend to stay engaged a lot more," Arakawa said. "He just does a great job, the pace that he works at, keeps you in every pitch and it's fun to play behind him."

Freeman wasn't the only Tulsa native to have a great night, though. High school teammate and friend Donnie Walton added to his already impressive tournament stats with three RBI while reaching base in three of his five plate appearances. The Cowboys (36-17) finished the last three innings scoring four runs to extend their lead to 10-1 and Freemans fourth complete game in Big 12 play. The win sets the Cowboys up to play again on Saturday at 12:30 against the winner of the Oklahoma-Kansas State game tomorrow.