ICYMI: Cowboys open up Big 12 play with sweep of Kansas State

For the first time since 2001, the Oklahoma State baseball team opened Big 12 play with a sweep of Kansas State.  In game one, the Pokes had a little trouble getting runs together through three innings, but some stellar pitching from Thomas Hatch kept things tied until the top of the fourth. Garrett Benge singled with two outs to put the Cowboys up 1-0 heading into the bottom of the inning. Hatch wiggled his way out of a bases loaded jam to keep the OSU lead intact. Another two out single doubled the OSU lead to 2-0. Hatch pitched six scoreless innings and struck out eight. Remey Reed came in to pitch the seventh where he struck out the side. However, the Cowboys bats fell silent, and a solo home run in the top of the eight cut the Oklahoma State in half. Another scoreless inning from the OSU offense gave Kansas State one more chance to send it to extra innings. But Reed slammed the door on a Wildcat comeback to seal the win.

Trey Cobb got the start for the Cowboys on day two and kept things scoreless until Ryan Sluder hit a two-run home run over the left field wall to give the Pokes a 2-0 lead for the second straight game. Jon Littell followed up the two-run shot with a solo home run the very next inning. The Wildcats got a run back in the fourth, but Littell responded in the sixth with an RBI single to put the Pokes back up by three. OSU would extend the lead to 5-1 before a furious K-State comeback in the bottom of the eight narrowed the lead to one. The Wildcats had the tying run 90 feet away in the bottom of the ninth, but the defense came up clutch to clinch a series win.

The Cowboys weren't messing around early in game three, as back to back doubles by Corey Hassel and Donnie Walton put OSU up 1-0. Freshman Jensen Elliot gave up an unearned run in the bottom half of the first, but the Cowboys picked up two runs in the second to take a 3-1 lead. Elliot surrendered his first earned run in the bottom of the fifth but slammed the door to keep it within one. The lead remained 3-2 until a leadoff home run by Benge to start the eighth doubled the OSU lead, but a bases loaded walk and hit batter tied the game in the bottom half of the inning. The two teams traded scoreless ninth innings and J.R. Davis saved the sweep with a sac fly in the top of the tenth to give Oklahoma State a 5-4 advantage. KSU had runners on the corners with two outs, but Tyler Buffett closed things out and was awarded the win.

With the trifecta of wins, the Pokes improved to 17-7(3-0) and won their fourth consecutive game. The Cowboys are now winners of 12 of their last 13 and host Arkansas on Tuesday.