Michael Freeman Dominates As The Cowboys Beat Top-Ranked TCU

It was an exciting weekend for No. 12 Oklahoma State Cowboys baseball team as it won two of its three games against the No.1 TCU Horned Frogs in its Big 12 opener. The Cowboys relied on strong pitching performances from RHP Jon Perrin and LHP Michael Freeman in its wins over the top team in the nation.

No one had a more outstanding performance than Freeman, who pitched a complete game in the Cowboys 7-2 victory on Sunday, earning him his second Big 12 Pitcher of the Week honor this season. Freeman was dominant in the rubber game of the series on the biggest stage he has ever pitched on. Not only was this game against the best team in the country on the road, but it was also being broadcast on national television.

Freeman’s line: 9 IP, 6 hits, 2 runs (1 earned), 9 strikeouts, 1 walk on 127 pitches.

"It's good to know that what I can do is working and that I can go a complete game, that my stuff is good enough to beat guys that are supposed to be the number one team in the nation," said Freeman.

"There's pressure in a rubber game, but you try and treat it like just another game and try not to let those outside thoughts have too much of an effect on you. You just play a pitch at a time and do what I know and let the guys work behind me, and they really did an awesome job," Freeman told okstate.com.

I have one question for coach Josh Holliday: Where the heck was Freeman last year?

Freeman only made one start last year after transferring from Eastern Oklahoma State. The senior left-hander is starting to emerge as one of the top pitchers in the conference and has been by far the best pitcher on the staff so far this season.

I can’t say I expected Freeman to break out this year, as he never showed that he could pitch at this level before. He wasn't even particularly outstanding in his last season in junior college, only going 4-3 with 4.21 ERA.

Freeman has done a great job establishing himself as the Sunday starter for the Cowboys in the six starts he has made this year, posting a 4-0 record with 1.63 ERA. Another very impressive statistic is Freeman’s strikeout rate, which is 8.61 per nine innings, good for the best mark among OSU starting pitchers.

After the series win, the Cowboys are now ranked 12th in the nation and will take on the Wichita State Shockers on Tuesday at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium.

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