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Cade Cabbiness hit a solo home run in the fourth inning and Oklahoma State’s pitching staff held off No. 8 Arizona State for a 2-1 upset win Tuesday at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
Cabbiness went 2-for-4 and drove in both runs for OSU (2-2), which struck out 18 times in the game with 12 strikeouts against ASU starter Erik Tolman.
The Cowboys hit three consecutive one-out singles in the second before Cabiness drove in a run for a 1-0 lead.
In the fourth, Cabbiness smashed his first home run of the season to right field to double OSU’s lead to 2-0.
ASU’s Spencer Torkelson hit a lead-off double to left off OSU starter Brett Sandlee in the sixth and after a single, Alika Williams drove Torkelson in with a sacrifice fly to cut the Cowboys’ lead to 2-1.
The Sun Devils looked poised to take the lead, or least tie it, with runners on the corners and one out in the seventh. But Standlee stayed composed and threw a strikeout and forced groundouts to end his night. He gave up seven hits and one run in seven innings.
OSU freshman Kale Davis walked the leadoff batter in the eighth, but rebounded with two groundouts and a strikeout in the eighth.
The Sun Devils put up a fight in the ninth with the bases loaded and two outs, but OSU closer Ben Leeper got Hauver to fly out to shortstop to earn the save.
Three Big things:
Brett Standlee:
Not only was starter Brett Standlee able to get out of a bases loaded situation in the bottom of the second with three-straight Ks. Not only that he was able to keep first-round MLB Draft pick Spencer Torkelson silent with two strikeouts. Keeping him in check was huge for this win.
Cade Cabbiness:
Cabbiness was all of the Cowboys’ offense in this one. He had an RBI and then hit this one out of the park. If this continues, that will be big come the thick of Big 12 play.
No doubter! @CCabbiness16 sends a pitch deep into the desert to extend the #okstate lead in t4 #GapBand #GoPokes pic.twitter.com/sMxq0fAHVB
— Cowboy Baseball (@OSUBaseball) February 19, 2020
Runners left on base:
This was an issue for both teams. ASU went 2 for 20 with runners on base and Oklahoma State left 12 men on base in this game. That’s more than last weekend combined. They have to get guys across home plate in bases loaded situations.
What’s next
The Cowboys play their home opener against UT Rio Grande Valley at 4 p.m. Friday at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium in Stillwater.