Live Blog: Oklahoma St. vs. Missouri St. (Day 3)
STILLWATER, Okla. – Welcome back to O'Brate stadium where the weather is relatively cool and storms are developing in the far distance.
The winner here will face Arkansas in a regional championship game that will start tonight, but most likely won't finish until tomorrow morning. As of noon, powerful thunderstorms are expected to arrive around 8 p.m.
Top 1st, 0-0
Roc Riggio reaches on an infield grounder and advances to third. However, after Griffin Doersching mistakenly heads to first thinking he had drawn a walk after only three balls, the umps bring the power hitter back. He then nearly takes a half-hearted swing out of the yard, but instead flies out, getting Missouri State out of the inning.
Bottom 1st, 0-0
Ryan Bogusz takes the mound for Oklahoma State in front of a light crowd. The Cowboys went through a lot of pitchers last night, so he will need to be solid on the mound.
Bogusz is pounding the strike zone. He faces three batters – a strike out, a deep fly out to centerfield, and a pop-up to first base.
Top 2nd, 0-0
Missouri St. pitcher Ty Buckner gets David Mendham to ground out to first. The Bears pitch around Nolan McLean, putting him on first with a walk. Marcus Brown lifts a high shot deep to right, but an easy wind blowing in from that direction knocks it down for the second out. Caeden Trenkle grounds out to second to end the inning.
Bottom 2nd, 9-0
If Arkansas fans were hoping for a taxing, drawn out game leading into the championship game, this isn't it. These teams are flying through at-bats. Cam Cratic grounds a single to center. Roggio was playing a heavy shift, which turned a routine grounder into a hit.
Dakota Kotowski draws the walk to put runners on first and second with one out.
Grant Wood hits liner to a huge gap in left-center that dies at the bottom of the wall. Cratic and Kotowski score. Wood in for a double.
Bogusz hits Will Duff squarely in the back. That stretches the Cowboys run of hit batters to seven of the past eight pitchers to take the mound for Oklahoma St. Runners now on first and second with one out.
Walker Jenkins rips a hard shot up the middle, but Marcus Brown is shifted over, finding himself in the perfect position to get the second out. Bogusz goes 3-0 to Nivens, a home run hero from yesterday's stunning comeback for the Bears. He battles back to 3-2, but drifts a pitch outside to load the bases.
Bogusz goes 3-0 again, this time to Drake Baldwin. Again he battles back to 3-2. Baldwin fouls off two pitches before roping a liner down the right field line that dies when it bounces off the fence. Missouri State had everyone running so three runs come across with Baldwin at second as the Bears snag a 5-0 lead.
That ends the day for Bogusz. Right-hander Kale Davis takes the mound for Oklahoma State.
Davis walks Mason Hull. The Bears have now batted around. Runners at first and second. Greer holds steady on a close pitch to load the bases on four-pitch walk. Cratic watches two pitches down the pipe before turning on a ball up in the zone for a grand slam to make it 9-0.
Andrew Jansen - USA TODAY Sports
All the bravado seen from Oklahoma State last night is definitely missing today.
Davis hits Kotowski to extend the HBP streak to 8-of-9 OSU pitchers.
Dylan Marsh becomes the third pitcher to take the mound this inning with two outs. Marsh gets Wood to ground out to second to get out of the inning.
Top 3rd, 9-0
Zach Ehrhard lifts a shot deep down the left field line that easily clears the wall. It appears to have drifted just left of the foul pole. Oklahoma St. has asked for a review and it has been ruled a foul ball. That is the Cowboys' last challenge.
Ehrhard works a two-out walk and advances to third on a single by Thompson to bring Doersching to the plate with runners at the corners. Doersching battles back to force a full count, but after a pair of foul balls kept the inning alive, Buckner was able get the strikeout.
Bottom 3rd, 12-0
Will Duff opens the inning with a home run to left off the "Make It Happen" sign to make it a round 10-0 lead. The Bears follow with a bounce their way as Jenkins rips a bullet off the foot of Marsh that careens toward the third base dugout for a single.
Marsh recovers from the potential injury to his foot to get a strikeout. However, Baldwin lifts a high ball to left that carries way further than it looked like it would go for a home run just inside the opposite field foul pole. The two-run shot makes it a 12-0 lead.
Trevor Martin now on the mound for the Cowboys. He's the fourth Oklahoma St. pitcher to enter the game. Martin faces two hitters, rings up two strikeouts to get out of the inning.
Top 4th, 12-6
McLean gets his first hit that isn't a home run on a single down the chalk into left field. That puts runners at first and second with no outs. Buckner will leave the game as he gives way to Riyan Rodriguez out of the bullpen.
Rodriguez walks Brown to load the bases. Nearly every pitch way high and outside. Trenkle bloops a pitch into shallow left field to finally put the Cowboys on the board and the energy has picked up a little bit in the stadium.
Daugherty takes a hit-by-pitch off the hand to score McLean. That brings Riggio to the plate with bases loaded and no outs. Rodriguez leaves the game with a 12-2 Missouri St. lead.
Senior Trey Ziegenbein comes for Missouri St. to face the heart of the Cowboys' order. Ziegenbein works the zone effectively, but Riggio burns a shot to right for a single to cut the lead to 12-3 while keeping bases loaded and no outs.
Ehrhard gets just enough distance on a sacrifice fly to right-center to trim the lead to 12-4. Riggio gets a big break on a ball that scoots away from Baldwin behind the plate. However, Baldwin recovers with a late throw to gun down Riggio at second.
Riggio most likely would have scored on a line shot up the middle by Thompson. However, the double only brings in one run, making it 12-5.
Doersching faces six pitches with two strikes and pokes a grounder through the infield for a single to cut the lead in half at 12-6 as the Cowboys bat around.
SARAH PHIPPS - USA TODAY Sports
Ziegenbein finally gets the Bears out of the inning by getting Mendham to ground into a fielder's choice.
Bottom 4th, 13-6
This game couldn't play out better for Arkansas fans. Multiple long innings are cutting into rest time and burning through pitchers on both sides.
Martin is settling things down for the Oklahoma St. pitching staff. He's pounding the zone and racking up strikes. However, after two big outs with little effort, Wood takes a fastball out to left to make it 13-5 before Martin could collect his third strikeout of the inning.
Top 5th, 13-10
Brown gets a one-out double to center to put Oklahoma St. back in business. Trenkle lines a shot up the middle just beyond the reach of the Missouri St. shortstop to put runners at the corner.
Daugherty lifts a towering pop-up to center to drive home another run. Riggio then follows with a 2-run shot well over the 402 sign in center to cut the lead to 13-9 with two outs.
Thompson floats a 3-2 pitch to shallow left to put runners at the corner for Doersching. He slaps an outside pitch off the end of the bat to shallow right to drive home a run to make it 13-10. That will drive the consistent Ziegenbein from the game.
Caden Wilson comes in and stops the bleeding for Missouri St. 13-10 at the mid-point of the game.
Bottom 5th, 14-10
Martin continues his strikeout parade. If OSU wins, it will be this stretch where he slowed the Missouri St. bats that proves the difference. Nivens goes down looking. Martin now at six strikeouts in relief.
However, Baldwin strikes again with a two-out home run as Martin's speed combined with a solid wind provides the power needed to put the Bears up 14-10. Martin recovers to record his seventh "K" to get out of the inning within striking distance.
Top 6th, 17-14
McLean takes the first pitch to opposite field to wipe out Baldwin's home run minutes earlier. That brings the third baseman to four home runs and a single in this regional.
Brown follows with a single to left to put a runner on with no outs. At this point, the question becomes whether Missouri State has enough pitchers to finish the game.
Wilson provides a glimmer of hope for the Bears' pitching staff with the strikeout of Trenkle to set up a way out of the inning with a potential double-play ball. Unfortunately for Missouri St., Daugherty walked to bring Riggio to the plate as the possible tying run.
Riggio turns on a hard hit for a double down the line to make it 14-12 with runners on second and third with one out. Ehrhard walks on five pitches to load the bases. Wilson throw a pitch inside in the dirt to walk in a run, which will bring an end to his day.
That brings the aggressive Doersching to the plate with the chance to give the Cowboys their first lead of the game.
Senior Jared Viertel, one of the last remaining arms for the Bears, will come in to try to get out of the inning with the lead. Viertel throws one pitch and Doersching clears the bases with a grand slam in the bleachers right to put Oklahoma State up 17-14.
Bottom 6th, 17-14
Martin chalks up his eighth strikeout. He then send Wood to the bench looking on his 70th pitch of the game to give Oklahoma State its first feeling of control all day.
Top 7th, 17-14
Brown fouls a hard shot off the inside of his knee that puts him down for an extended period of time. He's trying to walk it off and bat again. Brown hits a grounder to second, but struggles to run it out. The pain is obvious.
Riggio comes to the plate with one out and runners on first and second. A triple here would give Riggio the cycle.
The cycle will have to wait. Viertel goes high and away to strike out Riggio. Two outs.
Ehrhard takes his fifth walk of the game to load the bases for Thompson.
The juxtaposition of Missouri St. coach Keith Guttin snacking on a cookie while Viertel faces the pressure of keeping the Bears in the game makes for an interesting visual.
For what feels like the first time in the game, the Cowboys hit an infield grounder that not only isn't screaming through a gap, but is easily playable. Missouri St. escapes without giving up a run.
Bottom 7th, 17-15
The Bears have only been held scoreless in two innings, but it feels like a tall hill to climb with the way Martin has tamed the Missouri St. hitters. Tenth strikeout for Martin today as he paints the outside corner with a hard fastball against Duff.
Jenkins strikes out swinging, but Nivens rides the wind for a home run to left as Martin nears 100 pitches in relief to cut the lead to two at 17-15.
Martin is now at a dozen strikeouts to end the inning as this one looks like it might come down to the wire. It might be the most dominating pitching performance by a pitcher who has given up three home runs in four innings of work in college baseball history.
Top 8th, 22-15
Viertel gets Oklahoma State to hit a pair of grounders to lead off the inning, but Mendahm leaks a slow bouncer through the middle to put a runner on first with an out for McLean. McLean then nearly decapitates Viertel with a laser that shoots past second to put runners at first and second with one out.
Brown, a Shiloh Christian product, hits a double to get the run back, running the lead back out to three at 18-15 while putting runners at second and third.
A grounder to deep short by Trenkle scores McLean. A review on the throw to first is ruled in the Cowboys' favor. OSU now leads 19-15 with runners on first and second with one out.
Riggio walks to bring in a run, and a wild pitch scores Trenkle to make it 21-15. It's now a 21-3 run by Oklahoma State.
Ehrhart with a fly to left that gets down. Daugherty scores and it's now 22-15 with runners at the corners and only one out. Thompson then gets hit by a pitch to load the bases as we near the 4.5 hour mark.
There is now discussion as to whether Arkansas will get to have on-field batting practice because of how long the game has gone. That could have a big impact in the early innings for the Razorbacks.
Bottom 8th, 22-15
Martin has now crossed the century line on pitches. It will be interesting to see how long Oklahoma State will keep him in to avoid using a pitcher who might could face Arkansas should the Cowboys hold onto the lead.
Cratic comes to the plate for Missouri State with only four outs remaining for the Bears to battle back. Martin strikes him out to finally bring us to the potential final inning.
Top 9th, 29-15
Trenkle looking to add insurance at the plate with runners on first and second following a Brown single. Trenkle takes a pitch off the outside of his right knee to load the bases with no outs.
Dan Merrill gets a strikeout, but Riggio lines a shot deep to left that short-hops the fence to drive in a pair of runs. That puts runners on second and third as Jaxon Crull comes in for the Cowboys as a pinch hitter.
Crull hits a two-run single. Oklahoma State has 26 runs on 24 hits at this point. The run is now 26-3. Thompson follow with a line drive off the top of the wall in right-center to drive in Crull.
Aidan Meola is now in as a pinch hitter for the Cowboys.
Four hours ago, Missouri State was up by 12. Now they trail by 12. That's what happens when you run out of pitchers.
Does there come a point where Oklahoma State tries to to intentionally get out to save at least a little energy for the Arkansas game?
At this point, the two teams have combined for 36 hits, 22 walks, 9 HR, 6 HBP.
Top 9th, 29-15
Back on Sept. 4, Missouri State put a scare in Oklahoma State in football. The Cowboys held on to win, 23-16. These two teams put up more points today before heading into the final at-bat.
Wood gets a single off Martin to extend the inning. Martin gets his 15th strikeout as he passes 120 pitches. He then adds another for No. 16.
The best news for Arkansas is Martin is off the table.
The Razorbacks and Cowboys will take the field at roughly 6:15 p.m.
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