What Went Right for Oklahoma State in Win Over Alabama State in Baseball Regionals

The Oklahoma State Cowboys will play at least one more game at the Tuscaloosa Regional on Sunday.

The Cowboys (38-21) scratched out an 8-7 win over Alabama State on Saturday. The Cowboys led the game by six runs at one point, but the Hornets (34-23) would not go away, especially after chasing Cowboys starter Brennan Phillips from the game. It took a solo home run by Kollin Ritchie in the 11th inning to give the Cowboys the lead. Mario Pesca claimed the win and threw more than 70 pitches in relief. And it was a struggle. But his final strikeout sealed the win.

Colin Brueggemann had a huge day with four hits, including a grand slam.

The Cowboys will play at 2 p.m. on Sunday against the loser of the USC Upstate-Alabama game on Saturday evening.

Here’s what went right for the Cowboys on Saturday.

Brennan Phillips Dealt

Sit down, be humble@brenphillips16 Ks the side in the 1st#GoPokes pic.twitter.com/w8sn9LzYmH
— OSU Cowboy Baseball (@OSUBaseball) May 30, 2026

The Cowboys needed two things from left-hander Brennan Phillips on Saturday — shutout innings and length. He did both against Alabama State.

He didn’t give up a hit until the fifth inning and nearly gave Oklahoma State six complete innings before he gave up a two-out home run to Alabama State’s Niguel Jenkins, an opposite field shot to right field, that ended his outing. He left with 100 pitches.

Phillips fought through an inflated pitch count in the first inning as Hornets hitters tried to make him work the zone. He went 5.2 innings, giving up three hits, two earned runs, two walks and struck out seven.

Ideally, he would have given reliever Kai Fike a clean inning. But Phillips gave the Cowboys just about everything they needed on Saturday as they look ahead to the potential of two games on Sunday.

On the downside, the Cowboys relievers gave up the bulk of Alabama State’s hits and runs late in the game, forcing both Noah Wech and Mario Pesca to work multiple innings and lessening their availability for Sunday. Pesca gutted through a rough outing and in all likelihood is done for the rest of the regional.

Cowboys Cash in with Bases Loaded, But …

Bruegge with the no doubter

Pokes on top#GoPokes pic.twitter.com/8Vs3AWdSeq
— OSU Cowboy Baseball (@OSUBaseball) May 30, 2026

The frustration was palpable after Friday’s loss to USC Upstate. The Cowboys were 0-for-5 in bases loaded situations. That included loading the bases with two outs in the eighth inning and then loading them again with one out in the ninth inning. One hit in either situation would have potentially led to a tie game or even a win for the Cowboys. Instead, they faltered.

So, in the fourth inning, it happened again. Oklahoma State loaded the bases for Colin Brueggemann, one of two current Cowboys with 50 or more career home runs. This time, the Cowboys cashed in.

It was a huge shot, going 462 feet and over the enormous batter’s eye in center field. It was his third grand slam of the season. It also felt like a release for a Cowboys team that stranded 13 runners against USC Upstate on Friday.

However, the Cowboys were still troubled in situational hitting on Saturday. OSU was 1-for-13 with runners on base, 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position and 1-for-3 with the bases loaded. The Cowboys scored the go-ahead run in the 10th inning on a bases-loaded walk. Brueggemann’s slam was a temporary tonic for an offense that has just struggled in Tuscaloosa.

Clutch Ritchie 🚀#GoPokes pic.twitter.com/4RfD4TqANH
— OSU Cowboy Baseball (@OSUBaseball) May 30, 2026

A Clean(er) Game

AO Web Gem@averyortiz_7 flashes the leather to rob an extra-base hit#GoPokes pic.twitter.com/RrZI18CZXq
— OSU Cowboy Baseball (@OSUBaseball) May 30, 2026

Friday’s game was a disaster for the Cowboys. They committed three errors. Their pitchers threw two passed balls and two wild pitches. The lack of execution was jarring for a team that has played some great baseball the last month. That, combined with the inability to come up big in bases-loaded situations, led to the loss to USC Upstate.

Saturday’s contest was much cleaner. Oklahoma State didn’t commit an error. There were several outstanding bang-bang fielding plays, including from Avery Ortiz and Colin Brueggemann. There was just one wild pitch, which was in the sixth inning when Phillips was tiring. There was also a passed ball.

It was not a perfectly executed game. Ortiz nearly came up with a line drive in the seventh and Alex Conover slipped on the wet grass trying to come in on making a catch in left field in the eighth. But it was worlds better than how the Cowboys played on Friday.

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