Cowboys Drop a Second Game in Frisco Losing to Illinois 4-2

Oklahoma State played a much better game. The game was good and well contested, but Illinois played a little bit better, hit better, pitched better and had a heckuva defensive first baseman.

FRISCO, Texas – Oklahoma State came south this weekend to Frisco for the Frisco College Baseball Classic and while the temperature was warmer, the Cowboys bats and offense got chilled like some of the frosty ice cream offerings around the concourse of the Dr. Pepper Ballpark. The offense was pretty frigid on Friday and a lot of that had to do with UCLA pitching. The opportunities were there more on Saturday against the Fighting Illini of Illinois, who used their best arm on Friday night to shut out previously unbeaten Texas A&M 1-0 on Friday evening.

The Cowboys put up their final threat in the bottom of the ninth trailing 4-1 as Carson McCusker led the inning off with a missile to center field that Taylor Jackson handled for out number one. Brock Mathis, who had pinch hit and come on in the seventh doubled off the electronic scoreboard in the wall in deep left field and then when Cade Cabbiness singled sharply up the middle, Mathis put on the brakes at third. He scored when Illinois pitcher Cole Kirschsieper addressed the rubber without the baseball, which is now a balk. Mathis scored to make it 4-2 and Cabbiness moved down to second. Garrett Acton came on to try and close it for the Illini. He struck out pinch hitter Caeden Trenkle on a full count swinging strike. Hueston Morrill came up next and flew out to center and Jackson. Illinois won it 4-2 and went to 5-3 on the season, while the Cowboys lost their second in a row after coming to Texas with a six-game win streak. Oklahoma State is now 7-4.

“We had a couple of chances to flip the board, but that’s baseball,” Cowboys head coach Josh Holliday said in postgame. “They played a cleaner game than we did today.”

Trailing 2-1 the Cowboys had a great opportunity and rally in the sixth inning. Right fielder Cade Cabbiness drew a leadoff walk and was sacrificed down to second by Noah Sifrit. Hueston Morrill drove a groundball into the hole at short and the throw to third was on time, but third baseman Cam McDonald was slow with the tag and Cabbiness was safe at third. Illinois head coach Hartleb called for a video review and the call was upheld. Morrill was thrown out stealing, but Kaden Polcovich replaced him at first after Illini reliever Cole Kirschsieper hit him with a pitch. Two outs, runners at the corners and third baseman Jake Thompson hit a screamer down the first base line. If it gets by it’s a two-run triple, but Illinois first baseman Kellen Sarver made a diving “web gem” of a grab to end the Cowboys threat.

“That was a nice play and we did hit some balls hard,” added Holliday. “There is no doubt that we hit seven or eight balls that were clean that were outs. It doesn’t do a whole lot of good to dwell on that in the grand scheme of things. The bottom line is Illinois played a good game, played clean on defense and they really didn’t give us anything free. Their pitchers did a really good job of throwing strikes. They put us in play, changed speeds a lot and when we made a mistake they jumped on it and took advantage. I don’t like to lose.”

“He made another play later too, and I’m going to hold you that making sure it is on Sports Center,” Illinois head coach Dan Hartleb said kidding me about promising it was a web gem. It is too early for Baseball Tonight on ESPN. “You know he learned the position last year and he has just become better and better and he is capable of making those sensational defensive plays.”

Worse yet, the next two frames Illinois got insurance runs off Oklahoma State reliever Brett Standlee. In the sixth, designated hitter Alex Steinbach singled, and after moving to second on a sacrifice bunt, scored on a single to left field by catcher Jacob Campbell to make the score 3-1. In the seventh, Illini shortstop Brandon Comia, who had factored big early with a solo home run to give Illinois the lead, got on by error when Thompson threw in the dirt to first base and it got past Alix Garcia. Sarver was the next hitter and he doubled to left field bringing Comia to make it 4-1.

The Cowboys started out like they were going to have a whale of an offensive afternoon. The wind was blowing well and straight out to center at the start and shortstop Hueston Morrill, hitting .219 after a sharp single in the 8-1 loss to UCLA on Friday, drove a 2-1 offering from Illinois starter Ty Rybarczyk over the little Whataburger banner just to the left of the big green batter’s eye for a solo home run and a 1-0 Oklahoma State lead.

“That was a great way to open it and if you had told me it would take a hidden ball trick balk in the ninth inning for us to score again, I’d be surprised,” Holliday said. “He opened the game with a homer and hit the ball hard.”

After a ground out to second, the Cowboys Thompson was hit by a pitch, another ground out, and then catcher Max Hewitt, who is sizzling with the bat singled, but McCusker flied out to right field to end the inning.

Illinois tied it up in the top of the second as designated hitter Alex Steinbach flew the ball over McCusker and centerfielder Noah Sifrit to the alley and legged out the double. After a ground out to shortstop, Illini catcher Jacob Campbell took a 2-0 delivery from Cowboys starter Justin Campbell, no relation and that drove in Steinbach with the tying run. Illinois didn’t leave the game knotted for long.

Top of the third and the wind had changed, one of several changes on the afternoon in a swirling Dr. Pepper Ballpark that is surrounded by apartment buildings in right and left field and a 17-story Embassy Suites Hotel in centerfield. This was when Comia, coming in hitting .381 as Illinois best hitter best hit his home run just under the big scoreboard in left field. He had tripled and was stranded in the first inning, but here he punched the ball way out in left field for the 2-1 Illinois lead.

Oklahoma State, now 0-2 for Frisco, will look to rebound on the final day against former Big 12 rival Texas A&M. The Cowboys will likely send freshman Bryce Osmond (0-1, 7.50 ERA) to the bump and the Aggies will counter with junior lefty Chandler Jozwiak (1-0, 4.82 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. at the Dr. Pepper Ballpark following the 11 a.m. game between Illinois and UCLA.