STILLWATER – Oklahoma State used a pair of four-run innings to open the NCAA Stillwater Regional with a 10-5 win over Missouri State Friday night in the Cowboys’ first-ever postseason game at O’Brate Stadium.
With the win, the top-seeded Cowboys, who are also the No. 7 national seed, improved to 40-20 and will face second-seeded Arkansas in a winner’s bracket game Saturday at 6 p.m.
Six Pokes collected multiple hits in the win over MSU. Jake Thompson went 3-for-4 with a pair of RBIs, while Nolan McLean was 2-for-4 and homered twice. Griffin Doersching also had two hits and two RBIs in four trips to the plate.
Victor Mederos picked up the win on the mound as he worked six innings and improved to 4-4. The right-hander struck out six and allowed four runs on six hits.
OSU jumped on top of the Bears early on McLean’s team-leading 15th home run of the season, an opposite-field shot to right field in the second inning.
The Cowboys doubled their lead in the third on another solo bomb, this one off the bat of Roc Riggio. The freshman’s eighth round tripper of the season made the score 2-0.
The home team put up a big rally in the fourth, jump started by McLean’s no-doubt shot over the left-center field wall to lead off the inning.
OSU added three more runs in the frame, getting an RBI double from Ian Daugherty and run-scoring singles from Caeden Trenkle and Thompson to make the score 6-0.
The Bears finally got to Mederos in the sixth. Mason Greer delivered a two-out, two-run home run to right field to cut their deficit to 6-2, and following a single, another two-run shot, this one by Dakota Kotowksi, made it a two-run game.
In the bottom of the inning, OSU would get the four runs back. After back-to-back singles and a walk loaded the bases with one out, Thompson delivered an RBI single, and an error on the play brought home another run. Up next, Doersching drove in a pair of runs with a double to make the score 10-4.
MSU (30-28) plated its final run in the seventh against Roman Phansalkar before Kale Davis came out of the OSU bullpen and worked two shutout innings, striking out two and allowing just one hit, to seal the win.
