STILLWATER – Oklahoma State clinched a series victory and extended its winning streak with a doubleheader sweep of Utah Tech Saturday at O’Brate Stadium.
The 13th-ranked Cowboys opened with a 10-4 triumph before posting a 9-3 win in the nightcap to improve to 13-3. Utah Tech fell to 5-11.
OSU has now won 10 consecutive games, marking its fourth-longest winning streak of the Josh Holliday head coaching era.
The Pokes collected 27 hits in the two games, with Roc Riggio and Nolan Schubart collecting multiple hits in both contests.
In the opener, Nolan McLean starred at the plate, going 3-for-5 highlighted by a solo home run, double and three RBIs. Jaxson Crull also made noise in the batter’s box, cranking out two hits, including his first-career home run.
Bayden Root picked up the win on the mound in relief of starter Carson Benge, who worked three innings and allowed a run on two hits.
Root improved to 3-1 with 3 1/3 innings of work in which he allowed three runs on three hits and struck out a pair.
Freshman southpaw Michael Benzor was also strong out of the bullpen, tacking on five strikeouts in 1 2/3 shutout innings.
UT took a 1-0 lead in the third inning, charged by a Chase Rodriguez RBI single. But in the bottom of the frame, OSU retaliated with three-consecutive doubles from David Mendham, McLean and Schubart en route to a 3-1 advantage.
The Cowboys added to their lead in the fourth inning on solo home runs from Crull and McLean to go up, 5-1.
OSU surged to a 10-1 margin with a five-run inning in the sixth, stamped by a Tyler Wulfert home run that stayed just inside the right-field line. The two-run shot was Wulfert’s first homer as a Cowboy.
Utah Tech posted a three-run seventh inning but fell short in the final two innings.
In game two, Brian Hendry was masterful on the mound to earn his first-career win as a Cowboy. The right-hander racked up 13 strikeouts over six innings, allowing just two runs on five hits.
Riggio also had a big night as he tied a program record with four doubles. That feat hadn’t been achieved by an OSU player since Lou Lucca did it during the 1991 season.
The Cowboys got on the scoreboard first, taking a 2-0 lead in the third with Mendham and McLean RBIs.
However, the game was knotted 2-2 in the top of the fifth as a Bryker Hurdsman solo home run in the fourth and a Sean Keating RBI evened play out.
In the bottom of the fifth, OSU returned to the high side, 5-2, recording a McLean RBI and a two-RBI single from Colin Brueggemann.
The Pokes added to their RBI collection in the sixth, cashing in runs from Crull, Mendham and Riggio.
Riggio’s second RBI of the night put OSU ahead 9-2 in the seventh before the Trailblazers provided the final run of the game came in the eighth inning.
The two teams conclude the series Sunday at 1 p.m.
