STILLWATER – Caeden Trenkle’s single with the bases loaded in the ninth inning lifted 11th-ranked Oklahoma State to a 5-4 non-conference win over Oklahoma in the first-ever Bedlam Series game at O’Brate Stadium.
The win was the 300th of OSU head coach Josh Holliday’s career, and he is now 24-7 against the Sooners in nine seasons at the helm of his alma mater’s program.
Trenkle’s walk-off hit gave the Cowboys their fourth-straight win as they improved to 16-6-1 on the season, including an 11-3-1 mark at home.
OSU used seven pitchers in the contest, with that group combining for 13 strikeouts, and the Sooners left 16 runners stranded on the base paths.
Brett Standlee needed just one pitch in the ninth inning to record his only out and earn the win as he improved to 3-0 on the season.
Offensively, Max Hewitt had two of OSU’s six hits and collected three RBIs, while Christian Encarnacion-Strand also had an RBI in the win.
The Cowboys jumped out to a lead in their first at bat as Hewitt’s two-out, two-RBI double down the right-field line put the home team up 2-0 after one inning of play.
OU (13-11) trimmed its deficit in half in the second with an unearned run off OSU starter Mitchell Stone, then took a 3-2 lead in the fourth with two more unearned runs.
Stone worked three innings, the longest outing by a Cowboy on the night, and struck out four while allowing just one run on three hits.
In the fifth, the Sooners extended their lead to 4-2 on a sacrifice fly by Brandon Zaragoza, but OSU would answer to tie the score in the bottom of the inning.
After loading the bases on two walks and a hit by pitch, Encarnacion-Strand picked up an RBI when he was plunked with a pitch. Up next, Hewitt singled to left field to plate the tying run.
The game remained tied until the ninth.
In the top of the inning, the Sooners put runners on first and second with two outs before Standlee came out of the bullpen and got Jimmy Crooks to fly out to end the threat.
That set the stage for Trenkle’s dramatics.
Justin Campbell led off the bottom of the ninth with a pinch-hit single, and Jaxson Crull then pinch hit and bunted for a base hit. Up next, Hueston Morrill laid down a bunt that Crooks fielded and fired to third, but pinch runner Dylan Gardner slid in safely to load the bases.
Trenkle then strode to the plate and delivered a single through a drawn in OU infield to set off the Cowboys’ celebration.
OSU returns to action Thursday when they open a Big 12 Conference series against West Virginia at O’Brate Stadium. The opener and Friday games are scheduled for 6 p.m. starts, while Saturday’s finale is set for a 1 p.m. first pitch.
