STILLWATER, Okla. — Oklahoma State scored five unearned runs in the bottom of the sixth inning — all with two outs — and held on to defeat South Dakota State, 7-6, Tuesday night in the opener of a two-game college baseball series at O’Brate Stadium.
The Cowboys improved to 13-7 overall and ended a three-game losing streak. SDSU’s losing skid reached seven games and fell to 5-15 overall.
The Jackrabbits built a 5-2 lead through five and a half innings, opening the scoring on a solo home run by Luke Luskey to lead off the top of the third.
After Oklahoma State grabbed a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth on run-scoring hits by Colin Brueggemann and Sebastian Norman, SDSU responded with the next four runs. The Jackrabbits scored three times in the fifth as Carter Taylor delivered the tying run with a two-out single to right field and Luke Jones followed with an opposite-field single of his own that brought home both Owen Siegert and Taylor.
The Jackrabbit lead grew to 5-2 in the top of the sixth, when Nic Werk led off with a walk and scored on a base hit by Nolan Grawe.
The fateful bottom of the sixth began after SDSU starter Kaden Rylance retired the first two hitters. Campbell Smithwick reached on an error and Rylance walked the next hitter to bring an end to his night. The Jackrabbit bullpen couldn’t preserve the lead, however, as the next four batters reached by either a walk or hit batter to tie the game and Alex Conover notched the only hit of the frame with a two-run double that gave the Cowboys a 7-5 lead.
Oklahoma State reliever Kai Fyke held the Jackrabbits off the board in the seventh and eighth innings, but SDSU put together a threat in the ninth to draw within a run. Luskey led off the final frame with a double down the third-base line and Owen Siegert worked a walk to put the tying run on base after Luskey moved up a base on a passed ball. Luskey would score on a groundout to make it a one-run game, but Siegert was left stranded at second base when Fyke recorded his fifth strikeout of the game for the final out in earning his first save of the season.
Five Cowboy pitchers combined for a total of 12 strikeouts in the game.
SDSU held a 10-5 advantage in hits, including two each by Luskey, Siegert and Jones. Conover was 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles to lead Oklahoma State.
Rylance finished with a no-decision for the Jackrabbits after striking out five and walking two batters over his 5 2/3 innings of work. Only two of the four runs the freshman from Watertown was charged with were earned, and he surrendered only three hits in his longest outing of the season.
ON DECK
The second and final game of the mid-week series is slated for a 4 p.m. first pitch on Wednesday.
NOTES
- Oklahoma State leads the all-time series, 15-1
- SDSU dropped to 1-6 in one-run games this season
- Luskey’s home run was his second of the season and 24th of his career
- Luskey homered for the first time since Feb. 18 at Incarnate Word
- Nic Werk reached base in all four of his plate appearances — three walks and a single in the second inning
- Dayton Franke was hit by a pitch for the eighth time this season — most among Jackrabbits this season