OKLAHOMA CITY —
A week and a half after Oklahoma State pitcher Kyle Ottoson handcuffed Oklahoma in Stillwater the Sooners got a little revenge, beating the Cowboys 8-4 on Saturday at Oklahoma City’s Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, snapping Oklahoma State season-long nine-game winning streak — the longest streak for the Cowboys in four years.
“It always helps seeing a pitcher for the second time,” Oklahoma right fielder Cody Reine said. “The first time you’re still trying to feel out what he has. You’re not sure what kind of counts he likes to throw and what’s his favorite pitch. Seeing him tonight, it benefits us as hitters.”
Oklahoma (30-18, 10-9 in Big 12) scored four runs on three hits and two walks, chasing Ottoson after just over an inning. The big blow came on Reine’s two-RBI triple to the gap in right center, the Sooners scored three runs in the first inning.
“It was actually pretty similar (to the game in Stillwater), only he didn’t get out of it with just one run in the second inning,” Oklahoma State coach Frank Anderson said. “At that point, I didn’t think I wanted to leave him in there to continue to let that thing spread a little bit. It happens sometimes.”
The Cowboys (27-18, 12-8 in Big 12) had their chances to close the gap, but left two on base in the fifth inning and stranded another runner on third in the sixth against Oklahoma starter Jonathan Gray. Gray (5-4) went a career-high 7 innings, allowing two runs on four hits and three walks. He also struck out seven.
“It’s tough, especially when Gray has all his stuff,” Oklahoma State center fielder Saulyer Saxon said. “He was good. We never thought we we’re out of it, but we just started battling back too late.”
While Gray kept the Cowboy bats quiet, Oklahoma designated hitter Matt Oberste was anything but quiet. Oberste was 4-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs, paving the way for the Sooner offense.
“We knew he was a good player,” Anderson said. “He’s been hurt quite a bit. He had a good night. We hadn’t seen him too much. We saw him last night, but you don’t get much of a scouting report on a guy when (Andrew) Heaney throws to him.”
Leading 5-0 heading into the seventh inning, Oklahoma seemingly put the game out of reach with a three-run seventh. But the Cowboys refused to go down without a fight, scoring four runs in the eighth, including an RBI double by Trey Whaley.
“Even when we’re down, we just have confidence,” Saxon said. “We think we can do it all the time. As the game goes, we get more comfortable and we’re able to grind it out a little bit more.”
With the rubber match on Sunday, both teams know that winning the series will increase the possibility of making the postseason. Still, Anderson told his team to approach it like any other game.
“All the way through in the last two or three weeks, we just basically played the one game, and as soon as you get it over you kind of get it behind us and go on to the next one,” Anderson said. “I don’t think it really has much of a factor going forward. You don’t get any bonus points for number of runs.”
“It’s important, but we’re just going to approach it like any other game,” Oklahoma State left fielder Trey Whaley said. “We look at each game as a season, and that’s kind of been our mindset this whole year... Although it’s Bedlam, we’re not going to go in with all this hype or all this anxiety or anything. It’s just another game.”
