The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Oklahoma State
No. 1 Baseball powers past Oklahoma State, 12-8
04.23.2005 | Baseball
STILLWATER, Okla. -- A four-run ninth inning that included three home runs lifted No. 1 Texas (35-6, 11-5 Big 12) to a 12-8 victory over Oklahoma State (28-16, 8-9 Big 12) in front of a crowd of 2,380 fans at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium on Saturday, April 23. Notably, the win not only extended the Horns' win streak to eight games, but also gave UT its first series victory in Stillwater since 2001.
UT broke on top 1-0 in the top of the first when Nick Peoples (Round Rock, Texas) drew a leadoff walk, stole second, moved to third on a throwing error and scored on a RBI-base hit from Seth Johnston (Boerne, Texas). While OSU starter Blake Kronkosky then worked out of a one-out bases loaded jam with a double-play grounder to end the top half of the inning, the Cowboys quickly tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the frame when a hitter batter and an infield hit combined with an error to plate a one-out score. In the second, Texas reclaimed the lead at 2-1 when first baseman Chance Wheeless (Round Rock, Texas), who reached on an infield hit to start the inning, scored from third on a two-out groundball that was mishandled for an error.
Following a scoreless third, the Longhorns took advantage of a third OSU miscue in the fourth when Peoples singled in a pair of runs to give UT a 4-1 lead after Wheeless had walked and an error followed by a stolen base put runners on second and third with two down prior to Peoples' at bat. Oklahoma State then loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the frame on a hit batter, an infield single and a walk, but Texas starter Randy Boone (Yoakum, Texas) induced a ground ball to third that David Maroul (Benbrook, Texas) turned into an inning-ending double play. An inning later in the fifth, the Cowboys used two walks followed by a one-out, RBI-single from first baseman Adam Carr to make it a 4-2 ballgame before loading the bases with an infield single from pinch-hitter Keanon Simon. From there, OSU came up with back-to-back singles from Ryal and Steve Ptak to knot the game at 4-4 before two-out base hits off the bats of Chris Gutierrez and Justin Colbert drove in three runs and put the Cowboys on top 7-4.
Answering right back in the top of the sixth, the Longhorns sent nine of their own men to the plate as consecutive singles to open the frame combined with a wild pitch, an RBI-single from Johnston, a base hit delivered by Carson Kainer (Tomball, Texas), a Will Crouch (Austin, Texas) sacrifice fly and a passed ball to bring in four runs and give the Horns an 8-7 lead. The Cowboys then tied the game at 8-8 in the bottom of the sixth with an unearned run that scored via an error and a RBI-single from Ryal. From there, the game remained deadlocked until the top of the ninth when Maroul led off the inning with a solo home run to stake the Horns to a 9-8 lead. Not done in the frame, Drew Stubbs (Atlanta, Texas), after a walk to Peoples, and Johnston then connected on back-to-back round-trippers to establish a 12-8 UT advantage.
Down to their final two outs after a flyout in the bottom of the inning, the Cowboys managed to load the bases on three straight singles. Now with the tying run at the plate, right fielder Corey Brown lined a 2-1 pitch down the first-base line that was snared by Wheeless, who then stepped on the bag to end the inning and cap off the 12-8 win. While J. Brent Cox (Bay City, Texas) earned the win in relief while extending his scoreless innings streak to 16.1 frames by tossing two scoreless innings, reliever Scott Richmond incurred the loss for Oklahoma State.
Headlining Texas' 15-hit attack were Peoples, who went 3-for-4 with career-highs for both runs scored (3) and RBI (2), Stubbs, who extended his current hit streak to eight games with a 2-for-4 day, Johnston, who tallied three hits while scoring two runs and driving in three more, and Taylor Teagarden (Carrollton, Texas), who posted a pair of hits on the afternoon. On the other side of the ledger, the Cowboys had their offense led by Colbert, who went 3-for-4 with one run scored and one RBI, and the trio of Ryal, Ptak and Gutierrez, who each registered two hits while combining for two runs scored and five RBI. Of additional note for UT, the consecutive home runs hit by Stubbs and Johnston in the ninth marked the first back-to-back home runs for the Horns since Teagarden and Curtis Thigpen turned the trick against Florida State on June 9, 2003.
The Longhorns and Cowboys conclude this series at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium on Sunday, April 24 with a game slated for 12 p.m. Central. Of note, while the series finale will be broadcast on 1300 AM "The Zone" in Austin, it will also be televised by ESPN2.
