The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Oklahoma State
No. 16 Baseball holds on for 7-5 victory over Oklahoma State
03.25.2006 | Baseball
AUSTIN, Texas -- With the Cowboys rallying in the bottom of the ninth and loading the bases with two down, freshman reliever Austin Wood recorded the final two outs of the ballgame to help No. 16 Texas hold on for a 7-5 win over Oklahoma State in front of a crowd of 5,659 fans at Disch-Falk Field on Saturday, March 25.
The Longhorns' (18-10, 3-1 Big 12) two-run victory over the Cowboys (15-6, 0-2 Big 12) gave the club nine wins in its last 11 games, including three in a row, and secured a series victory over OSU after UT won the opener (10-5) on March 24.
A two-run home run off the bat of catcher Adam Carr with one out in the top of the second inning established an early 2-0 lead for the Cowboys. After UT's offense had been denied in its first two at bats despite putting one runner on in each frame, the Horns broke through in the third as Kyle Russell (Tomball, Texas) walked, moved to second on a sacrifice and scored on a two-out triple from Drew Stubbs (Atlanta, Texas) to make it a 2-1 contest. Back-to-back walks then loaded the bases for the Horns, but OSU starter Charles Benoit induced a flyout to end the threat.
After Texas starter Adrian Alaniz (Sinton, Texas) averted a Cowboys' scoring chance in the top of the fourth with runners on the corners with one out by registering consecutive strikeouts, UT managed to load the bases for the second straight inning in the bottom half of the frame on a single, an error and a walk. Wheeless (Round Rock, Texas) then delivered a single through the right side to bring in two runs before two walks plated another score to push the Longhorns on top by a score of 4-2. Following a scoreless fifth for both sides, the Cowboys loaded the bases in the top of the sixth with two outs on a Ty Wright single and two walks, but a looping fly to center off the bat of Justin Colbert was snagged by a sprinting Stubbs to end the inning.
In the bottom of the seventh, Texas loaded the bases for the third time in the ballgame, this time via an infield hit, a sacrifice, an intentional walk and a hit batter. Following a strikeout, Nick Peoples (Round Rock, Texas) and Wheeless came up with back-to-back, two-out hits to drive in two and one run, respectively, and up the UT advantage to 7-2. Now trailing by five, OSU continued to fight back by placing two runners on with one out in the eighth. Run-scoring base hits from John Schindler and Colbert then brought in a pair of runs to make it a 7-4 ballgame. A strikeout followed by a hit batter loaded the bases for Oklahoma State to put the tying run on base, but UT reliever Joey Parigi (Monterey, Calif.) got his next batter to pop-out to second base and keep Texas in front. Oklahoma State reliever Joe Kent would then manage to work out of a two-out jam in the bottom of the eighth to bring his offense back up in the ninth down by three. A one-out single followed by a walk brought the tying run to the plate for the Cowboys before a two-out error made it a 7-5 game and a walk loaded the bases. With OSU looking to complete the comeback, Wood (Kingwood, Texas) induced his third batter of the inning to hit a fielder's choice grounder to third and end the game. While Alaniz, who allowed two runs on five hits and struck out five over six innings, earned his fourth win of the year and Wood notched his second career save by recording two outs in the ninth, Benoit shouldered the loss for Oklahoma State.
Paving the way for the Horns' seven-hit attack on the afternoon were Wheeless, who collected two hits to extend his current hit streak to seven games while driving in three runs, Bradley Suttle (Boerne, Texas), who went 2-for-3 with one run scored and one RBI, and Danks, who singled and scored twice. The Cowboys, meanwhile, had their offense led by Carr, who went 1-for-2 with two runs scored and a pair of RBI, Keanon Simon, who posted three hits, and Wright, who scored once during a 2-for-3 outing.
The Horns and Cowboys wrap up this three-game series with a 1 p.m. Central finale at Disch-Falk Field on Sunday, March 26. To purchase tickets, call by phone (1-800-982-BEVO).
