Oklahoma State set its sights on a sweep in Lubbock for the first time this century.
The Cowboys did just that in an 11-2 win against Texas Tech in the rubber match on Sunday afternoon to extend their winning streak to nine games against the Red Raiders. With the win, OSU is now above .500 in conference play for the first time this season.
“It’s a tremendous weekend for our team,” Cowboys coach Josh Holliday said on the radio postgame. “It’s a tremendous effort by everyone involved. I thought the coaches coached hard and mega-prepared. Not that you’re not always, but I just felt like there was a great rhythm, very in tune with our kids, and to our kids’ credit, their execution was excellent.”
Alex Conover got things started with a leadoff home run to the opposite field in the first inning as the Cowboys (28-16, 11-10 Big 12) took an early 1-0 lead. Conover had just one home run before April 11, but now has six over the past 10 games. Five of his seven home runs this season have gone to the opposite field.
On the weekend, he finished 10-for-15 with a .667 batting average, scoring eight runs with three RBIs and two home runs.
Garrett Shull followed with an opposite-field solo home run to center in the second inning, his second of the series, as OSU doubled its lead to 2-0.
Sebastian Norman added another solo shot in the fourth, sending a deep fly to left field that barely stayed fair as the Cowboys extended their lead to 3-0.
Texas Tech (22-22, 6-15 Big 12) answered in the bottom half. Tracer Lopez began the frame with a single to short, followed by a two-run home run to center field from Logan Hughes to cut OSU’s lead to 3-2.
Colin Brueggemann continued the trend for the Cowboys with a fourth solo home run of the game, this one traveling 435 feet past the center-field wall to extend the lead to 4-2.
OSU loaded the bases in the seventh and added two runs on Aidan Meola’s fielder’s choice, aided by a throwing error from Lopez at second base, as Brock Thompson scored and Conover came home to push the lead to 6-2.
OSU broke the game open with a five-run ninth inning, starting with an RBI single from Kollin Ritchie. The Cowboys added four more runs via three walks and a hit-by-pitch to reach double digits for an 11-2 lead. OSU outscored Texas Tech 36-16 over the weekend.
Meanwhile, on the mound, the Cowboys were hoping to start Mario Pesca, but he was unavailable. Instead, Brennan Phillips got the start and delivered a career-best performance, going 8 1/3 innings — the longest outing by a Cowboy pitcher this season.
Phillips struck out six batters, including three in the fifth inning, while allowing seven hits, two earned runs and one walk to earn his third win of the season.
For Phillips, the performance was another step forward in a season that didn’t start on his terms.
“I think back to how good he pitched at the end of last year. He pitched fantastic,” Holliday said. “… When he was struggling (earlier this season), he did not have the benefit of a full preseason, and he was late to the gate.
“When he came out, he wasn’t quite right, and then he was fighting it, and game success was elusive. But to his credit, he and coach Hawksworth got on the same page and made some adjustments. And, yeah, it’s been awfully helpful.”