No. 19 Cowboys Top No. 13 Sooners In Thriller

Oklahoma State and Oklahoma each had their clutch hits on Friday evening. The Cowboys just had more of them, as they beat the Sooners 4-3 in Game 1 of the Bedlam Series Friday at ONEOK Field.

All seven runs in the contest were scored on two-out RBIs.

OSU's Jason Hursh threw a complete game, and Gage Green tied a career high with three hits the No. 19 Cowboys opened up the three-game series with an important victory over 13th-ranked OU in front of a standing-room-only crowd of 9,194 in Tulsa.

The Sooners (34-15, 11-8 Big 12) put in all three of their runs off one swing of the bat when second baseman Hector Lorenzana connected on a fastball in the fourth inning. The home run flipped OSU outfielders Zach Fish into the Cowboy bullpen past the right-field fence, scoring Max White and Hunter Haley for OU.

But Oklahoma State didn't budge from there on, never allowing the Sooners to put another runner in scoring position.

Hursh's gem marked his third complete game of the season, and he racked up nine strikeouts, one shy of his career high, while walking just one. He scattered seven hits and improved to 5-4 on the season.

Green, typically OSU's left fielder, made his fourth start at catcher this season in place of an injured Victor Romero. His third hit of the night, a single in the top of the eighth, brought home what proved to be the game's winning run. The three hits mark Green's season high and tied his career high set as a freshman against Texas A&M last season.

OSU drew first blood in the game in the top of the third inning. With one out, Trey Whaley reached on an error by OU's Lorenzana, who dropped a pop up in right field allowing Whaley to reach second. After a strikeout, Saulyer Saxon stepped to the plate and delivered an RBI single as Whaley slid into the plate just ahead of the throw from right fielder Colt Bickerstaff to give the Cowboys a 1-0 lead.

That advantage was short-lived, however, because of Lorenzana's three-run shot for Oklahoma in the fourth.

But the Cowboys quickly answered in their next at bat, continuing the trend of two-out RBIs. Whaley led off the top of the fifth with a walk, and Green followed with a double. OSU's next two hitters would be retired, but Tanner Krietemeier laced a two-RBI single to center field to tie the score.

OSU later threatened to regain the lead in the fifth, but Robbie Rea flied out with the bases loaded to end the inning.

The game remained deadlocked until the eighth. Rea led off that frame with a single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by pinch hitter Aaron Cornell. After Whaley lined out, Green stepped to the plate and fell behind in the count 0-2 before sending a single into left-center field off OU reliever Ethan Carnes to give the Cowboys the 4-3 lead.

Given the one-run lead, Hursh retired the Sooners in order in the eighth, then struck out the first two hitters in the ninth before an error brought the potential winning run to the plate.

But Taylor Alspaugh grounded to shortstop, and the Cowboys got the force out at second to end the game.

The Bedlam Series resumes Saturday at Oklahoma City's Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m.