College Baseball: Sooners, Cowboys, Golden Eagles All Pick Up Wins

Cowboys Claim Another Big 12 Series Win

STILLWATER, Okla. — Oklahoma State captured its program-record ninth consecutive Big 12 Conference series win with a 4-1 victory over Kansas State in Sunday's series finale at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium.

Michael Freeman continued his dominance on the mound, taking a no-hitter into the ninth inning and recording his second-straight complete game win, and Donnie Walton drove in three runs for the 12th-ranked Cowboys, who improved to 19-8 overall and 4-2 in Big 12 play.

The Big 12 series win marked the ninth in a row for OSU, the longest streak in program history; the Cowboys won their final seven league series a year ago and have captured their first two this season. OSU won eight-straight Big 12 series over the 2006-07 seasons.

“First and foremost, always for the team to win a series is a big deal,” said OSU head coach Josh Holliday. “Secondly, to watch Mike (Freeman) pitch and to watch the team behind him is really fun, and I'm really proud of Mike. He's in a good groove. He's a confident pitcher who works fast and throws strikes, and we make plays behind him.

“Most importantly, we won a very big ballgame for our team. It was a tough day to play. Both teams were maybe a little flat on the offensive side of the ball… We did just enough on offense at the right times to get the win. It's a very good win for the team.”

Freeman's masterful performance continued a standout season for the senior southpaw, who improved to 5-0 and lowered his ERA to 1.32, as he became the first Cowboy pitcher since All-American Andrew Heaney in 2012 to toss back-to-back complete games.

After hitting K-State's Danny Krause with a pitch to lead off the game, Freeman retired 15-straight Wildcats, 12 of those via ground balls and three by strikeout.

“I was just trying to get ground balls because I've got all those guys behind me that can make incredible plays and did all day,” Freeman said. “I just try and let the defense work and trust them. My fastball is more of a sinker so when it's down in the zone, a ground ball is usually the result.”

Despite not collecting a hit, K-State actually took the game's initial lead in the sixth when Jake Wodtke reached on an error to open the inning, took third on a sacrifice bunt and a groundout and scored on a passed ball to give the Wildcats' a 1-0 advantage.

But OSU answered in the bottom of the frame. Jacob Chappell drew a leadoff walk and after stealing second and taking third on a sacrifice bunt by Tim Arakawa, he scored the tying run on a sacrifice fly by Walton.

The scored remained knotted at 1-1 until the seventh when the Cowboys rallied for three runs on four hits. Corey Hassel got things started with a leadoff single, and Kevin Bradley followed with a single on a perfectly executed hit-and-run to put runners on the corners. Ryan Sluder then continued his hot hitting with an RBI single up the middle to put OSU up, 2-1.

Holliday's ballclub would add a pair of insurance runs when, after back-to-back, two-out walks to Chappell and Arakawa, Walton ripped a two-RBI double down the left field line to push the Cowboys' lead to 4-1.

From there, the only drama would be whether Freeman could toss OSU's first nine-inning no-hitter since 1968 — and he nearly did.

However, after Freeman retired the first hitter in the ninth — on what else, a groundout — Clayton Dalrymple broke up the no-hit bid with a single to left-center field.

“That stinks obviously, but you just turn the page and try and finish the game — there's another batter up,” Freeman said. “There was a little frustration initially — it was a bad pitch, I left it up and it got hit. That's just how it goes.”

K-State would tally its second and final hit with two outs, bringing the tying run to the plate, but Freeman struck out pinch-hitter Keith Browning to secure the win.

“Unbelievable — he's been doing that all year so far,” Walton said of Freeman's peformance. “Coming out here in a game that we needed and doing that, that's Freeman. He's worked so hard. He's probably the hardest working guy on our team, and you can see it right there.”

OSU returns to action Tuesday when the Cowboys travel to Tulsa to take on Oral Roberts at 6:30 p.m.

Sooners Pound Baylor in Finale, 13-3

WACO, Texas – The Oklahoma baseball team came out of the gates strong with an eight-run first inning on the way to a 13-3 win over Baylor in the series finale at Ferrell Field on Sunday afternoon. The Sooners improved to 18-12 overall and 3-3 in the Big 12 with a 21-hit effort. The Bears dropped to 12-15 and 4-5.

Oklahoma totaled eight hits in the first inning; starting with a base hit by junior second baseman Kolbey Carpenter to lead off the game. The Sooners loaded the bases with no outs after a walk to redshirt-senior right fielder Taylor Alspaugh and a bunt-single by junior center fielder Craig Aikin. The first run of the game came in on a base hit to right by junior first baseman Anthony Hermelyn.

Sophomore shortstop Sheldon Neuse and junior third baseman Alex Wise each picked up RBI-singles around another run produced by a fielder's choice. Junior left fielder Hunter Haley broke the game open with a two-run single to push the lead to 6-0. Two more runs scored on a sac-fly by Carpenter and a RBI-single from Alspaugh.

Redshirt-senior right-hander Robert Tasin earned the spot start and went a career-high six innings. He picked up his team- and league-leading fifth win of the season as he improved to 5-1 on the year. He scattered seven hits and allowed two runs, while striking out four and not offering a single walk.

Right-hander Kody Hessemer (1-1) got just one out in the start for Baylor as he was tagged for eight runs on six hits and a walk.

Leading 8-2, Oklahoma added a run in the seventh. Wise led off with a bunt-single and moved into scoring position on an error by the BU pitcher. Sophomore Austin O'Brien provided a pinch-hit single to put runners on the corners and Wise was able to score on a groundball off the bat of junior catcher Chris Shaw.

The Sooners kept hitting into the eighth and pushed across three more runs. Aikin led off with a triple to that one-hopped the wall in right-center and scored on a base hit up the middle by Hermelyn with the infield in. Neuse walked and he and Hermelyn both moved into scoring position on a double-steal. Wise picked up both runners with his third hit of the day to push the lead to 12-2.

After Baylor got a run back in the bottom of the eighth, Oklahoma got one more in the top of the ninth. Alspaugh lined his second hit of the day and went first-to-third on Aikin's fourth knock of the game. Hermelyn then produced his third RBI-single of the game to bring across Alspaugh and push the game to its final score of 13-3.

The Sooners' 21 hits were the second most in a game this season. Eight players recorded multi-hit games. Aikin finished 4-for-6 with two runs scored. Hermelyn went 3-for-6 and Wise was 3-for-5, while each drove in three runs.

Oklahoma is back in action for four home games this week, beginning with Central Arkansas at L. Dale Mitchell Park Tuesday night at 6 p.m.

Notes:

• Sooner starting pitchers have lasted six innings or more in 15 games this season

• Craig Aikin went 4-for-6 for the first four-hit game by an OU player since Taylor Alspaugh against Texas Tech (3/22/15).

• Aikin and Anthony Hermelyn each put together their team-leading 12th multi-hit games of the season.

• Robert Tasin lasted a career-high six innings in the start.

• Hermelyn notched his third multi-RBI game of the season; all of which have been three RBI or more.

• Oklahoma last recorded 20-plus hits against Arkansas-Little Rock (3/3/15) with 24.

• The Sooners have scored 10-or-more runs in a game five times this season.

• Oklahoma is outscoring opponents 29-18 in the first inning and holds an 8-3 record when scoring in the first.

ORU Completes Sweep of Omaha with 14-6 Victory

TULSA, Okla. – The Oral Roberts baseball team blasted 19 hits and earned the series sweep of Omaha Sunday afternoon with a 14-6 victory. The 19 base hits by the Golden Eagles are the most since 2011.

ORU scored at least one run in six different innings, including three runs in the fifth and five in the sixth after Omaha had tied the game 5-5. Audi Afenir led the way for ORU with four hits in his first four at-bats of the game, knocking in four runs giving him eight RBI for the series. Matt Whatley and Matt Brandy each had three hits in the game, with Brandy scoring three times. 10 different batters had at least one base hit in the game, including a pinch hit RBI single by Mason Mantle in his second at-bat of the season.

Kurt Giller earned the victory on the mound, despite giving up five runs on seven hits in five innings of work. Colin Hightower, Jacob McDavid and Cale Tims closed the game out, combining to give up just two hits the rest of the way.

Alex Schultz was one of three Mavericks to have multiple hits in the game and had a two-run home run and three RBI for the game. Alex Mortensen also went deep, the first home run of the season for both players.

Cole Volkers came into the game in relief and took the loss, getting hit with four runs on five hits in 1.1 innings.

Turning Point

After giving up a pair of two-run home runs in the top of the fifth to tie the game, the Golden Eagles answered right back with three runs in the bottom of the inning.

Individual Leaders

Oral Roberts: Afenir led the way with four hits and four RBI, while Brandy scored three times.

Omaha: Schultz, Mortensen and Daniel Jewett each had multi-hit games for the Mavericks.

Inside the Box Score

- Afenir had four RBI in the win, giving him eight in the last two games.

- Despite scoring 14 runs, the second most this season, ORU left a season high 15 runners on base.

- Whatley stole a pair of bases and is now 8-9 in stolen bases on the season, the most on the team.

- Chase Stafford had an infield single to aid a fifth-inning rally and moved his on-base streak to 19 straight games.

- Brandy and Afenir each moved their on-base streaks to 16 games.

Scoring Summary

- ORU continued to have success with two outs, stringing together three straight two-out singles in the first inning to plate the first run of the game. Afenir earned the RBI, sending a single through the left side to score Brandy from second to give ORU a 1-0 lead in the first inning. ORU had seven two-out runs in Saturday's victory.

- With the bases loaded after a walk, Nick Roark drew a second consecutive walk to score Anthony Sequeira and give the Golden Eagles a 2-0 advantage.

- After a leadoff walk to Mortensen, the Mavericks were able to work the runner around and score their first run of the game on a groundout, making it 2-1.

- The Golden Eagles got the run back in the third inning as Dean Wilson came through with another two-out hit, scoring Afenir from second on a single to left field.

- Omaha tied the game 5-5 with a pair of two-run home runs in the top of the fifth inning.

- The tie was short-lived though, as ORU got another two out hit, this one from Sequeira with the bases loaded to score two and make it 7-5.

- Afenir followed suit with an RBI single to centerfield to increase the ORU lead to 8-5 after five innings.

- Another big in the bottom of the sixth gave ORU a 13-5 lead. Roark led the inning off with a single and Wilson drew a walk. Emmanuel Forcier laid down a sacrifice bunt and his speed forced an errant throw to score the first run of the inning.

- A single up the middle by Whatley and a line drive off the pitcher resulted in another run to give ORU the 11-5 advantage.

- Afenir polished off the inning with his fourth hit of the game, knocking in two runs on a single through the left side to make it 13-5.

- Mason Mantle's pinch hit single in the seventh scored Wilson from third, the third straight single to start the inning.

Up Next

ORU stays at home for a midweek battle against Oklahoma State Tuesday. First pitch from J.L. Johnson Stadium is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.