Sluder's Walk-Off Bomb Lifts Cowboys Over No. 15 Dallas Baptist

Ryan Sluder's three-run home run with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning lifted No. 9 Oklahoma State to a 10-7 win over 15th-ranked Dallas Baptist Tuesday night at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium.

Sluder was the 10th inning hero both with his glove and at the plate to give the Cowboys a win over the NCAA's top RPI team as OSU improved to 27-13 on the season.

In the top of the 10th, Sluder made a magnificent diving catch in centerfield to rob the Patriots of the go-ahead run before stepping up in the bottom of the inning and blasting an offering from DBU closer Brandon Koch over the wall in left-center field.

“I was just trying to get a run home, and it went over the fence. It's definitely a good feeling and good for our ballclub, too,” Sluder said.

Tuesday's game marked OSU's 11th come-from-behind win of the season, and the Cowboys needed a late rally to get it.

Holliday's club scored in each of the first three innings to take a 6-1 lead as five different Cowboys collected RBIs.

However, the Patriots (29-9) rallied to tie the score in the fifth before taking a 7-6 lead in the seventh on a sacrifice fly by pinch hitter Daniel Sweet.

Still trailing by a run entering their final at bat, the Cowboys faced DBU reliever Chance Adams, who allowed just one hit in 3 1/3 innings while striking out six.

But the Patriots' defense let Adams down.

David Petrino reached on an error to open the ninth, and Kevin Bradley followed by reaching on catcher's interference. Following a sacrifice bunt by Sluder and an intentional walk, OSU had the bases loaded with one out. Up next, DBU committed its third error of the inning when third baseman Nash Knight booted a grounder that allowed the tying run to score.

The Cowboys failed to plate the winning run in the ninth, however, after Koch struck out Gage Green and Donnie Walton to send the game into extras.

In the 10th, Camden Duzenack's one-out single off Koda Glover put the go-ahead run on base for DBU, but Sluder's diving catch on a ball off the bat of Justin Wall and a pop up ended the inning.

The bottom of the 10th saw Tim Arakawa greet Koch with a leadoff single before a one-out single by Jacob Chappell put Cowboys on first and second.

After pinch hitter Mason O'Brien struck out, Sluder stepped up and blasted the first pitch he saw from Koch over the wall for his third homer of the season.

Sluder's shot marked OSU's second walk-off homer of the season, with both coming in extra innings as Corey Hassel also had a three-run job against Texas in the bottom of the 18th on April 3.

“Our kids found a way late to tie that thing and push it into extras and then ultimately Timmy (Arakawa) led us off with a hit, Chappell gets a hit and Ryan Sluder is a hero,” said OSU head coach Josh Holliday. “It's a great win, and I'm really proud of the way the team showed the courage to respond and rally back…

“We had our hands full, our work cut out and again the kids found a way to do it. Awesome job by the players. I really appreciate what they showed tonight. That was a gut check, and there was something left on the other side at the end of it.”

Glover picked up the win with two scoreless innings to improve to 2-2 on the year, while Walton led OSU with three hits.

OSU returns to Big 12 Conference action Friday when the first-place Cowboys open a three-game series in Lubbock against Texas Tech.