Cowboys Fall To Miami In NCAA Opener

Oklahoma State lost in its first NCAA Baseball Championship appearance since 2011 as second-seeded Miami (Fla.) knocked off the third-seeded Cowboys, 7-0, Friday in the opening round of the NCAA Louisville Regional at Jim Patterson Stadium.

The loss was the fifth in a row for OSU, marking their longest losing streak of the season, as the Cowboys fell to 39-18. Coach Josh Holliday's club will next face either top-seeded Louisville or fourth-seeded Bowling Green in an elimination game Saturday at 11 a.m. (CST).

Prior to Friday, OSU had only been shut out once this season, that coming in a 2-0 loss at TCU on April 12. It's the ninth time in 218 NCAA Tournament games the Cowboys have failed to score.

Jason Hursh suffered the loss on the mound as the sophomore right-hander allowed five runs, three of them earned, on seven hits in 4.1 innings. He struck out two and walked two and fell to 6-5 on the season.

The Cowboys managed just four hits and left 12 runners stranded on the base paths as Miami sophomore southpaw Chris Diaz struck out a career-high 10 in seven shutout innings to improve to 7-5.

"Obviously we are disappointed in how we played today. That's not the kind of effort that we expected of ourselves, nor was it the kind of effort that will get it done at this stage of the season," Holliday said. "There's not a whole lot to build on other than we have the chance to come back and play again tomorrow.

"We hope to better our effort and our performance and extend our season. I am confident that the kids will go back to the hotel and rest up and come back with better effort, rebound and give ourselves a better chance to stay alive in this tournament."

OSU looked poised to get on the scoreboard early. In the second inning, a single by Randy McCurry and walks to Zach Fish and Victor Romero loaded the bases with one out. But Diaz struck out Aaron Cornell and Gage Green to escape the threat.

In the bottom of the second, Miami (37-23) struck for its first run off Hursh when Garrett Kennedy delivered an opposite-field, solo home run over the wall in left field. Kennedy finished the contest 3-for-4 with three RBIs.

Miami tallied its second run in the fourth, then put the game away with a four-run rally in the fifth. In the big inning, the Hurricanes collected five hits and took advantage of a throwing error by Hursh.

Each of OSU's four hits on the day were singles, with two of those off the bat of McCurry. Over the final five innings, the Cowboys, who drew seven walks in the game, left multiple runners on base three times – in the fifth, sixth and eighth frames.