OSU Baseball Evens Series With Tech

Oklahoma State evened its series with 18th-ranked Texas Tech Saturday as the No. 9 Cowboys rode the left arm of Michael Freeman and some timely hitting to an 8-2 win.

Saturday, April 25th 2015, 7:16 pm

By: News 9


Oklahoma State evened its series with 18th-ranked Texas Tech Saturday as the No. 9 Cowboys rode the left arm of Michael Freeman and some timely hitting to an 8-2 win at a sold-out Rip Griffin Park.

Freeman racked up 10 strikeouts, tying a career high, and Dustin Williams collected a career-best four hits as OSU improved to 28-14 overall and 11-6 in Big 12 Conference play.

“Mike (Freeman) continues to compete at a very high level,” said OSU head coach Josh Holliday. “He pitched today in a very offensive environment with windy conditions up high and a nice, fast, spongy turf down low, and he competed awfully well. He gave us exactly what we needed coming off a loss – he stabilized the game and wiggled his way out of a situation or two.

“On offense, we were very, very good in innings five through nine. Our team really competed today and played with a little bit of an edge that is necessary and required to go on the road and beat a quality ballclub like Texas Tech. I was proud of the effort, and our guys didn't back down a bit from the challenge that was in front of them. That's how you draw it up.”

Saturday's win sets up a rubber game Sunday at 2 p.m. as the Cowboys play for their fifth Big 12 series win of the season.

Freeman is a big reason why after the senior southpaw improved to 7-2 on the season. In eight innings of work, he allowed just one unearned run on six hits to go along with his 10 strikeouts and two walks.

The Cowboys gave their lefty an early lead when in the second, Williams delivered a two-out RBI single to put OSU on top, 1-0.

That hit would become a trend as six of the Cowboys' eight RBIs on the day came with two outs, including an RBI single by Hassel in the fifth that gave OSU a 3-0 advantage.

“Up and down the lineup, there were a number of quality at-bats – rarely today did we go up to home plate and not get off an aggressive swing or two,” Holliday said.

Meanwhile, Texas Tech (27-16, 10-7) had no answers at the plate against Freeman, who did not allow a hit over the first 5 1/3 innings.

The Red Raiders finally got something going in the fifth, loading the bases with three singles, but Freeman struck out pinch-hitter William Hairston, his third whiff of the inning, to end the threat.

OSU continued to add to its lead in the middle and late innings. In the sixth, Chappell collected a pair of RBIs on a two-out single up the middle that gave the Cowboys a 5-0 lead. And after the Red Raiders plated their first run in the sixth, Holliday's club responded with a run in the seventh as Chappell picked up another RBI, his career-high third of the game, on a bases loaded walk.

“Jacob is quietly going about his business down there, collecting runs scored, knocking in runs, taking walks, having quality at-bats, and I'm really proud of his effort,” Holliday said.

Up 6-1 in the ninth, OSU tacked on two more runs on RBI singles by Williams and Donnie Walton.

The bottom of the Cowboys' order proved lethal as the six through nine hitters in the lineup combined to go 9-for-15 at the plate. Arakawa had three hits, while Williams led the way with four to go along with a pair of RBIs.

“Dustin Williams is just growing day-by-day, and he learned from the previous game,” Holliday said. “He came out against a really good left-hander, Cameron Smith, and had two or three hits off him and just continued to put good swings on the ball.”

logo

Get The Daily Update!

Be among the first to get breaking news, weather, and general news updates from News 9 delivered right to your inbox!

More Like This

April 25th, 2015

March 22nd, 2024

March 14th, 2024

February 9th, 2024

Top Headlines

March 29th, 2024

March 29th, 2024

March 29th, 2024

March 29th, 2024