Bobcats Earn Marathon Triumph Over #22 OSU

Scheible ties school record with five runs scored.

STILLWATER, Okla. – The Texas State baseball team earned a hard-fought 12-11 upset victory over No. 22 Oklahoma State Saturday afternoon at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium.

The Bobcats improved to 3-4 on the year in a marathon contest that last 4 hours, 6 minutes. The Cowboys dropped to 3-3.

Texas State never trailed in the game but could not quite put away OSU until the very final out was recorded.

TXST initially pushed ahead in the second inning after scoring four runs with two outs, but Oklahoma State cut the lead in half with single tallies in the home halves of the second and third frames.

OSU spotted the Bobcats a five-run lead by allowing three more in the top of the fourth, but the home side brought around five in the fifth inning to tie proceedings at 7-7.

Junior Derek Scheible belted a two-run homer in the sixth, but the Cowboys quickly answered with a pair of runs in the home half of the frame to pull even.

TXST scored once in the seventh, but OSU again responded in the eighth to equalize for the third and final time at 10-10.

Junior Jared Huber drew a full-count walk to lead off the ninth. Fellow junior Mickey Scott, pinch-running for Huber, later scored on a Scheible single to right field that included a throwing error. The error moved Scheible to third, and he scored what would become the game-winning run on a sacrifice fly from junior Dylan Paul.

Oklahoma State got an RBI double and the tying run over to third in the bottom of the ninth, but junior Blake Walden struck out Dustin Williams to end the game.

Walden (2-0) earned the win on the mound after throwing the final 1.2 innings. He allowed one run on two hits. Sophomore Wes Engle took the ball first and left after 4.0 frames. He struck out five, walked four and gave up three runs on two hits. Senior Joe Powell, junior Braden Pearson, sophomore Brandon Lewis and true freshman Zachary Leigh all logged time on the mound between Engle and Walden.

Scheible went 4-for-5 at the plate and tied the school record by scoring five times. He also registered a career-high four runs batted in to go along with a career high in hits.

Paul went 3-for-5 with three RBI and one run scored, and sophomore Jonathan Ortega finished 3-for-6 with an RBI. Sophomore Jacob Almendarez continued his hot streak of late, as he went 2-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored.

Overall, Texas State outhit Oklahoma State 17-11.

Travis Wacker paced the Cowboys with a 3-for-4 effort that included two RBI and one run. Ryan Sluder finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and three runs scored, while Garrett Benge was 2-for-5 with three RBI and one run. Michael Neustifter failed to register a hit but was able to score twice, and Andrew Rosa also touched home twice.

Jonathan Heasley (1-1) suffered the loss for OSU after conceding two runs on one hit in the final inning. Starter Jensen Elliott was pulled after giving up seven runs on 10 hits in 4.0 innings. Reid Morgan, Joe Lienhard and Parker Scott combined to allow three runs on six hits in the middle 4.0 frames.

The two programs will battle for a series victory beginning at 1 p.m. Feb. 26.

Score by Innings                    R  H  E

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Texas State……… 040 302 102 – 12 17  2

Oklahoma State…… 011 052 011 – 11 11  1

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Win – Walden, B. (2-0). Loss – Heasley (1-1). Save – None.