After father's health scare, Drew Blake relishes opportunity with Oklahoma State baseball

STILLWATER — Year after year when he was young, Drew Blake would tag along with his father, heading down the road to Allie P. Reynolds Stadium to watch Oklahoma State baseball games.

“I grew up about 10, 15 minutes away from the stadium, so I got to go watch a bunch of the games,” Blake said.

These days, it’s a new stadium and a new view for Blake, a redshirt freshman relief pitcher for the 11th-seeded Cowboys, who will host the Stillwater Regional on the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

Action begins at noon Friday when Washington faces Dallas Baptist at O’Brate Stadium, followed by OSU and Oral Roberts at 6 p.m.

Blake’s parents, Randy and Jennifer — both Stillwater natives and OSU graduates — will settle into their seats behind the third base dugout to watch their son on the biggest baseball stage of his life to this point.

“It’s awesome, but it’s also pretty stressful,” Randy said. “You want your kid to do well and have success, and that’s not always gonna happen when you play baseball, so you gotta learn to deal with some adversity.”

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Yet baseball’s challenges are insignificant compared to the adversity the family faced a couple years ago.

In late October 2020, Randy contracted COVID-19 and quickly began to face serious symptoms. He was hospitalized in Stillwater, but his lungs were failing to oxygenate his blood. Already on a ventilator, Randy needed an ECMO machine, which provides oxygen to the blood outside the body, which wasn’t available in Stillwater.

But COVID was rampant, so machines and available hospital beds were scarce.

“That’s where they thought I was probably gonna die,” Randy said. “Miraculously, a bed opened up and they had ECMO at Tulsa Hillcrest, so I was able to be transported there.”

Randy was on the ECMO for nearly two months, and often, patients don’t recover at that point. But his lungs finally strengthened enough to come off the ECMO, though he still needed a ventilator, and was not expected to survive without a lung transplant.

A Stillwater firefighter for 23 years, Randy was in good physical condition before he got sick. He weighed 185 pounds and was regularly working out with the younger firefighters to stay fit.

But after several weeks in bed, his muscle had deteriorated and he had lost 60 pounds. He had to regain enough strength to walk before he could even qualify for a transplant. Then he had to hope for a donor.

“We had a pretty slim chance of him being selected to go get his lung transplant,” Drew said. “Had to jump through a lot of hoops. There was a lot of uncertainty. Then we got a phone call one day and they said he was cleared to get it, and that pretty much saved his life.”

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But life didn’t immediately get easier when that call came. Randy, accompanied by his wife, had to be transported to Phoenix, where he would receive the double-lung transplant and be treated for several months during his recovery.

It was February 2021, a few months away from Drew’s graduation from Stillwater High School. But with his parents gone and his older sister in college, Drew became the head of the household for he and his sisters, who were in ninth and sixth grades at the time.

“Drew was amazing,” Randy said. “We’ve lived in Stillwater our whole lives, so we have some family there, but our kids said they wanted to try to be on their own while we were gone. So Drew manned up and out of all the things he’s done in his life, I’m most proud of that. He was a senior in high school. He took on all that and owned it and raised his sisters.

“He really grew up a lot in that time and learned how to deal with adversity. I know baseball’s really important to him, but I think he understands now that there are things that are important, but they’re just another part of life. He knows what’s really important and what’s not.”

Not only was Drew taking care of his sisters during that time, he was going through his senior baseball season, preparing for graduation and prom and all the senior-year traditions, while also preparing for his future at OSU.

He wasn’t fully on his own, getting help from grandparents and others in town. But his responsibilities increased immeasurably.

“There was a lot of crazy stuff that went on during that time,” Drew said. “It’s kinda funny to look back and see how it all happened, but we’re just really thankful.”

Having his father in the stands while he lives out his childhood dream makes it even more special.

The Blake family not only has a long-lasting and deep relationship with OSU in general, but specifically with baseball coach Josh Holliday, who first met Randy when they were in fourth grade. They have remained close friends.

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“I was the quarterback, he was the receiver,” Holliday said of their high school days together. “So this is a very personal thing for me.”

Before COVID canceled his junior season at Stillwater, Drew was just beginning to come into his own. Physically, he was developing into the 6-foot-2, 190-pound man he has become, and his fastball was nearing the mid-90s.

Holliday had initially encouraged Drew to walk on at OSU, but when Drew continued to develop, Holliday came through with a scholarship offer, fighting off OU and other suitors who wanted the left-hander.

“It was always the dream to play here,” Drew said. “I think I knew early on this is where I wanted to be.”

Seeing his son on the field, being coached by his childhood best friend, is like a dream for Randy as well.

When Randy coached Drew’s little league team, Holliday helped the team get invited to be part of pregame activities, including taking the field with the OSU players for the national anthem.

“The kids would go out there and stand with the player at the position they played,” Randy said. “Those memories, I know they had an impact on Drew. I’m not saying it’s the sole reason, but it definitely made an impact on him wanting to be a part of Oklahoma State baseball.”

Drew redshirted last year, but found himself in an important role this season, making a couple of starts to go with 25 relief appearances. For the year, he has a 5.60 ERA with 27 strikeouts in 27 ⅓ innings. Opponents are batting just .240 against him, and he’s likely to get the ball in some high-leverage situations at some point in the regional.

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“You gotta learn to deal with some adversity in baseball,” Randy said. “That’s one thing I love about the game. It’s a game of failure and you gotta learn to deal with it. Pick yourself up and keep plugging away.

“But it’s been awesome to watch. Painful at times, but full of joy every time. I’m just excited that Drew is passionate about what he’s doing, he’s in a good spot and he’s having some success. We’re happy for him.”

Stillwater Regional

Friday's games at O'Brate Stadium:

● Washington (34-18) vs. Dallas Baptist (45-14), noon (ESPN+)

● No. 11 Oklahoma State (41-18) vs. Oral Roberts (46-11), 6 p.m. (ESPN+)

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Drew Blake relishes time with OSU baseball after father's health scare