Oklahoma State baseball: Cowboys top Cincinnati, completing Big 12 series sweep

STILLWATER — The start to his season slowed by a minor elbow injury, Oklahoma State catcher Ian Daugherty feels like he’s finally finding his rhythm.

The line-drive home run that one-hopped into the parking lot behind O’Brate Stadium in 25th-ranked OSU’s 10-6 win over Cincinnati on Sunday suggested his feelings are accurate.

Daugherty had one of OSU’s five home runs in the game, which sealed its series sweep of a Big 12 opponent for the first time this year and gave the Cowboys (25-11, 10-5 Big 12) their fifth straight victory overall.

Cincinnati had tied the game at 4 in the top of the sixth inning, before Daugherty came to the plate in the bottom half. The junior from Kingfisher put the Pokes ahead for good with the two-run homer, his third of the year. Zach Ehrhard added a solo home run in the inning as the Cowboys pulled ahead and put the game in the hands of their reliable bullpen.

“I’ve been working on keeping a shorter swing,” Daugherty said. “(Coaches Rob Walton and Josh Holliday) helped me yesterday morning before the game, just a one-on-one session tightening the swing up. Props to them for helping me get the swing better.”

Here are three takeaways from the victory.

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Tommy Molsky stops threat

OSU reliever Tommy Molsky entered the game in the top of the third inning with no outs and runners on second and third, then he immediately hit the first batter he faced to load the bases.

It looked like Cincinnati was in position to add to its 3-2 lead, but Molsky zeroed in on the zone from there, striking out the next three batters to get out of the jam.

He was strong the rest of the way as well, striking out seven of the 14 batters he faced, allowing only a solo home run over 3 ⅔ innings.

“I felt really good in the bullpen, and when I went out there, I just didn’t release that first pitch,” Molsky said. “Really yanked it, and in my head, I was like ‘You gotta be kidding me.’

“But I was confident in myself, felt good and knew I could handle it. Pressure makes diamonds, like they say. I tried to stick to positive thoughts and keep attacking guys and give our guys a chance.”

For the season, Molsky has 41 strikeouts in 26 innings. Though he didn’t earn the win, because he left with the game tied at 4, his middle-inning work was the life preserver OSU needed after Cincinnati scored three quick runs off starter Gabe Davis.

“The story of the game was Tommy pitching out of trouble when he came in in the third,” Holliday said. “He gave us a chance to turn things around and we did.”

Behind Molsky, five relievers combined to allow two runs over 3 ⅓ innings, with Carson Benge coming in from right field to finish off the game. Benge struck out two and retired the side in order in the ninth.

In all, OSU pitchers struck out 13 batters and walked one with left-hander Drew Blake (3-0) earning the victory.

“We’re very confident in ourselves,” Molsky said of the Cowboy bullpen. “It goes back to picking each other up. If it’s a bad day, it’s a bad day, but we’re brothers down there and we always got each other’s back.

“If it is that bad day and you can’t figure it out, it’s fine. The next guy’s got us.”

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Aidan Meola, Colin Brueggemann go back-to-back

After having their first four batters retired in order, the Cowboys came alive in the middle of the order.

Aidan Meola got it started in the second inning with his fifth home run of the year, going opposite field and just squeaking a fly ball over the glove of the leaping Cincinnati right fielder Landyn Vidourek at the wall.

But Vidourek had no shot at the next one. The following batter, Colin Brueggemann, shot a line drive into the Cincinnati bullpen in right field to tie the score at 2.

The homer was Brueggemann’s team-leading ninth of the year.

Meola came through with two more run-scoring hits, finishing the day 3 for 4 with a walk and four RBIs. He had an RBI double in the seventh inning and a two-run single in the eighth — which came after Cincinnati intentionally walked Nolan Schubart ahead of him.

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Ritchie, Daugherty come up big

OSU coach Josh Holliday has tried a few different players in the leadoff position, primarily relying on outfielders Jaxson Crull and Zach Ehrhard.

But the coach switched it up again, giving true freshman Kollin Ritchie a shot on Sunday.

While it wasn’t necessarily traditional leadoff work, Ritchie had a huge at-bat in the fifth inning.

He hit his fifth home run of the year to tie the game at 3 before Schubart briefly put the Cowboys on top with an RBI single.

The Atoka product finished 2 for 5 with two runs scored, while Ehrhard went 3 for 4 and scored three times.

The Cowboys are back in action Tuesday against visiting Dallas Baptist, set for a 6 p.m. start at O’Brate Stadium.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State baseball tops Cincinnati for Big 12 series sweep