Oklahoma State baseball avoids Big 12 Tournament elimination, holds off West Virginia
Juaron Watts-Brown looked unfazed as he walked back onto the mound.
The sophomore pitcher found himself in a jam down the stretch of second-seeded OSU’s Big 12 baseball tournament elimination game against third-seeded West Virginia on Thursday.
Watts-Brown only needed one more out to end the game. But after hitting a batter with a wild pitch, he faced a bases-loaded situation.
Watts-Brown rose to the occasion. After battling West Virginia’s Landon Wallace to a 2-2 count, Watts-Brown unleashed a fastball that found the middle of the strike zone. Wallace swung and came up empty, ending the game.
Watts-Brown’s heroics secured OSU’s 3-2 win at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. He finished with seven strikeouts and no runs given up in three innings pitched.
OSU will face the loser of seventh-seeded OU and sixth-seeded Texas Tech in an elimination game at 6:30 p.m. Friday.
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The Cowboys claimed a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.
After loading the bases with one out, the Cowboys struck first when Chase Adkison sent a deep bomb into right field. The ball got caught near the warning track, but that bought enough time for one run to score.
Nolan Schubart then hit a ground ball on the next at-bat, and Roc Riggio used that opportunity to slide into home plate.
But the Mountaineers slowly chipped away at the deficit.
After scoring a run in the second inning, West Virginia tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the sixth inning. Sam White did the honors by delivering an RBI groundout.
OSU’s Nolan McLean stopped the bleeding by recording his fourth strikeout on the next at-bat, but that marked the end of his day. The junior pitcher gave up two runs and four hits in six innings pitched.
Riggio then helped OSU reclaim the lead in the bottom of the eighth inning.
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The Cowboys placed runners on first and second base with one out before Riggio sent a line drive into right field for an RBI single. That proved to be the game-winning run for OSU, which avoided elimination with a 3-2 victory.
Riggio led the way at the plate with one RBI and one run on 1-for-4 hitting. Adkison and Schubart also tallied one RBI apiece while going 1-for-3 and 1-for-4 at the plate, respectively.
Working to lock up the win, OSU coach Josh Holliday used two of his top starting pitchers, with Watts-Brown throwing 57 pitches in his first relief appearance of the year. With Carson Benge having pitched Wednesday, the Cowboys have used all but one of their primary starters, Ben Abram, heading into Friday's elimination game.
Thursday's win was the 400th of Holliday's coaching career.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State baseball beats West Virginia in Big 12 Tournament
