Hudson Barrett pumped his chest emphatically and let out a cry of elation. 

As he delivered the knockout pitch to finalize the bottom of the sixth — a strikeout of Sam Houston State’s Nathan Fink with a wipeout changeup — the Oklahoma State ace said he had a feeling his outing was nearing an end. So, he celebrated accordingly. 

His euphoric roar only intensified as he approached the home dugout, while a herd of teammates greeted him as he neared. Fans present at O’Brate Stadium also provided a warm ovation in return. 

Barrett didn’t just open the weekend for the Cowboys — he dominated it. His career-high 10 strikeouts propelled OSU to a 5-1 win against Sam Houston State on Friday.

Barrett dazzled in front of a 4,825-member home crowd, stealing the spotlight the moment of the game’s first pitch. And his teammates were merely spectators of the spectacle that unfolded. 

“Hudson is probably the best pitcher in the country right now,” Cowboys’ shortstop Brock Thompson said. “He has a ton of confidence. His stuff is — was good. And he believes in himself really well. And yeah — I love playing behind him.”

Barrett retired his first seven batters faced, allowing only two hits and one run — unearned — through six innings of work and 95 total pitches. In a tightly-contested ballgame, where each pitch elevated in consequence and magnitude, Barrett controlled the narrative. Even in the most pivotal at-bats, he never wavered.

An RBI-ground out from left fielder Alex Conover drew first blood for the Cowboys (6-3) in the bottom of the third. Shortly after, Barrett endured his first sample size of peril.

In the top of the fourth, he worked around a lead-off single and a throwing error from OSU first baseman Colin Brueggemann, which put runners on the corners with one out for the Bearkats (4-5), as the Cowboys clung to a 1-0 lead. Still, Barrett remained poised, striking out the ensuing batter before drawing a fly out to end the frame.

As the innings flew by, Barrett and Sam Houston State ace right-hander Ryan Peterson traded blows in a classic pitcher’s duel. For most of the contest, Peterson kept OSU hitters off-balanced, utilizing his three-quarters arm slot and rising four-seam fastball. The Cowboys struck out 11 times and couldn’t establish any momentum offensively over the game’s first half. 

But as Barrett’s innings piled up and his strikeout total increased, OSU’s offense gradually found its footing.

In the bottom of the sixth, freshman Sebastian Norman launched his second home run of the season on a solo blast to left-center field, making it 2-0. One inning later, Brock Thompson delivered the dagger with a three-run bomb to right-center field to make it 5-0.

“Obviously Sebastian and Brock’s home runs gave us some groundwork on offense,” Cowboys' coach Josh Holliday said. “Obviously (Peterson) was a tough guy to crack and runs were hard to come by tonight. So, any way we could get them, we certainly took it.”

By the end of the sixth, Barrett had tallied his 10th strikeout, punctuating a stellar third outing as a Cowboy.

He returned to the mound in the eighth, but was chased after an error and defensive miscue put runners on first and second with no outs. The Bearkats plated a run off a wild pitch before sophomore right-hander Noah Wech entered in relief and slammed the door over the latter two frames. 

As for what Barrett thought of his outing?

"Executing every single pitch," Barrett said. "That's what we talked about every single day in the staff room. I got away with some mistakes there, so (I) definitely need to get better on execution.”

But his Friday outing was merely a footnote of a plan that has been months in the making.

Coming off rehab from Tommy John surgery, Barrett was held out for most of fall camp as Holliday and pitching coach Blake Hawksworth carefully managed his progression after he transferred in from UC Santa Barbara. 

“When I first got here, we really went over a detailed plan and wrote it all out,” Barrett said. “It started from the season, backwards, and we just attacked it every single day.” 

But as that progression unfolded, Holliday said he noticed the arm talent and pitch ability on display. The lightbulb moment? Barrett’s first bullpen session after Christmas break.

"When we saw the bullpens before he left, we knew we had a skilled pitcher and we knew we had an elite competitor," Holliday said. "When he came back from Christmas, he felt good, strong and confident. It's been a process, but definitely a plan was in place."

That plan has paid dividends in the long run.

After consecutive quality outings, Barrett has lowered his ERA to a 1.57 mark. His stuff has been deceiving. His pitch ability, Holliday said, is better than ever. His marquee pitch — a wipeout changeup — has overpowered opposing hitters thus far. 

On a day where two high-caliber arms clashed in a series opener, Barrett bested his counterpart. Just like any marquee ace pitcher should.

“Watching the film, we knew that (Peterson) would be a tough customer, but Hudson was tougher,” Holliday said. “I think he pitched a remarkable game, competed at an elite level and pitched around a few instances where we didn’t play clean catch or handle the ball, either. So, he was in total control of himself. You saw he loves to pitch, and he really established a (mindset of) ‘Hey, if this is gonna be a tight game, I’m gonna put on zeros for us so we can find a way to crack this guy’s code.’

“Hudson was remarkable today and I commend him for his performance.”

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