Cowboys Turn the Corner — OSU Grabs 2-0 Series Lead With Wild Win at Texas Tech

LUBBOCK, Texas — Matt Quintanar slid past third base and into the legs of Oklahoma State third baseman Aidan Meola on a force play, sparking a familiar spectacle for OSU fans at Rip Griffin Park.

Bottom of the ninth, one out, with Quintanar — Texas Tech's catcher — representing the tying run from scoring position. OSU nursed a one-run lead that had been three just an inning earlier. A vintage ending, under the West Texas sun, between two teams that rarely disappoint in the finale.

Tensions built. And shortly after, emotions flared.

Meola and Quintanar exchanged words before OSU southpaw Hudson Barrett ran to Meola's defense. Barrett got in Quintanar's face and had plenty to say.

"I calmly told him, please don't do that," Barrett said. "But he did it and paid the consequences."

Whether Barrett's account was entirely accurate is open to debate. The final outcome, however, is not.

Moments later, the third-base umpire deemed Quintanar's slide dirty. Quintanar was ruled out on the force play, and Red Raiders center fielder Kyeler Thomson was ruled out at first on runner's interference.

Ballgame.

OSU's 9-8 win at Texas Tech on Saturday clinched a pivotal road victory for the Cowboys' postseason hopes and exorcised a persistent road demon in Big 12 play. It marked OSU's first road series win against a conference opponent this season and its first at Rip Griffin Park since 2017 — the Cowboys were 2-7 in such contests before this weekend. And perhaps most importantly, the victory further underscored a two-week stretch suggesting OSU is getting hot at a critical juncture in its 2026 campaign.

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"That was very much an old-fashioned Oklahoma State-Texas Tech game," Cowboys head coach Josh Holliday said. "I feel like I've been in this environment, in this setting, no less than 10 times over the years.

"But we found a way to win, and I think with us doing that, it shows that we're playing good baseball right now."

Rewind to the seventh inning. Trailing 6-3, left fielder Alex Conover sparked a rally with a one-out, opposite-field solo homer to trim the deficit to two runs.

"That got us going again — (it was) kind of a, 'Hey, come on, you can do it,'" Holliday said. "It's obviously a big difference being down two runs late instead of three. That was a big swing, for sure."

Then came the avalanche.

Kollin Ritchie followed with a two-out triple off the batter's eye in center field, and Aidan Meola drew a four-pitch walk. Then came a game-tying two-RBI double from catcher Campbell Smithwick, followed by a go-ahead double from first baseman Colin Brueggemann to make it 7-6 OSU. All of it came with two outs.

One inning later, Ritchie launched a two-run, opposite-field home run — his 22nd of the season — to provide what proved to be two critical insurance runs.

That set up the ninth-inning spectacle.

What followed felt inevitable given everything that had unfolded over the previous eight innings. With OSU clawing back from multiple deficits and Tech refusing to fold on home turf, a chaotic finish seemed foreordained. All the late-inning drama, the tension building and the back-and-forth scoring ultimately funneled into one decisive moment — a play at third base that determined the lasting tone of an already volatile contest and a classic between the Cowboys and Red Raiders.

"It's huge — winning like we have been, it's huge," Barrett said. "We're just playing the game of baseball really well. And I think most importantly, we're playing it how we should. Obviously there's some things we need to clean up on the pitching side, but the offense has been playing really well and has been picking us up. Punching back when they punch us, and I feel like that's a huge thing.

"The Cowboys are starting to turn the corner. Don't let us get hot."

Two-out hitting pays dividends

All of OSU's nine runs came with two outs.

The Red Raiders (22-21, 6-14 Big 12) drew first blood with a two-out, two-RBI double from Tracer Lopez in the bottom of the second. But the Cowboys (27-16, 10-10 Big 12) responded the following inning.

A two-out, two-RBI double from shortstop Brock Thompson was followed by an RBI single from center fielder Kollin Ritchie — 3-for-5 with three RBI — giving OSU a 3-2 lead in the top of the third.

The two teams traded blows over the following innings before Tech plated four runs in the fifth and sixth to take a 6-3 lead. Three hits, two walks and four runs followed in the top of the seventh, all with two outs. One inning later came Ritchie's two-run homer.

"We did a good job of carrying momentum into Saturday — building a lot of momentum yesterday and playing off of it today," Smithwick said. "Outs are irrelevant, though, when you're playing pitch to pitch, and when you're playing pitch to pitch, good things are going to happen."

OSU hit 5-for-13 with two outs (.385) and 6-for-11 (.545) with runners in scoring position. On the weekend, the Cowboys were 11-for-24 (.458) with two outs and 14-for-26 (.538) with runners in scoring position.

Situational hitting has been the crux of OSU's success this weekend — a stark contrast to struggles during the early weeks of the season. Holliday said it reflects a team playing its best baseball in recent weeks.

"I think it's as simple as handling the right pitch," Holliday said. "...Staying on the right pitch more often. Staying off the wrong pitch more often. Those two things combined give us a better chance to get a better swing off on a pitch that we can actually hit.

"I think that the kids are very well prepared right now. I think they've learned a lot over the course of the season and have made some adjustments to get to this point. So, yeah — there's been a lot of good things on our end as of late."

Wech, Barrett slam the door over latter frames

The past month has been taxing for Holliday and first-year pitching coach Blake Hawksworth.

No ace. No proven closer.

So the Cowboys were tasked with adapting — throwing inexperienced arms and hoping they could grow on the fly and manage the moment. In most instances, it plagued them late in games, as the struggles with closing out contests were on full display.

Now, those worries can be put to rest.

Noah Wech returned in the bottom of the seventh, retiring his first three batters on a steady mixture of four-seam fastballs and sliders. A leadoff double and a walk chased him one inning later, but overall he flashed good stuff and demonstrated why he remains a vital element of OSU's pitching staff.

Enter Barrett.

Barrett had worked the eighth inning of OSU's April 19 series finale against Kansas and looked sharp despite an eventual loss. Holliday noted after that game that Barrett would likely be used in small doses over the coming weeks, primarily as a closer or high-leverage arm late in games.

That plan carried over to Saturday.

The differences between starting and closing?

"Just trying to make a quality pitch," Barrett said. "Trying not to score. Just playing the game of baseball — it's as simple as that. On the mental side, just trying to go for every pitch and not let the moment get to me."

The Red Raiders greeted Barrett with consecutive one-out singles to trim OSU's lead to one run, but he didn't falter. Barrett retired the next two batters on weak flyouts, leaving the bases loaded and limiting the damage. He endured traffic one inning later but kept his composure and earned his first save as the Cowboys' closer.

For weeks, those late-inning scenarios featured a revolving door of arms and surrendered leads that underscored the uncertainty surrounding OSU's bullpen. But on Saturday, instead of searching for answers, the Cowboys turned to a familiar arm in a new role, and it paid dividends.

"I think you see how hard it is to close games, because you're gonna come in and inherit some tough situations," Holliday said. "Which Hudson did. But he solved the eighth (inning). And then ninth innings are tough. (Texas Tech) got the first guy on, but he's a very poised individual.

"It's about learning a new skill for him. He's been conditioned to start things and kind of pace himself. When you close or come in with runners on base like he did, you have to be (in) mid-game form immediately. It's a different kind of emotional feeling for a pitcher. So, in the end, it's making him more versatile."

OSU's 9-8 win at Texas Tech on Saturday gave the Cowboys a commanding 2-0 series lead and furthered their postseason hopes with a strong showing on the road in Big 12 play.