Lund’s 14-K masterpiece leads OSU to 20-0 rout of Sam Houston
OSU's sophomore southpaw flashes ace potential in career outing
Ethan Lund locked eyes with the opposing batter as he dug his foot into the pitcher’s mound.
With a runner on first and two outs in the top of the sixth, Lund gripped the laces on the baseball, preparing to deliver his go-to pitch — a curveball. Oklahoma State nursed a comfortable 17-run lead at that point, but that didn’t matter to Lund. He wanted to deliver in the moment for his team.
Moments later, Sam Houston State’s Jeric Curtis grounded into an inning-ending 5-6-3 double play to punctuate another quality outing from Oklahoma State’s sophomore southpaw.
Six team homers, a balanced 15-hit attack and most notably, Lund’s career-high 14 strikeouts guided OSU to a 20-0 series-clinching win against Sam Houston State on Saturday at O’Brate Stadium. And on a day highlighted by a multitude of firsts and career-highs, Lund stole the spotlight.
He emulated that of a seasoned veteran in contrast to a second-year arm still in the developing stages. Even in the rare moments he endured traffic on the bases, Lund delivered timely pitches with relative ease, en route to a career day.
“When you’re in flow state like that, really nothing is going through your mind,” Lund said. “You’re just trying to stay locked in and just keep doing your thing and just keep it rolling.”
Which is precisely what Lund did.
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After surrendering a lead-off single in the top of the first, the lefty struck out his ensuing 10 batters into the fourth inning. The Cowboys (7-3) drew first blood in the bottom half of the inning off consecutive doubles from left fielder Alex Conover and shortstop Brock Thompson. Shortly after, OSU plated 10 combined runs over the second and third innings to break it open early at 11-0.
Lund complemented OSU’s offensive onslaught, taming the Bearkats’ (4-6) offense with a steady mixture of four-seam fastball and curveball. Inning by inning, Lund’s strikeout total ballooned while his team's hits and home runs compiled.
Between innings, many pitchers pace the dugout replaying every pitch in their head while keeping their adrenaline in flow. Instead, Lund remained stone-cold.
No frantic towel snaps. No exaggerated deep breaths. Just a steady pulse. The heartbeat never changed, and neither did the results.
“He’s more of a calm, cool and collected guy, honestly,” OSU center fielder Kollin Ritchie said. “He just kind of sits back, waits for the next inning and then goes out there and keeps shoving.”
By the end of the sixth, Lund had logged his 14th strikeout. Only three hits, no walks and no runs, either.
He came only two short of tying a program-record 16 set by Trevor Martin during a regional game against Missouri State on June 5, 2022. To OSU coach Josh Holliday, however, that was of minuscule importance. What mattered, he said, was the upside Lund put on display.
Lund also showcased an improvement with his pitch command. Specifically, with walks.
Through his first two outings this season against Vanderbilt and Grand Canyon, Lund totaled 11 combined walks, clouding his 14 strikeout total. Against the Bearkats, zero.
“He got on a roll there and you could tell that he was very, very difficult to put in play,” Holliday said. “...Pretty overpowering and a pretty exceptional performance. He really commanded the ball today, cut the walks back, looked to be in total control.”
Ritchie pioneered the Cowboys’ offensive barrage with a career-high three home runs and seven RBI. But even after a thunderous day at the plate, he deflected all attention to pay homage to his starting pitcher.
“His pitches are really good, skillset is awesome and his mindset above everything is awesome,” Ritchie said. “He goes out and works harder than anybody I know. Works on his body more than anyone I know. So, it’s kind of easy to see what’s happening to him when he’s on the field — like today — because he’s so good.”
It hasn’t always been smooth sailing for Lund, though.
After arriving on campus as a heralded freshman prospect, he endured the latter. He battled through injuries throughout his freshman campaign in 2025. That hindered any opportunity to establish himself within the pitching staff.
But the stuff and upside was apparent through each outing and bullpen session. Once he gained full strength, he dazzled.
Which is why Holliday said Saturday’s outing was so vital.
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A performance that could serve as a confidence boost for a pitching prospect Holliday commended throughout fall camp. And perhaps most importantly, one that exemplified why the Cowboys might have a star-in-the-making within their starting pitching rotation.
“Hopefully, it helps people understand the talent that we saw last year that we were so excited about, we were trying to get him back into the fold in a season of interruption,” Holliday said. “But he closed it out in regionals (against Georgia) and then obviously this year, he’s picked up where we envisioned him being, which is honestly something very special.
“It’s fun to dream of. But really what it is, it’s a daily process that he follows to get better. And he’s doing that, and that’s all you can ever ask your guys to do. What comes of that is hopefully just consistency and execution. When he does that, he can expect to be very successful because he’s got really, really elite stuff. And I think he’s showing that right now.”
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