OSU's offense erupts, clinches series against Baylor with 13-6 win

Around Sunday evening one week ago, Josh Holliday analyzed his players intently as they sat in the Orlando International Airport, sulking in anguish.

Their body language. Their facial expressions. And their general vibes.

Coming off a three-game sweep to UCF in their inaugural Big 12 series of the season, the OSU coach said he knew their response to an impending treacherous week of baseball would personify their makeup. 

Their plane didn’t take off until a little past midnight. And they didn’t return to Stillwater until around 4 a.m. 

As fatigue visibly seeped in over the coming days, his intuition was further validated. 

Still awaiting was a five-game homestand. First, a two-game midweek series against South Dakota State. Next, a home series against a surging Baylor team. 

“By the time we got home, you couldn’t put a bigger bow or a bigger gift of, ‘Here’s a challenge, what are you gonna do with it?’” Holliday said. “We knew we’d play five games this week and our kids were up to the challenge.”

OSU responded to that challenge accordingly, finalizing that stretch of baseball with a series-clinching 13-6 win in the rubber game against Baylor on Sunday at O’Brate Stadium. But for Holliday, a 4-1 week wasn’t the highlight — it was his team’s response following a grueling loss in the series opener.

On Friday, the Cowboys (16-8, 2-4 Big 12) surged to a 4-2 lead through the middle innings and lost. Similarly to their series against UCF, an early lead — which OSU attained early in all three games — swiftly vanished. Inefficiency in RISP offense and two-out hitting culminated, as late-game bullpen woes were merely a footnote to the end result.

But in the end, Holliday said, grit shined above all else. Perhaps most importantly, it ended in a pivotal win. Not only for the weekend outcome, but for the trajectory of his team’s season. 

Aidan Meola drew first blood for the Cowboys with a one-out, RBI single in the bottom of the first. Shortly after came RBI base hits from freshman designated hitter Sebastian Norman and catcher Campbell Smithwick to make it 4-0. 

Ace lefty Hudson Barrett returned to the starting rotation after exiting his March 6 start against Gardner-Webb early due to arm soreness. Two weeks of rigorous rehab and arm training led to Sunday. 

While Barrett threw only 50 pitches — which Holliday told The Stillwegian postgame was part of a predetermined pitch count for rehab purposes — he was sharp. He struck out four through three innings of work. And while he surrendered two runs in his final frame, courtesy of a one-out, two-run blast from Baylor shortstop Travis Sanders, he retired the ensuing two batters to put a bow on his outing. 

The Bears (12-11, 2-4 Big 12) plated two more runs in the top of the fourth to tie the game at 4. Unlike the UCF series, OSU didn’t falter, and responded in the bottom half of the inning.

The Cowboys logged a five-run frame off a string of one-out hits from freshman Ezra Essex, shortstop Brock Thompson and center fielder Kollin Ritchie — whose two hits  made him one of three Cowboys to record a multi-hit day. A pair of bases-loaded walks from Smithwick and left fielder Alex Conover capped off OSU’s crooked inning.

Two innings later, the Cowboys finalized their scoring with a four-run bottom of the sixth, providing enough cushion to secure a win and the series.

Situational hitting was another facet Holliday highlighted postgame. 

During OSU’s loss Friday, it hit 2-for-12 (.167) with runners in scoring position. On Sunday, 9-for-19 (.437).

“It’s amazing what can happen, the gap that you can create as a team when you keep those rallies going,” Holliday said. “The other team is either going to recycle relievers or just try to get somebody new in to give them something. And we had that opportunity, and we were able to do that. 

“That was a big part of that five-run fourth. We were really able to extend it there, and give ourselves some room there.”

Holliday noted how his team has been battle tested for most of the season. But perhaps in no harsher fashion than last weekend.

The calamitous effect a sweep can have so early in a team's season can be season-altering. This time, however, OSU responded.

That response came emphatically. What followed not only Friday’s loss, but last weekend wasn't lingering frustration. Instead, it was a shift — one Holliday said he thought revealed far more about his team than the aforementioned losses could have.

“I think it shows who we are," Norman said. "We come back and won the game yesterday and have a blowout today. It kind of shows our character in who we are. It doesn't really matter if we go 0-7 one week. We will turn around and come back and try our hardest the next day, no matter what."

The imminent slate doesn't get any easier, either.

A sneaky road test Tuesday at Missouri State awaits the Cowboys, before a pivotal three-game series at BYU commences Thursday at 7 p.m. central standard time. Shortly after comes a midweek road game at Dallas Baptist, to go with a home series against a surging Cincinnati team and then a road series against a red-hot Kansas State ball club one week later.

If anything, Holliday said, his team's production through early obstacles has proven its capability of enduring such adversity. And its latter two games this weekend might be indicative of that.

“There was some exciting wins, there was some adversity and there was a ton of fatigue, and a lot of toughness,” Holliday said. “So, what I’ll tell you is today was the finish of what was a very high-response week for our team.

“We’re growing. We’re by no means where we want to be right now, but we’re moving in the right direction.”