Down to their last strike, Cowboys outlast Kansas State 12-10 in 13 innings

MANHATTAN, Kan. — Garrett Shull motioned toward the home plate umpire for a timeout mid at-bat.

With the moment weighing on him, Shull, an OSU sophomore second baseman, wanted a moment to reset — to collect his thoughts, gather his composure, and focus on the task at hand.

It proved worth it.

In the top of the ninth inning of OSU's eventual 12-10 win in 13 innings against Kansas State on Sunday at Tointon Family Stadium, Shull's at-bat became the game's defining moment. The Cowboys trailed by two with two outs, the tying runs on second and third.

The Wildcats (23-13, 7-8 Big 12) stood one strike away from a series sweep. Fans in purple and white rose to their feet, clapping in unison.

But Shull stood between them and it.

As he locked eyes with K-State right-hander Taz Butler, Shull said he replayed his scouting report on the reliever.

"That guy had been spinning curveballs all afternoon," Shull said. "I figured I was gonna get one. I just had to wait to get mine."

Sure enough, Shull got what he was searching for.

A curveball broke to the outside corner, drifting back toward the middle of the plate — so much so that Shull said it felt "too good to be true."

So he unloaded.

Shull watched the ball leave his bat on a line. His primary concern was plating the tying runs — he wasn't sure yet whether he'd hit it far enough to clear the wall.

"I knew I got it pretty good," Shull said. "I just didn't know if I got it high enough, though."

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But it kept traveling. Third baseman Aidan Meola's fist pump as he neared home plate confirmed what was coming. The ball cleared the right field wall, silencing the home crowd as OSU took a 10-9 lead.

The Wildcats tied the game in the bottom half of the inning — a leadoff double from Micah Kendrick, advanced by a sacrifice bunt from Kyan Lodice — but the Cowboys prevailed in 13 innings. Shull's three-run homer was the difference.

"This was obviously one of those days where they're trying to keep you from hitting to the pull side," head coach Josh Holliday said. "But Garrett found a way. He did enough and had enough strength, and made the right swing at the right time. That was a big moment for him."

The thrilling finish, however, didn't come without early fireworks.

OSU (22-14, 7-8 Big 12) drew first blood in the top of the first on a leadoff, opposite-field homer from left fielder Alex Conover — who finished 4-for-7 with two home runs and three RBIs — for the second consecutive day. Four more hits followed in timely fashion to cap a four-run inning. One inning later, Conover launched another solo shot to the opposite field to put OSU ahead 5-0.

But as the Cowboys had seen in both prior games of the series, the lead evaporated quickly.

Kansas State plated six runs in the bottom of the second on four hits and three walks to take a 6-5 lead. The Cowboys answered each time the Wildcats threatened — but K-State plated three more over the final two innings of regulation to carry a lead into the ninth.

Third baseman Aidan Meola led off the ninth with a jam-shot single to center field, and catcher Campbell Smithwick followed with an opposite-field double off the left field wall. Two quick outs followed, briefly steadying the home crowd and ratcheting up concern in the visiting dugout.

Which set up Shull's late-game heroics.

"Historically, it's tough to sweep the Cowboys," Shull said. "We're a really good Sunday ball club. That's just how baseball is — you get your teeth kicked in for a couple of days, but it's all about how you respond."

OSU left Manhattan with a win, avoiding a series sweep and carrying momentum into a pivotal stretch that includes a Bedlam matchup against rival Oklahoma at ONEOK Field in Tulsa on Tuesday at 7 p.m. and a home series this weekend against Kansas.

"I thought that the team was impressive and very responsive to the task at hand," Holliday said. "They were tough, responsive, gritty and did all the things that the game demanded in order to win. And we found a way to win — that's all that matters. That was simply a battle of two really good teams, fighting to the end, but we emptied the cannon in the end and did enough to win."

Cowboys break through in 13th to salvage win

As extra innings progressed, pressure mounted on both sides to deliver a decisive blow. OSU first baseman Colin Brueggemann provided it in the top of the 13th.

With two outs, Brueggemann connected on a 1-0 elevated four-seam fastball from K-State right-hander Miles Smith and drove it straight away toward center field on a line.

"That was a big swing from Colin," Holliday said. "Hard pitch to hit, too. And I think what was good was that it came in a big moment."

Moments later, the ball bounced off the batter's eye — the dark backdrop in deep center field — as the third base umpire signaled a home run. Brueggemann's shot gave OSU an 11-10 lead it wouldn't relinquish.

The Cowboys added to it three at-bats later. Two walks set up right fielder TP Wentworth with two outs and a runner on second base. He delivered, grounding a ball through the 5-6 hole — the gap between the third baseman and shortstop — to plate OSU designated hitter Evan Saunders and push the lead to 12-10.

The two-out RBI single provided a measure of redemption for Wentworth after an otherwise 0-for-6, six-strikeout day. Holliday joked he hopes the final at-bat is a sign of things to come heading into Tuesday's Bedlam clash.

"He had the best 0-for-6, six-strikeout day you could ask for," Holliday said with a laugh. "Hopefully his last at-bat is a sign of what is to come and not the previous six."

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Burns, Jennings showcase potential in high-leverage outings

The Cowboys leaned on a combined 4⅔ innings from two freshman arms in the game's most critical moments.

Right-hander Zane Burns entered with one out in the bottom of the ninth and was sharp. He threw 2⅔ innings, mixing sliders and changeups to hold a potent Kansas State lineup to two hits.

Parker Jennings then handled the final two frames, retiring all six batters he faced and recording a strikeout to close out the win.

With the offense delivering the decisive blows late, the Cowboys still needed clean innings on the mound to hold the lead. Both first-year arms answered in high-leverage moments.

"That was huge getting that out of them," Shull said. "I think they did a really good job at coming in and handling the situation. We all know that they can, obviously. But they came in and they delivered for us when it mattered."