Déjà Vu: OSU catcher delivers second walk-Off in 8 days as OSU sweeps SDSU in midweek set
Pinch hitter Smithwick launches game-winner after Cowboys blow 10-5 lead in ninth
In between frames in the ninth inning, Brock Thompson garnered a striking intuition.
Bottom of the ninth. Tied ballgame. Walk-off opportunity on tap.
And for whom better than catcher Campbell Smithwick. Given his tendencies to deliver for his team in pivotal moments — which coach Josh Holliday has often referred to as his “clutch gene” — a repeat felt inevitable.
So, Thompson, Oklahoma State's sophomore second baseman, called his shot.
“He’s [Smithwick] gonna do it again,” he told his teammates in the dugout. “Just watch.”
Moments later, Thompson’s intuition became a reality.
On a 3-2 count, Smithwick unloaded on an elevated fastball from South Dakota State closer Austin Henry. Thompson, watching eagerly from the home dugout, said he grinned as the ball sailed deep into the blackened Stillwater night sky. Moments later, the ball landed in the front row of the right field stands, finalizing OSU’s 12-11 win against South Dakota State on Wednesday at O’Brate Stadium, and cementing a two-game midweek sweep of the Jackrabbits.
“I knew it was gone the moment it left the bat,” Thompson said with a smile. “No doubt in my mind.”
As Smithwick rounded third base, he launched his helmet high into the air out of celebration. He hadn’t a worry as to where would land. His sole focus was meeting his teammates at home plate, who snaked around the batter’s box, to celebrate.
Wednesday marked Smithwick’s second walk-off homer within the past eight days. His last, against Dallas Baptist in the 10th inning on March 10.
The parallels to both instances were striking. The only difference was the opponent.
“I wish I could tell you it was something different than last time (against Dallas Baptist), but it wasn’t — it was the exact same,” Smithwick said. “...That was something that was on my mind, and I put a barrel on it and delivered.”
However, it wasn’t smooth sailing for the Cowboys (14-7) from the start.
Two-way TP Wentworth made his second start on the mound this season, throwing the first three innings before stalling in the fourth. Sophomore righty Jake Kennedy entered in relief, but that’s when the Jackrabbits (5-16) ignited offensively.
SDSU plated five runs through the first five innings off walks, timely bloop hits and defensive miscues — OSU had three errors in that span. Jackrabbit pitching stifled OSU’s hitters, as the Cowboys left the bases loaded in the second and third.
But they didn’t waver. Two innings later, OSU founds its groove offensively.
Seven hits and four walks led to a 10-run offensive frame — OSU’s second double-digit offensive frame this season. Smithwick, who entered as a pinch hitter, logged a game-tying RBI-double. Thompson was responsible for two of those hits and as many of the runs.
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“Hitting is contagious,” Thompson said. “I hit behind the best leadoff hitter in the country (in left fielder Alex Conover). So, when he does good — which feels like all the time — it just makes life a lot easier for me. I just have to have the confidence to go up there (and deliver). So, yeah — hitting is totally contagious. And when we start hitting, it just doesn’t stop.”
Still, the Jackrabbits didn’t go away.
In the top of the ninth, SDSU plated five in the top of the ninth, scoring the tying run on a wild pitch from OSU right-hander Josiah Golden. The go-ahead run eventually reached third base, before left-hander Kyler Zaglar kept the damage minimal after entering in relief.
Which set up Smithwick’s late-game heroics.
Stat sheets show Smithwick's “clutch gene,” but overlooked might be the difficulty tethered to pinch hitting. Mental blockades can seep in. The magnitude of the moment can be overly daunting. All while the general fatigue from sitting for the majority of the contest can outweigh all else.
Smithwick wasn’t supposed to play Wednesday. For most of the game, he sat in the dugout and watched everything unfold while Brady Francisco started at catcher, manning home plate for the first five innings. But analytics and a matchup that favored Smithwick at the plate forced Holliday’s hand. And Smithwick promptly delivered.
Twice.
“I think that’s something that’s not going to be talked about enough,” Thompson said. “Pinch hitting is not easy. Still, coming into the game (that late) is not easy. And it somehow didn’t affect him at all. It just shows you what kind of player he is. He stayed engaged the whole time in the game, and it paid off for him.”
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To Holliday, the night wasn’t about perfection — it was defined by response. His team had built a lead, lost it in a matter of minutes and yet, still managed to steady itself in time for one final swing.
And that swing happened to come from a prospect all too familiar with delivering in such moments.
“I told the guys, ‘Put your big boy britches on,’” Holliday said. “We thought that we had the game in the bag. We didn’t. They scored five runs. OK, well, are you gonna sit around and act astonished or stunned or whatever? Or are you gonna go do something? And our team did. So, our response today was correct. Our behavior was correct. Did we play or have as good of at-bats as we wanted to early on? Obviously, the answer to that would be no. But we found a way to win, and that’s what games are built on.”
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