Cowboys Drop Big 12 Opener to UCF After Blowing 6-0 Lead

Kollin Ritchie approached home plate with pressure mounting.

With runners on second and first, no outs and his team within one run, the Oklahoma State center fielder dug his back foot into the dirt, awaiting his pitch. Few players are seasoned veterans in such monumental moments of games as Ritchie. Which is why coach Josh Holliday has been confident enough to bat him third in the Cowboys’ lineup. Consistency has earned him that honor.

Ritchie stepped up to bat, hoping to deliver for his team, as he has so often in such moments. Instead, the opposite happened.

Ritchie swung underneath a first-pitch curveball from UCF closer Kris Sosnowski, narrowly missing the sweet spot and fouling out to third base for the second out of the inning. Once exuding with confidence, Ritchie slowly walked back to the visitor’s dugout in despair.

One at-bat later, Aidan Meola struck out, stranding the tying run in scoring position and finalizing an enervating defeat.

OSU dropped its Big 12 opener to UCF in a 12-11 loss on Friday at John Euliano Ballpark. The Cowboys (12-5, 0-1 Big 12) led by as many as six runs through the first three innings. However, mid-game regression from the pitching staff and costly middle innings resulted in a Knights (10-6, 1-0 Big 12) win.

Here are three takeaways from the game.

Offense stalls over middle frames

In the blink of an eye, OSU led 6-0.

The Cowboys plated three runs in the top of the first off three straight two-out hits. One inning later, three more came, highlighted by a two-run blast from third baseman Aidan Meola, which cleared the left field stands at John Euliano Ballpark.

The Knights rallied in the fourth and fifth innings. Within moments, a six-run lead morphed into a five-run deficit.

All was going well for OSU. Until it wasn’t.

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OSU posted scoreless frames from the third inning through the sixth. Four straight zeroes in the number columns, as UCF gradually gained firmer control of the game’s momentum. In that span, five Cowboys were stranded on base. Three in scoring position.

Ritchie did break through with a two-run bomb to right-center field to bring the Cowboys within a run in the top of the seventh. The Knights plated a run in the bottom of the eighth off a sacrifice fly out, before TP Wentworth followed suit of Ritchie with a lead-off solo blast in the top of the ninth. But when it matters most, the bats stalled again, stranding two runners on base to squander an opportunity to clinch the series opener.

Those costly fourth and fifth innings

The middle innings could best be described as a tale of discrepancies in contrast to the rest of the game.

Sophomore southpaw Ethan Lund — who entered Friday’s contest ranking fifth in college baseball in strikeouts with 40 — was on cruise control through his first three innings of work. His strikeout total piled up inning by inning, reaching four by the fourth inning.

A lead-off home run from UCF right fielder Andrew Williamson in the bottom of the fourth ignited an offensive onslaught the Cowboys couldn't relinquish.

Williamson’s solo bomb led to a double. Then a single. Then a walk to load the bases.

A 2-RBI single from UCF second baseman Austin Jacobs, making it 6-4, chased Lund after only 3 2/3 innings of work — his shortest outing this season. In came veteran lefty Brennan Phillips to minimize the damage. But that didn’t help, either.

The Knights plated seven runs (!) off three hits, two walks and two hit batters as the Cowboys slowly watched the deficit balloon to an unreachable mark.

OSU's bullpen has struggled with crooked innings throughout the early portion of the season. In most instances, such struggles have come in costly moments.

The starting pitching rotation can only produce for so long. The offense, albeit explosive, has exposed its limitations. Eventually, OSU's bullpen is going to need to pick up the slack. And with ace Hudson Barrett out for the foreseeable future due to injury, the vitality behind that becomes all the more emphasized.

Otherwise, the Cowboys' hopes of competing in the Big 12 race and beyond will be all for nothing.

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Conover’s big day

Alex Conover entered the season heavily overlooked on OSU’s depth chart.

So far, however, he's re-established himself within the lineup. He's had a hot hand on offense, all while flashing sporadic, yet stellar web gems. The latest example being Friday.

Conover led the Cowboys offensively with a 3-for-5, RBI outing at the plate on Friday. He's hitting .365 with one home run, to go with a .485 on base percentage, .500 slugging percentage and a .985 OPS. His strikeout rate (11.8%) is down significantly from a season ago (26.1%), while his 139 wRC+ (weighted runs created-plus) places him well above the average threshold in college baseball.

Conover has been a pleasant surprise for the Cowboys this season. And as the lineup continues to gel, and the offensive firepower — which exists in an abundance on paper — comes to fruition, Conover's stability at the plate will be a commodity for OSU moving forward.