The threat of inclement weather plagued Stillwater, Oklahoma, where Texas was set to face Oklahoma State for a road series this weekend.
Yet something else also loomed over the Longhorns’ dugout — the disappointing thought of not being able to win a road series all season.
But the sun held out long enough for the teams to play a doubleheader Friday, and so did Texas’ morale. The Longhorns clinched a tight 5-4 win in the first game and ended their road series woes in dominant fashion by clinching a 7-0 blowout victory in game two.
The weather canceled the final game of the series, but Texas was content with claiming a two-game series sweep on Oklahoma State’s home turf.
During the 5-4 Texas win, the Longhorns found themselves at an early deficit in the game. Oklahoma State’s Cade Cabbiness launched a two-run homer over the right field fence to give the Cowboys a 2-0 advantage in the second inning.
But the Texas offense quickly responded to the deficit, starting with senior center fielder Zane Gurwitz’s solo shot to cut down Oklahoma State’s lead to 2-1 in the third inning. The Longhorns tacked on four more unanswered runs to carry a 5-2 advantage all the way through the eighth frame.
Sophomore closer Beau Ridgeway ran into trouble when the Cowboys attempted a ninth-inning rally. Garrett Benge drove a ball up the middle to send two runners home for Oklahoma State, making it a tight 5-4 Texas lead.
However, Ridgeway quickly turned his outing around by successfully sealing the victory for Texas before Oklahoma State could complete the rally. Ridgeway’s 10th save was a special one — he became the first Longhorn closer to record double-digit saves in a season since Corey Knebel in 2011.
Feeding off the momentum from the first win of the series, redshirt junior pitcher Morgan Cooper cruised on the mound as he threw seven scoreless innings during game two. The right-hander tied his career-high of throwing 11 strikeouts in a game, a feat he last accomplished only about a month ago on March 25 against Kansas State. Cooper’s big day of punchouts also boosted him to the top of the conference rankings, leading all Big 12 pitchers with 86 total strikeouts.
Behind Cooper, Bret Boswell, redshirt junior second baseman, also had a productive night during the 7-0 blowout win. By the end of the third frame, Texas already had a 5-0 lead over the Cowboys, all thanks to Boswell. He blasted two home runs during the second and third innings to collect five RBIs in the game.
From there, the Cowboys couldn’t find a way to stop the Longhorns from scoring, nor get on the scoreboard themselves. Junior right fielder Patrick Mathis widened the lead to 6-0 with a solo homer in the seventh before he would score on a balk to make it a 7-0 blowout game during the ninth inning.
After the two-game sweep over Oklahoma State, Texas (30–16, 9–8 Big 12) now moves up to fourth place in the conference standings. The Longhorns hope for more success on the road as they prepare for next weekend’s series in Fort Worth, where they will battle No. 5 TCU.
