After Friday’s 8-6 back-and-forth matchup between No. 8 Oklahoma State and No. 10 Texas, 7,134 spectators showed up to UFCU Disch-Falk Field for the rematch. But only one team fit the bill of a top-ten team on Saturday.

Led by a brilliant start from Oklahoma State’s Bryce Osmond, the Cowboys rolled to a dominant 14-3 series-clinching victory. 

Redshirt senior Austin Todd said Texas has to compete as they normally would in tomorrow’s game and not feel like their backs are against the wall.

“You just got to flush it and come out tomorrow,” Todd said. “(We) know that tomorrow is a new day, so we have to do everything we can to win.”

The Cowboys’ right-handed sophomore Osmond had a perfect game going through 4.1 innings of work and did not give up a hit until the start of the sixth inning. Todd said Osmond made the most of an expanded zone given by the home plate umpire.

“(The umpire) had an expanded zone, and (Osmond) was hitting that spot and the umpire was giving it to him,” Todd said. “As a hitter you have to make an adjustment and that’s something we didn’t do.”

Head coach David Pierce mimicked Todd’s displeasure for the game’s home plate officiating. 

“This is Division One, Power Five baseball,” Pierce said. “That’s not acceptable to what we faced behind home plate today. It’s not acceptable and not okay. Yeah, we need to make adjustments, but I can’t ask my hitters to go two balls off the plate.”

The loss drops Texas to a 31-15 record and a 9-8 conference record. After dropping this crucial series, Texas is in danger of not being selected as a regional host, effectively eliminating them from Big 12 title contention.

Despite the damage the last two losses have done to the Longhorns’ RPI, Pierce said Texas cannot focus on the big picture outlook because it still has a chance to salvage the series in the finale.

“We have to come out ready to play tomorrow, or it’ll happen again,” Pierce said. “You can’t drop your guard against a team like this.”

While redshirt senior Tristan Stevens had a solid start, striking out a career-high eight batters through 5.2 innings, the Texas bullpen was unable to keep the Horns in striking distance.

Already holding a 4-0 lead in the top of the sixth, Oklahoma State broke the game open once Stevens was pulled. The Cowboys would score seven runs in the sixth inning, bringing the score to 10-0. Oklahoma State tacked on four more runs off of the bullpen before the game was through.

“We turned a close game into a butt-kicking,” Pierce said.

In the midst of a 14-0 blowout, Todd brought Texas a silver lining in the form of a record-breaking three run homer in the eighth. Todd’s home run was the team’s 82nd of the season, a program record for total team home runs in a season.

“I honestly didn’t even know that I did that,” Todd said. “The swing felt good.”

Texas will get its chance to avoid the sweep when it takes on Oklahoma State in the series finale Sunday afternoon. The Longhorns will then stay home at the UFCU Disch-Falk Field on Tuesday for a game against Houston Baptist.