The Texas Longhorns, no stranger to late-season rallies in recent years, might be starting to see themselves go on another in 2024 as they pulled off an impressive series victory over the 14th ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys this weekend at UFCU-Disch Falk Field. Here are all the details from this weekend’s series.
Game 1 (Friday): Longhorns 7 Cowboys 5
The Longhorns outlasted the Cowboys in a back-and-forth affair to take the 7-5 win for their first Friday night win in almost two months.
After a scoreless first inning by both sides, both teams plated a run in the second with Aidan Meola scoring on a double by Colin Brueggemann in the top half for Oklahoma State and Rylan Galvan driving in Max Belyeu on a single in the bottom half for Texas. The Cowboys would regain the lead a half inning later after a pair of home runs by Nolan Schubart (a two-run shot) and Meola (a solo shot) to make it a 4-1 ballgame. Texas would then tie the game back up in the bottom of the third on Belyeu’s second RBI single and a two-run double by Kimble Schuessler.
The action would pick up again in the top of the seventh when Carson Benge recorded an RBI double that brought in Lane Forsythe that gave the Cowboys the 5-4 lead. The Longhorns would then finally take the lead in the bottom of the seventh after a pair of runs scored on a bases loaded hit by pitch by Porter Brown that brought in Jared Thomas and a sac fly by Schuessler that scored Peyton Powell.
Texas would then add on an insurance run in the eighth when Will Gasparino hit his eleventh home run of the year to make it 7-5 Longhorns, which would then become the final score after Gage Boehm, in this third inning of relief, struck out the last two batters of the game to end Oklahoma State’s last-ditch rally in the ninth.
Belyeu and Powell had three hits apiece on the night for Texas while Thomas chipped in two hits of his own. Schubart, Meola, and Benge were the Cowboys who had multiple hits, with each having two.
Max Grubbs got the start for Texas and went six innings while Sam Garcia went five innings in his start for Oklahoma State. Boehm got the win in relief for the Longhorns with Tommy Molsky taking the loss for the Cowboys.
Game 2 (Saturday): Longhorns 6 Cowboys 3
On Saturday, Max Belyeu and Rylan Galvan carried the Texas offense at the plate as the Longhorns rode another late rally to secure the series victory with a 6-3 win.
Belyeu started things in the first with a two-run double to give Texas the early 2-0 lead. Oklahoma State would get on the board in the fifth after Forsythe was brought in Zach Ehrhard got hit by a pitch while the bases were loaded.
In the seventh, the Cowboys would tie the game up at two apiece on an RBI double by Lane Forsythe. The Longhorns would then regain the lead in the bottom half after Brown scored after Galvan grounded into a double play.
While Oklahoma State tied things up again in the top of the eighth on a double Schubart that drove in Addison Smith, the Texas offense would come alive in the bottom of the eighth and take the lead for good after Belyeu’s conference-leading seventeenth home run of the season, a two-run shot, and an RBI double by Galvan. The Cowboys would then fail to respond in the ninth to give the Longhorns the 6-3 win.
Belyeu was the sole Longhorn on the afternoon with two hits while Galvan, Powell, Schuessler, Gasparino, and Dee Kennedy had a hit apiece. For the Cowboys, Benge had two hits while Schubart, Forsythe, and Brueggemann each logged one.
Ace Whitehead started for Texas and only gave up a hit and a run each in 4.1 innings each while Andre Duplantier II got the win for the Longhorns. Brian Holiday started for Oklahoma State and threw 6.2 innings with Gabe Davis taking the loss in his one inning in relief.
Game 3 (Sunday): Cowboys 7 Longhorns 2
Oklahoma State was able to avoid getting swept on Sunday as they were able to prevail 7-2 with Carson Benge playing a big role in the win both at the plate and on the mound.
After starting the game by throwing three shutout frames, Benge would start the scoring with a solo homer to center. Brueggemann would add on to the Cowboy lead by hitting a two-run shot of his own to give Oklahoma State the 3-0 lead after four.
In the following innings, the Cowboys would extend their lead to 5-0 after scoring one in the fifth on a double by Ehrhard that drove in Jaxon Crull and a run in the seventh after a bases loaded walk by Forsythe that scored Ehrhard. Texas would then score their first run of the game in the bottom of the seventh on a solo home run by Jack O’Dowd.
Oklahoma State would get that run back and then some in the top of the ninth on a two-run single by Brueggemann to make it 7-1 Cowboys. The Longhorns, led by a solo homer by Schuessler, would make one last effort in the bottom of the ninth but it wouldn’t be enough as Oklahoma State would end up holding on to win 7-2.
O’Dowd, Schuessler, Flores, and Galvan had the four (one each) for Longhorns while the Cowboys had multi-hit days from Brueggemann, Forsythe, and Schubart. Benge only gave up two hits and one run in 6.2 innings to earn the win for Oklahoma State. Lebarron Johnson Jr took the loss for Texas after throwing 4.1 innings.
Nonetheless, the series win improves the Longhorns’ overall record to 30-19 and are only one game back of the Big 12 lead with a 15-9 conference record. The Cowboys are 32-16 on the season but currently sit in third place in the Big 12 as a result of losing this head-to-head series with Texas.
What’s Next?
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Both teams are done with playing midweeks on the season, and the Longhorns finish out their season with a pair of conference series where they go to the sunshine state to face UCF next weekend and then come back and finish the regular season with a home series against Kansas. Oklahoma State hosts Texas Tech at O’Brate Stadium before ending their regular season with a road series against the Houston Cougars.
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