OSU Baseball Dominates Against Niagara in First Game of Stillwater Regional
The bats were hot at O’Brate Stadium on Friday.
Oklahoma State beat Niagara 19-7 in the team’s first Regional game. After taking the Big 12 Championship last weekend, OSU’s postseason success carried over to Stillwater for the first game.
OSU’s offense got off to a spectacular start and rode that momentum the rest of the night. Although OSU’s hitting was in rhythm all game, errors and walks allowed by Niagara were instrumental to OSU’s win.
The Cowboys scored first with Nolan Schubart’s two-run homer in the bottom of the second highlighting their 7-0 start.
In the top of the fourth inning, Niagara made up some ground. Trailing 11-1, Niagara drove in four runs after having the bases loaded with no outs.
OSU got its first two outs of the inning without allowing any runs, but Niagara got within striking distance. After Niagara cut the lead to five, OSU took a commanding lead again in the bottom of the fifth.
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With two outs, the bases loaded and a full count, Colin Brueggemann’s double into centerfield scored three Cowboys. A walk and an error in the bottom of the sixth extended OSU’s lead to 17-7.
Sam Garcia got the start for the Cowboys but struggled against the Purple Eagles. Before being pulled in the fourth, Garcia gave up six hits and five earned runs.
While some high-scoring games can showcase a player or two, OSU’s balanced attack forced Niagara to use eight pitchers.
OSU’s win was its first NCAA Regional win since the 2022 season. OSU will look to move one step closer to a Super Regional appearance on Saturday night when it matches up with Florida, which beat Nebraska in its first game.
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Ivan is a sports media student at Oklahoma State University. He has covered OSU athletics since 2022 and also covers the OKC Thunder for Inside The Thunder and Thunderous Intentions.