Cole Stilwell tagged one of the best pitchers in the Big 12 for a grand slam early in Texas Tech's series opener Friday night at Oklahoma State.
Much later, the Texas Tech first baseman tagged pinch runner Jaxson Crull to put a crazy finish on a riveting night at O'Brate Stadium in Stillwater.
When Tech reliever Andrew Devine bounced a pitch in the dirt with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Crull broke from third base. But the ball didn't get far enough away from catcher Hudson White, and the Red Raiders caught Crull in a rundown to close out a 7-6 victory.
One night into a three-game series, the Red Raiders did their part to tighten the Big 12 race. Wins by TCU (30-18, 14-8), No. 8 Tech (33-16, 12-7) and Oklahoma (30-17, 12-7) left each breathing down the neck of No. 3 Oklahoma State (34-15, 13-6), whose lead going into Saturday was one-half game on the Horned Frogs and one over the Red Raiders and the Sooners.
Devine got his first save since March 1, 2020 at Florida State.
The junior righthander was the third reliever Tech coach Tim Tadlock used in the ninth, entering after Oklahoma State had cut a 7-5 deficit with David Mendham's two-out RBI single off Brandon Beckel. There were runners at the corners when Devine bounced a 2-1 pitch to Cowboys' home-run leader Nolan McLean.
White blocked the ball with his chest protector, bounced to his feet and retrieved it with five quick steps to his right and had Crull in no-man's land. The Tech catcher ran Crull back up the third-base line and tossed to Parker Kelly, who ran Crull toward home. The Tech third baseman made one more throw, and Stilwell tagged Crull as he started his slide for the plate.
A jubilant ending for the Red Raiders in perhaps their most important series of the season. They had Brandon Birdsell, 7-2 with a conference-best 2.07 earned-run average, going in game two on Saturday night.
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Stilwell's slam made it 5-2 in the fourth. He hammered a 1-2 pitch from Oklahoma State starter Justin Campbell (7-2) to left and immediately threw up both hands in celebration. The next run came in the fifth, when White hit a sacrifice fly that drove Jake Thompson to the fence in left field.
Tech starter Andrew Morris (7-0) was charged with four runs on seven hits. He gave up a two-run homer in the first to Thompson and left with a 6-3 lead after failing to retire the first three batters in the sixth.
Derek Bridges allowed only one of the inherited runners to score, and on a mental error by his defense at that. With the bases loaded and nobody out, Bridges struck out Brett Brown and coaxed a shallow fly from Chase Adkison.
Left fielder Easton Murrell handled it easily enough, but didn't immediately return the ball to the infield. Mendham bluffed down from third and stopped, then bolted for the plate as Murrell was running the ball back in. Murrell threw late and off-line.
Bridges got a ground ball to end the threat, then retired the first two batters in the seventh before Griffin Doersching unloaded a 513-foot home run that narrowed Tech's lead to 6-5.
Mason Molina pitched a scoreless eighth for the Red Raiders, stranding a potential tying run at second with a strikeout and yelling toward the Cowboys' dugout as he headed to his own. In the ninth, Dillon Carter singled and scored on a wild pitch, making it 7-5.
The insurance run came in handy. After Josh Sanders retired the first two Cowboys in the ninth, a double, a wild pitch, a walk and a base hit set the stage for the dramatic ending.
Morris, Bridges (6), Molina (8), Sanders (9), Beckel (9), Devine (9) and White; Campbell, K. Davis (6), Bogusz (7), Morrill (8) and Adkison, Daugherty (9). W—Morris (7-0). L—Campbell (7-2). Sv—Devine (1). 2B—Texas Tech, Washburn 2 (9); Oklahoma State, Adkison (6), Thompson (12). 3B—Texas Tech, Wilson (5). HR—Texas Tech, Stilwell (8); Oklahoma State, Thompson (12), Doersching (9). Records: Texas Tech 33-16, 12-7; Oklahoma State 34-15, 13-6.