Cowboys Drop Conference Opener To Nebraska

Friday, March 20

Lincoln, Neb.

2:05 PM

Oklahoma State University

Nebraska

March 21, 2009 | Cowboy Baseball

LINCOLN, Neb. Â— Oklahoma State opened Big 12 Conference play Friday with an 11-4 loss to Nebraska in front of 2,709 fans at Hawks Field.

The loss is the second in a row for the 11th-ranked Cowboys, marking their first losing streak of the season, as they dropped to 14-6. Nebraska improved to 13-6-1 overall and 2-2 in the Big 12.

Andrew Oliver suffered the loss on the mound as the junior southpaw lasted just 3.2 innings and allowed seven runs on nine hits to fall to 3-2 on the season. Oliver's outing was his shortest start since he worked only 1.1 innings on May 20, 2007 against Missouri.

The Cowboys took an early lead in their first at bat. Micheal Dabbs, who was 3-for-5 in the contest, led off the game with a double and scored the game's first run on an RBI single by Tom Belza.

OSU added its second run of the inning when Neil Medchill delivered an RBI single through the right side, but the Cowboys could not manage any more runs as Doug Kroll grounded into an inning-ending double play.

In the second, the Cowboys pushed their lead to 3-0. For the second-straight inning, OSU got a leadoff double, this one off the bat of Davis Duren. After a sacrifice bunt moved Duren to third, Dusty Harvard's RBI groundout made the score 3-0.

But that would be the final run OSU would get until the eighth inning, and Nebraska would seize the lead in the bottom of the third.

In the pivotal inning, the Cornhuskers rallied for five runs on four hits and took advantage of a pair of walks issued by Oliver.

Nebraska plated their first run when Jeff Tezak drew a walk with the bases loaded to make the score 3-1. Next up was Cody Neer, who sent a shot into left-center field. Harvard dove for the ball but couldn't come up with the catch as it dropped in for a two-RBI double to tie the score.

The Huskers' rally continued when the next batter, Cody Asche, blooped an opposite-field shot just inside the left field line and out of the reach of a diving Medchill. Asche ended up on third with a triple, and NU took a 5-3 lead before Oliver got out of the inning without further damage.

Faced with their first deficit of the game, the Cowboys mounted a rally in the top of the fourth and appeared poised to add to their run total.

Medchill led off the inning with a single, and a hit by pitch and walk loaded the bases with just one out. Harvard then stepped to the plate and sent the ball up the middle, but NU shortstop Kyle Bubak made a diving stop and flipped the ball to second base to start an inning-ending double play.

Nebraska took a 7-3 advantage in the fourth on back-to-back RBI singles by Jake Mort and Adam Bailey. After allowing another single, Nebraska's ninth hit of the game off him, Oliver was done after surrendering a career-high seven earned runs.

The Huskers maintained their four run lead over the next three innings as three different Nebraska pitchers kept OSU off the scoreboard until the eighth, when the Cowboys got back in the scoring column on Dabbs' RBI single.

OSU threatened further damage in the eighth, loading the bases with two outs, but Belza struck out to end the inning. The Cowboys left 11 runners on base in the contest.

NU added four insurance runs in its final at bat off OSU reliever Jeff Breedlove, who had worked three scoreless innings until getting into trouble in the eighth.

The two teams return to action Saturday at 2:05 p.m.