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SURPRISE, Ariz. — Oklahoma State dropped a 9-2 decision to 13th-ranked Kansas in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals Friday at Surprise Stadium.
With the loss, the 19th-ranked Cowboys fell to 37-20 on the season. Top-seeded Kansas improved to 41-16.
OSU now awaits the NCAA Tournament field of 64, which will be announced Monday at 11 a.m. CDT. The Cowboys are expected to receive an at-large bid and make their 13th consecutive NCAA Regional appearance.
Avery Ortiz and Aidan Meola each had two hits for OSU, with Ortiz and Campbell Smithwick collecting RBI.
Ethan Lund took the loss to fall to 5-2, working six innings and allowing three runs on five hits with eight strikeouts. His season total of 127 strikeouts is tied for ninth on OSU’s single-season list.
Kansas took an early lead in the first inning. After back-to-back walks, Lund recorded two outs before consecutive RBI hits made it 2-0. The Jayhawks added another run in the second on a Tyson LeBlanc RBI double to lead 3-0.
Lund then settled into a pitcher’s duel with KU’s Mason Cook, who held OSU scoreless over the first five innings on just two hits.
The Cowboys finally broke through in the sixth. Kollin Ritchie drew a leadoff walk and with two outs, Ortiz delivered an RBI double off the wall in center to trim the deficit to 3-1.
OSU added another run in the eighth. A leadoff walk to Brock Thompson and a one-out double by Meola put two runners in scoring position, and Smithwick delivered a sacrifice fly to make it 3-2. But Kansas escaped further damage with an inning-ending groundout.
The Jayhawks then put the game away with six runs on four hits in the bottom of the eighth, capped by a two-out grand slam from LeBlanc.
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