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SURPRISE, Ariz. — A five-run eighth inning fueled Oklahoma State’s 12-6 win over UCF in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals Thursday at Surprise Stadium.
With the win, the 19th-ranked Cowboys — the tournament’s No. 5 seed — improved to 37-19 on the season. Fourth-seeded UCF fell to 31-21.
OSU advances to Friday’s semifinal and will face the Kansas/Baylor winner at 6:30 p.m. CDT.
Colin Brueggemann led the Cowboys with four RBI and was one of five OSU players with two hits. The performance pushed Brueggemann to 200 career RBI, ranking 10th on the program’s all-time list.
Mario Pesca picked up the win in relief of starter Hudson Barrett, improving to 6-4. The right-hander worked three innings, allowing one run on three hits with four strikeouts.
OSU jumped out early when Alex Conover led off the game with a single and scored on a two-out RBI single by Campbell Smithwick to make it 1-0. UCF tied it in the bottom of the first, loading the bases before a fielder’s choice brought home a run.
The Cowboys retook the lead in the fourth. Brueggemann led off with a double, Garrett Shull singled him home, and a two-out RBI infield single by Brock Thompson pushed the lead to 3-1.
OSU extended it to 5-1 in the fifth on a bunt single, a throwing error and a Brueggemann sacrifice fly. UCF answered with a two-out rally of its own, capped by a three-run homer from Javier Crespo to tie the game at 5-5.
The decisive eighth inning began with the Cowboys sending nine batters to the plate. With the bases loaded after an intentional walk to Kollin Ritchie, Aidan Meola drew a walk to score the go-ahead run. A Smithwick sacrifice fly made it 7-5, and after the bases were loaded again, Brueggemann cleared them with a three-RBI single to right-center to push the lead to 10-5.
OSU added two more in the ninth, including an RBI triple by Conover.
UCF loaded the bases with no outs in the ninth against Noah Wech, but an infield fly and a double play ended the game.
