by Joey Ross on March 31, 2009 (photo by Vironevaeh, available under a CC license)

Andrew Mueller, Andrew Oliver, Greg Flogia, Kevin David, Kyle Gibson, Missouri Tigers, Mizzou, Neil Medchill, Nick Tepesch, Oklahoma State Cowboy, Phil McCormick, Ryan Lollis, Steve Gray, Trevor Coleman, Tyler Blandford, Tyrone Hambly, “Mean” Dean Green

The Oklahoma State Cowboy baseball team swept a double header with the Missouri Tigers on Sunday, March 29. The warm weather was a welcome change for the residents of Stillwater and the Oklahoma State ball club. The previous two games with the Tigers were postponed due to wet weather.

Andrew Oliver, the Cowboy’s ace, started the game for Oklahoma State while Kyle Gibson took the mound for Mizzou. Oliver yield to only one run, by Ryan Lollis, in the first inning. The Tigers were not as fortunate when the Cowboys came up to bat. Tyrone Hambly started the hit fest for the Cowboys. Batting in the second spot, Hambly hit a single. The hit was quickly followed by Neil Medchill’s single. Both men were driven in when “Mean” Dean Green hit a homer over the right field wall. The Tigers closed the inning after Green’s homer with two defensive outs.

Oliver went to work on the Tiger offense in the second inning. Oliver glided, powered and willed his pitches past three Tiger hitters, striking all three out. The Cowboy offense took Oliver’s energy to the plate. Doug Kroll, Davis Duren, Mark Ginther, and Michael Dabbs all scored with the help of skipper Frank Anderson. The Cowboy’s closed the second inning with strong momentum offensively and defensively.

Trevor Coleman of the Tigers made contact against Oliver’s change up in the third, the only hit of the third. The Tigers put pitcher Scooter Hicks on the mound in the same inning and he threw ground balls and the Tiger defense stood the test. After Oliver and the Cowboy defense knocked out their three outs, Dabbs came up to bat for the Cowboys. His home run put the Cowboys up 8-0.

The fifth saw no hits from the Tigers. The Cowboys faced the third Tiger pitcher, Andrew Mueller, and took him for five runs. Coach Anderson helped the Cowboys glide into the sixth inning with a 13-0 lead. In the sixth Oliver allowed Lollis to single, who was driven in by catcher Trevor Coleman’s double. The Cowboys allowed no more runs for the rest of the game.

Unfortunately they also didn’t score any more points. A scoreless seventh left the score at 13-1 in favor of the Cowboys, which meant that the run rule was in effect and the game was called.

The Cowboys and Tigers faced off again later Sunday afternoon. The first inning started much like the first inning of the first game. Tyler Blandford pitched for the Cowboys. He struck no one out, but let the Oklahoma State defense get the three outs to end the inning.

Nick Tepesch of Mizzou was in charge of cooling a hot Cowboy offense with his pitches. Like the first inning of the first game, Tyrone Hambly, batting second, started off the Cowboy offense. He doubled between outs and “Mean” Dean Green singled giving Hambly the run and himself the RBI. Tepesch regained control  and struck out Kevin David to end the inning.

The second inning started off with Blandford walking Steve Gray, but Blandford and the Cowboy’s defensive efforts the rest of the inning did not allow the Tigers to capitalize. The Tigers then returned the favor by not allowing any Cowboy on base with solid defensive throws and catches.

Defense ruled the third inning. Routine catches and throws made it impossible for either team to make any significant offensive plays. In the fourth inning the Tiger and Cowboy defense broke down due to mistakes and strategy. Blandford walked Greg Flogia who was driven home with a Steve Gray triple. Gray advanced home when Blandford balked. Trevor Coleman advanced with four balls and Blandford had to clean up his mess. The Cowboy defense got the two needed outs and Mizzou left the top of the fourth up 2-1.

The Cowboys answered the Tigers by advancing Green to third with a Kevin David sacrifice bunt. Tom Belza advanced Green home to tie the game at 2 apiece. The inning ended with the Tiger defense quietly stopping the Cowboys.

The Tigers did not get on base in the fifth and the Cowboy’s lone score was off leadoff hitter Michael Dabbs home run, his second of the day. In the sixth, Mizzou could still not reach home and Oklahoma State used three Cowboys to send Kevin David home. The Tigers still failed to produce in the seventh but the Cowboys continued to sink their teeth into a lead. With Hambly on base, Neil Medchill homered to send the only two runs of the seventh home.

Oklahoma State entered the eighth inning up 6-2. Phil McCormick replaced Blandford early in the seventh and held the Tigers uncomfortably at bay. Randy McCurry replaced Tepesch early in the seventh. He held back the Cowboys not counting the Medchill home run. With both teams in a stalemate in the eighth, Oklahoma State and Missouri had one final inning to play. If the Tigers could overcome the four run defect then the whole inning would be played, but the Cowboy defense and McCormick’s pitching did not let one Tiger find a base.

The Oklahoma State Cowboys successfully beat the Missouri Tigers in two games in the double header. The teams will face off again Monday, March 30 at 1 pm.

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