Cowboys Fall In 10 Innings In Season Opener

Friday, February 13

Phoenix, Ariz.

7:30 PM

Oklahoma State University

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Arizona State

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Oklahoma State

Arizona State

February 14, 2015 | Cowboy Baseball

Box Score

Feb. 14, 2015

Box Score

PHOENIX -- Oklahoma State dropped its 2015 season opener Friday night as Colby Woodmansee's walk-off home run gave 18th-ranked Arizona State a 4-3 win over the No. 5 Cowboys in front of 4,253 fans at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.

Woodmansee's solo shot came off OSU junior Koda Glover as the ASU shortstop deposited a 1-2 curve ball just inside the left field foul pole and over the wall to hand the Cowboys the loss.

"It's always tough to lose a game like that, but what you have to look at is the type of baseball game our young club has already had a chance to experience," said OSU head coach Josh Holliday. "Give Arizona State credit - the kid went up there and hit a two-strike curve ball out of the park and that's not easy to do. You tip your cap to him, you don't sit here and put your head down.

"We faced some a couple of really fine pitchers, we had some chances, and those kids were able to escape those jams. We'll grow from that and do a better job next time we're faced with those opportunities."

A pair of those OSU opportunities came in the final two innings.

In the ninth, with the game tied at 3-3, the Cowboys looked poised to take the lead against ASU closer Ryan Burr, who walked Jon Littell to open the inning and then surrendered an opposite-field double to Kevin Bradley. But Burr rose to the occasion, striking out three-straight OSU hitters to strand the two runners in scoring position.

After Glover set down the Sun Devils in order in the bottom of the ninth to send the game into extra innings, Gage Green led off the OSU 10th with a walk and promptly stole second. After Green advanced to third on a fly out, the Cowboys had the go-ahead run 90 feet away with one out, but Burr struck out Conor Costello and Tim Arakawa to end the threat.

"We put ourselves in position to put a run across in the final innings only to come up a little short," Holliday said. "Our kids are disappointed, I'm disappointed. But we came out here for this kind of baseball. You put yourself out there in game one against a very good team, and you might have to deal with this type of reality quicker than had you protected yourself and not played somebody as capable.

"Tough one, but there's another one tomorrow and there's not a lot of time to sit around and feel sorry for yourself. I think we'll have a team that will show up tomorrow with the mindset to turn the momentum a little bit."

OSU had battled back in the game's middle innings to take the lead.

After Cowboy starter Tyler Nurdin worked three scoreless innings to start the game, ASU got to the senior southpaw in the fourth. Joey Bielek led off the inning with a single and moved to second on a stolen base with one out, and Woodmansee brought home the game's first run with a hard-hit single that glanced off the glove of a diving OSU third baseman Jacob Chappell.

ASU doubled its lead when, after Woodmansee advanced to second on a wild pitch, Dalton Dinatale delivered a double to right field to put the home team up, 2-0. After a walk ended Nurdin's night on the hill, Trey Cobb came out of the bullpen and got a strikeout and a pop up to escape further damage.

The Cowboys wouldn't be down long, however. Littell led off the fifth with a walk before advancing to third on a wild pitch and a groundout. After a two-out walk to Chappell, Corey Hassel stepped to the plate and drilled a two-out, two-RBI double into the right-center field gap to tie the score at 2-2. Hassel finished the contest with two hits and two RBIs, both marking career highs for the junior.

In the sixth, OSU would take its first lead when Costello, who led off the inning with a walk before advancing to third on a groundout and a wild pitch, scored on an RBI infield single by Bradley to put the Cowboys up by a 3-2 count.

The Sun Devils mounted a rally in the seventh, loading the bases with two outs on two singles and an intentional walk. But Blake Battenfield kept OSU's 3-2 lead intact by striking out Woodmansee to end the inning.

However, in the eighth, ASU would come through with the tying run off Battenfield as an RBI double into the left field corner by Jordan Aboites plated Johnny Sewald to make it 3-3.

OSU finished with seven hits in the contest, with Hassel and Bradley collecting two apiece.

The Cowboys sent five pitchers to the mound as that group allowed 12 ASU hits but stranded 13 Sun Devils on the base paths. Cobb worked 3 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and tying a career high with six strikeouts.

The two teams return to action Saturday at 2 p.m. (CST).