Matt Gardner pitches against Western Illinois on Tuesday. Gardner threw eight scoreless innings as the Cowboys won 6-1. The teams conclude the series this afternoon at 1.
Dean Green recorded Oklahoma State’s first hit against Western Illinois on Tuesday, and it was a big one.
WIU starter Frank Zenisek retired the first 11 batters he faced before walking Matt Hague with two outs in the bottom of the fourth.
Green followed with a two-run homer that put the Cowboys up 2-0 and provided all the run support OSU starter Matt Gardner would need.
Gardner recorded 14 ground-ball outs and didn’t allow a run in eight innings of work on Tuesday, and the No. 20 Cowboys beat the Leathernecks 6-1.
The victory was the third straight for the Cowboys (20-9), who returned home this week after winning two of three games at No. 4 Missouri over the weekend.
The loss dropped the Leathernecks to 7-18, and increased OSU’s all-time series lead to 19-1.
Gardner’s solid pitching performance was his third in a row.
He struck out six and gave up two runs over 6 1/3 innings against Arizona on March 25, and he went six innings, struck out eight and allowed one run against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on March 19.
Gardner’s ERA is 1.33 over his last three starts, and he struck out 16 batters over his 20 1/3 innings of work.
Gardner said it was nice to continue to pitch well.
“It’s good to keep cruising along and just keep getting quality starts, giving us a chance to win,” Gardner said. “That’s what starters are supposed to do, and we talk about it all the time.”
Anderson also said freshman second baseman Thomas Belza’s defensive effort impressed him.
“[WIU] swung the bat better than we did early, and Tommy made a bunch of plays out there to keep them from doing anything,” Anderson said.
Anderson said Belza’s defense is the main reason he has received so much playing time lately.
Gardner said Belza impressed him as well.
“Defensively, he adds another element to our club,” Gardner said. “He and Jordy [Mercer] are so good up the middle. A ground ball guy like me really appreciates those two guys.”
Mercer also got some routine work on the mound during the ninth inning. He gave up a run on three hits in one inning of work, but Anderson attributed his struggles to the 6-0 lead OSU had going into the inning.
Gardner, who missed most of last year with an aneurysm under his right shoulder, said he feels healthy heading into the rest of the season.
“I’m feeling good,” Gardner said. “I’m really just trying to get better as the season goes on.”
Gardner said the team is gaining consistency as the season progresses, and said the team will only get better.
“We feel like we haven’t played our best baseball yet, so once we get it all going together in the right direction, we’re going to be a dangerous club,” Gardner said.
The second and final game of the series is at 1 p.m. today at Reynolds Stadium.
The start time was moved up two hours, as it was originally scheduled for a 3 p.m. start.
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