Senior pitcher Matt Gardner ended his OSU career by going seven strong innings against TCU, giving up four runs.
The Cowboy baseball season ended earlier than expected, and it was a familiar face that delivered the final blow.
The No. 5 Cowboys fell to No. 21 Wichita State 11-7 in 10 innings Sunday. The Cowboys took a 7-5 lead into the top of the ninth inning but could not hold on.
In the top of the 10th inning, with two outs and bases loaded, the Cowboys watched their season end off the bat of a former teammate. Wichita State designated hitter Clinton McKeever hit a winding grand slam that ricocheted off the right field foul pole and sent the Shockers fans into a riot.
McKeever was a walk-on pitcher at OSU in 2005, but he was cut from the team and transferred to Wichita State. Sunday night he had his storybook ending at the expense of the Cowboys.
Although the season ended on a sour note for the Pokes, coach Frank Anderson said their season was a success regardless of the outcome of the NCAA Regional, where the Cowboys were the top-seeded team in the Stillwater Regional.
“I thought our kids competed at a very high level all through the game,” Anderson said. “I thought there wasn’t any instance where we backed off and didn’t compete. I’m proud of them.
“I thought it was a gutsy performance and we just didn’t come up with the win.”
The Cowboys finished the season 44-18 with a No. 5 national ranking and a second-place finish in the Big 12. The Cowboys went 14-7 against ranked teams with nine of those victories coming against top 10 teams. The Pokes led the conference with a .330 batting average and 3.80 team ERA, but the Shockers had the Cowboys figured out.
The Cowboys inability to win at home in the regional was also a surprise to the team. The Cowboys posted a 26-4 record at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium, including a 5-3 win April 23 against the Shockers, but only managed a 2-2 record in the NCAA Regional.
“It’s tough,” shortstop Jordy Mercer said. “There is no doubt about it. We definitely didn’t see ourselves in this situation.
“We felt like we had all our confidence going into the game and it just didn’t work out.”
Anderson said the Cowboys have nothing to be ashamed of. OSU returned only two starters from the 2007 team that reached the NCAA Super Regional in Louisville. The Cowboys were picked to finish fifth in the Big 12 this season.
The Cowboys exceeded expectations.
OSU became the first Big 12 team to sweep Texas in Austin in a three-game series and the Cowboys set a school record for hits against a Big 12 opponent in their 19-2 drubbing of No. 6 Nebraska on April 12.
Nine Cowboys received All-Big 12 accolades with three making the first team.
Even though the season did not end in the fashion the Cowboys desired, Anderson said it is a season they can be proud of.
“I thought it was a great success,” Anderson said. “The kids battled and that’s all I’m asking for right there.
“Compete as hard as you can and what they did was pretty special.”
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