by LUBBOCK, Texas – Oklahoma State had its four-game winning streak snapped Friday night as No. 15 Texas Tech handed the 16th-ranked Cowboys a 12-4 loss in the series opener at Rip Griffin Park.
With the loss, OSU fell to 25-14 overall and 10-6 in Big 12 Conference play, while the Red Raiders improved to 27-13 and 9-7 in the league.
Andrew Navigato and Trevor Boone (Osage Tribe) each homered and drove in two runs for the Cowboys, with Boone’s round tripper bringing his Big 12-best season total to 14, while Colin Simpson and Alix Garcia had three hits apiece for OSU.
Coming off his best outing of the season in a shutout of Texas last week, Jensen Elliott took the loss to fall to 5-3 on the season. The right-hander lasted just two innings and allowed seven runs on five hits.
OSU took the game’s initial lead in its first at bat. After back-to-back walks to Hueston Morrill and Christian Funk to open the game, Simpson doubled to deep center field, but Morrill was thrown out at the plate on the play. However, Navigato would step to the plate and deliver a sacrifice fly to center to give the Cowboys a 1-0 advantage.
The Red Raiders quickly answered in the bottom of the first. After Gabe Holt led off with a double, consecutive groundouts brought him home to make the score 1-1.
TTU took its first lead in the third, rallying for six runs in the inning to take command of the scoreboard.
The Red Raiders got three consecutive hits to open the pivotal frame and went up 3-1 on a two-RBI triple off the bat of Dylan Neuse. Following a walk, TTU extended its lead to three on an RBI single by Josh Jung.
After the home team struck for three runs and loaded the bases with no outs, Elliott’s night was done. Peyton Battenfield came out of the bullpen and struck out the first batter he faced, but a bases-clearing double by Cole Stilwell pushed the TTU lead to 7-1.
OSU got a run back in the fourth when Navigato led off the inning with his 10th home run of the season, with the blast to left-field cutting the Cowboys’ deficit to 7-2.
Trailing 8-2, the Pokes trimmed TTU’s lead in half in the sixth on a two-run homer by Boone that sailed far over the wall in left field.
But that was as close as OSU would get as a Cameron Warren leadoff homer in the seventh and a three-run shot by Jung in the eighth provided the final margin of victory for the Red Raiders.
The two teams return to action Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in a game televised on ESPNU.
