Meola's walk-off home helps OSU eliminate Texas Tech, advance to Big 12 title game
Aidan Meola hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth and No. 7 seed Oklahoma State beat Texas Tech 6-5 Saturday to eliminate the Red Raiders and advance to the championship game of the Big 12 Tournament in Arlington, Texas.
Oklahoma State (41-17) has won four games in three days — including an 8-1 win early Saturday over Texas Tech — since losing its opening game of the tournament on Wednesday. The Cowboys play No. 4 seed TCU, which won two of three games against the OSU in the regular season, for the title on Sunday.
Texas Tech (39-21) scored five runs in the top of fifth, capped by Hudson White's 'three-run home run, and the Red Raiders led 5-0 going into the bottom of the eighth, which Zach Ehrhard led off with a single. Beau Sylvester followed with a pinch-hit two-run home run, Colin Brueggemann later scored on a wild pitch with the bases loaded before pinch-hitter Carson Benge made it 5-all with a two-RBI single.
After Ehrhard struck out in the bottom of the ninth, Meola hit his third career home run to help the Cowboys fight off elimination and live for at least one more day.
David Mendham with 4 for 4 with a double and a run for Oklahoma State.
Gabe Davis (1-2) came in with one on and one out in the top of the ninth. Drew Woodcox singled on the ninth pitch of the next at bat to give the Red Raiders runners on first and second before Davis struck out White and Tracer Lopez to end the threat and earn his first career win.
Extra points
COLLEGE BASKETBALL: The Oklahoma State's women's basketball team has bolstered its roster with another Big 12 veteran with the addition of former Kansas standout Chandler Prater, the school announced Sunday. Prater played 86 games in three seasons with the Jayhawks. The 5-foot-11 guard averaged 9.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game last season.
COLLEGE SOFTBALL: A controversial game-ending play at the plate ended Central Oklahoma's historic 2023 campaign Sunday afternoon in the NCAA Division II Softball Championship.
The No. 4-ranked Bronchos were called for obstruction on would have been the third out in the bottom of the seventh inning and No. 8 Grand Valley State escaped with a 3-2 victory in advancing to the best-of-three finals.
UCO won a school-record 54 games in finishing 54-9.
“It's a heartbreaking way to be eliminated,” 10th-year head coach Cody White said. “The girls played hard, they competed and did a lot of things right so I was really proud of them. It was a tough game.”