Oklahoma State took an early lead in its home opener with an early offensive charge.
OSU's offense established its dominance from the start against Central Michigan on Friday night at Oblate Stadium, setting the tone with a home run that resulted in a 7-4 Cowboys victory.
first baseman Played by Colin Bruggeman be Selection subject role inside of the team criminalUnder construction on Friday night.Â
The Cowboys (5-4) already had a home run off Jackson Krul during the game. bottom of beginning. With no outs in the second inning and the count 1-2, Brüggemann hit a solo home run over the left field wall, extending OSU's lead. Â
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In the bottom of the third inning, with Zach Erhardt on second base, Brueggemann hit his first pitch past the visitors' bullpen for his second home run of the night.Â
“It felt great,” Brueggemann said.
He admitted that his performance was slow on the Texas trip earlier in the season. He forgot about it on Friday.
“It's not the start I wanted, but I think I'll be in a slump,” Bruggemann said. “All baseball players go through slumps, go I spent time not feeling like myself. ”Â
Enter Brüggeman on Friday I didn't He was great offensively. Through 8 games, he did it logged 7 hits (all singles), no RBIs, batting average .219.Â
Friday was different, as the sophomore Cowboy hit two home runs and had three RBIs in his first two at-bats.Â
“We were going to come back here for two days and do some work and watch some film, and we were able to make some adjustments here,” Brueggemann said. . “I kept coming off the ball and keeping my head down. I felt like I was flying wide open, and on top of that, I was making a lot of swings and throwing mistakes, so I was able to drive last year.”Â
OSU coach Josh Holliday praised Bruggeman's outstanding performance after a slow start to the season. Â
“He finally smiled,” Holliday said. “The kids are working hard and working their tails off. Everybody wants to be successful. When he comes tomorrow, I'll feel better about myself.” than Feeling a little better about yourself helps you feel better about yourself. ”Â
Catcher Ian Daugherty brought in two runners, and in the second, Zach Erhardt hit an RBI homer, and in the seventh inning, a RBI to the left field seats brought Lane Forsythe home.Â
nevertheless Brueggemann helped left-handed point guard Sam Garcia handle the offensive line.Metastasis of itching From High Point, limit the Chippewas early (3-7).Garcia is finishedand season high Through four innings, he had a 3.95 ERA with eight strikeouts, six hits, one run allowed, and one walk.Â
“I” Had made There are some good pitches in good locations. It's like we just controlled something that needed to be controlled.Oh,” Garcia said. “I wouldn't change anything, probably just get more first-pitch strikes, and stick to what I do best: execution. ”Â
Garcia, who had already struck out two in the first inning and struck out one man at second and third base, took three swings on four balls from Central Michigan's Mikey Murphy and kept the game scoreless.Â
After Garcia added two strikeouts in the second inning and three in the third, the Chippewas scored a run on a sacrifice fly. from Drew stengren score Robbie Morgan IV.Â
senior relief pitcher Evan O'Toole I felt relieved Garcia pitched two innings and earned the win with a 5.40 ERA with three strikeouts, three hits, two runs, and one walk.Â
Gabe Davis pitched the last two innings.s, logging 7 strikeouts“Career High Tie” Only one hit allowed and no earned Run.Â
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“I thought Sam did a solid job. Evan fought, but Gabe had the upper hand and had a good swing.” holiday Said. “We played solid defense and it was a good win.”Â
Coach Holliday said he wants to see his players do well the rest of the weekend.. Improvements were seen on Friday night. developmentofSome players. Now he wants to see a collective effort.Â
“Every night before I go to bed, I mentally assess whether they're trending up, staying the same, or trending down,” Holliday says. Said. “It’s good to see a few more players on the rise and some players stuck. we Obtained To move them in the right direction.Â
“The only way to do that is through hard work, consistency and believing in each other.”
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