STILLWATER – Brian Holiday's 10 strikeouts led No. 19 Oklahoma State to a 9-3 victory over Texas Tech on Saturday at Oblate Stadium.
With the win, OSU improved to 34-16 overall and 17-9 in Big 12 play, but the Red Raiders fell to 30-22 and 12-17 in league play.
Holiday pitched 6 1/3 innings against the Cowboys, reaching double-digit strikeouts for the fourth time this season and allowing just two earned runs.
With the score tied at 2-2 and one out in the seventh inning, Drew Blake came out of the bullpen and induced a double play, increasing the score to 4-0.
Robert Krantz finished the game with two shutout innings, fanning five of the six batters he faced and earning his second save.
Offensively, Carson Benge and Colin Bruggeman had three RBIs for the Cowboys, and Benge and Aidan Meola each had a home run.
The Red Raiders took the lead with a two-run home run by Austin Green in the first inning, but Brueggemann tied it in the bottom of the inning with a two-run double to right field.
Holiday and TTU's Kyle Robinson got into a pitching battle, and the game was tied 2-2 until the seventh inning.
But in the seventh inning, OSU's Tyler Wolfert ignited the club with a leadoff single in a 15-pitch at-bat. Wolfert's effort resulted in him fouling 10 pitches, including seven in a row, before driving a batted ball into the right field seats.
After being out, Zach Erhardt singled, then Benji stepped up to the plate and hit his 15th three-run homer to left-center field of the season. Two batters later, Meola hit a solo shot of his own to give the Pokes a 6-2 advantage.
Texas Tech got one run back in the 8th inning with a solo home run by Tracer Lopez, making it a three-point battle, but they led 6-3, and OSU scored three points with Avery's timely hit in the bottom half of the box. added. Ortiz, an RBI double from Erhardt, and a walk to Brueggemann.
OSU will aim to complete the series sweep tomorrow at 1 p.m.
