Home runs had been helping the Bulldogs all season, but a pair of long balls in the ninth inning of Sunday’s elimination game spelled doom for the Regional hosts.
Oklahoma State beat Georgia 11-9 thanks to a walk-off, two-run home run from freshman Brock Thompson. OSU advances to play Duke at 5 p.m. Sunday.
.@BrockThompson21 called GAME#GoPokes pic.twitter.com/sAHKfI91QR
— OSU Cowboy Baseball (@OSUBaseball) June 1, 2025
The Cowboys entered the ninth down 9-7. Georgia hit back-to-back singles to start the ninth when Rob Walton called Matt Brown out of his bullpen. Brown struck out all three batters he faced. It was a performance that might get lost in the chaos of the bottom of the inning, but it proved to be massive. Brown threw just 11 pitches to get those three Ks.
Nolan Schubart drew a walk to start the bottom of the inning. Atoka Wampus Cat Kollin Ritchie was up next, and he sent a ball beyond the right-field fence to tie the game.
Ritchie 🚀
Cleared for takeoff#GoPokes | @kollin_ritchie pic.twitter.com/lFJ2y3cFVf
— OSU Cowboy Baseball (@OSUBaseball) June 1, 2025
Ritchie has been the Pokes’ player of the weekend to this point. Through the three games, Ritchie is 5-for-10 with four runs scored, eight RBIs and four home runs.
The Cowboys held a 3-0 lead after two innings thanks to solo home runs from Schubart and Alex Conover and an RBI single from Brayden Smith. But then Georgia’s heralded bats got rolling.
The Bulldogs led the nation in home runs entering the NCAA Tournament. They hit four Sunday against the Pokes.
Georgia plated five in the third inning to take a 5-3 lead. Four of those runs came off two home runs. Slate Alford hit the first. He admired it for a moment before flipping his bat toward the OSU dugout as he trotted up the first-base line. The dugout didn’t take too kindly to the act, and neither did the umpires, as Alford was as given a warning after his stroll around the bases.
Christian Adams hit the Bulldogs’ second home run of the inning. Although he wasn’t as slow getting away from home plate, Adams did keep the bat with him for most of his trot to first before casting it aside.
Alford and Adams then each hit their second home runs of the game in the fourth and fifth inning, respectively, ballooning the Bulldogs’ lead to 7-3 heading into the bottom of the fifth. But the Cowboys weren’t done fighting.
The bottom of the fifth started with Garrett Shull and Smith hitting back-to-back singles before Avery Ortiz was hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs.
Schubart stepped into the box and drew a five-pitch walk to score a run.
Ritchie then grounded to third. The Bulldogs attempted to turn a double play but only got the out at second while Smith scored to make it 7-5.
Colin Brueggemann was up next. He dribbled a ball down the third-base line. The Bulldogs were in a shift and were unable to even attempt to throw Brueggemann out at first. Ortiz scored, and Ritchie made it to third after a throwing error occurred while trying to throw him out at second.
An Ian Daugherty sacrifice fly then scored Ritchie, and all of a sudden, the Cowboys had battled back to a tie.
It stayed that way until the seventh where the Bulldogs scored on an RBI single. They added their ninth run in the in the eighth off another single, setting up the wild final inning.
Big 12 Co-Newcomer of the Year Harrison Bodendorf got the start against Georgia. He went five innings, giving up seven runs on six hits while walking one, hitting three and striking out two.
The bullpen quartet of Gabe Davis, Ryan Ure, Drew Blake and Brown threw the remaining four innings, combining to give up two runs off five hits while walking three and striking out seven.
There were a handful of good performances on the offensive side for the Pokes. Smith, Schubart, Brueggemann and Thompson each had multiple hits.
The Cowboys have a quick turnaround for a rematch against the Blue Devils. Duke beat OSU 12-5 to start the Regional before the Blue Devils beat Georgia 6-3 on Saturday. If the Cowboys win Sunday night’s game, the two teams will play again Monday. If Duke wins Sunday night, the Blue Devils advance to Supers.