pretty article from DOK....talks about Youngerman's pitch count.....
OSU sweeps K-State with dominant pitching
STILLWATER — With its season teetering toward treacherous territory, the Oklahoma State baseball team came through with one of its most impressive series performances of the season.
The Cowboys finished off a sweep of Kansas State by taking both ends of a doubleheader Sunday at O’Brate Stadium, 7-0 and 10-2.
OSU (15-14, 4-6 Big 12) needed just five pitchers to get through 18 innings, and while the offensive production was necessary for the victories, the work on the mound was beyond critical.
The Pokes came into the series having lost four in a row, getting swept at Kansas last weekend. And they had lost eight of the previous 11 games prior to Friday night’s 4-3 win over the Wildcats.
Now, for the first time in a few weeks, the Cowboys have some positive momentum pushing them forward.
“Obviously, I think the conversation for today starts with the outing that Sean (Youngerman) gave us, followed by a quality outing from Hunter (Watkins),” OSU coach Josh Holliday said. “When you get a great start like that, where (Youngerman is) basically overpowering and dominant, and then we’re able to add to that and build a lead — you felt pretty good how that was going.”
Youngerman and Watkins, the Cowboys’ starting pitchers for the doubleheader, combined to allow two runs on seven hits with one walk and 16 strikeouts over 13 innings.
Youngerman dominant from start
Youngerman took a perfect game into the sixth inning and three Oklahoma State players hit home runs in the first game of the day.
Though he’s been most frequently used from the bullpen this season, Youngerman was prepared as a potential starter in the preseason, so he felt his body was ready for the 133 pitches he was asked to throw Sunday.
“That’s definitely the most I’ve thrown in a game, but I definitely felt like I was prepared,” said Youngerman, who gave up three hits with no walks and 11 strikeouts over eight innings. “I’m glad they let me stay out there and finish that eighth.”
His previous longest outing had been 74 pitches over five innings against Texas State on Feb. 18. That day, Youngerman struck out five, his most this season. The 11 strikeouts tied his career high, which Youngerman set last year at Division II Westmont College in Montecito, California.
With Youngerman’s strong effort Sunday, Holliday expects the junior right-hander to remain a starter going forward.
“The decision to insert him this weekend, it made a lot of sense,” Holliday said. “He showed us right there that, ‘Hey, I’m gonna give you something that the team needs.’ So yeah, I couldn’t imagine at this point that we wouldn’t stay with that plan.”
The Cowboys got on the board with a solo home run from Nolan Schubart in the first inning, then took command with a five-run fourth.
Kollin Ritchie hit a three-run home run to right field and Brayden Smith drove in two with a triple into the right center field gap.
Catcher Beau Sylvester finished off the scoring with a solo home run to left in the sixth inning.
Watkins keeps momentum going
Watkins allowed two runs on four hits over five innings to win the nightcap, with Matthew Brown and Noah Wech each throwing a pair of shutout innings in relief. Offensively, the Cowboys built momentum with a few K-State miscues.
With the game tied at 2 in the bottom of the fourth inning, Garrett Shull led off the frame with a double to left field and he moved to third on a wild pitch. That set the table for a sacrifice fly when Alex Conover flew out to center field.
The fifth inning was nearly a repeat with Ian Daugherty doubling and moving to third on a wild pitch. But it was yet another wild pitch that brought him home for a 4-2 Cowboy lead.
OSU blew it open in the sixth with consecutive singles by Shull, Conover, Drew Culberson and Brayden Smith — the last of which was misplayed in left field and brought in two runs.
And OSU added four more in the frame without a hit to the outfield. One scored when Nolan Schubart drew a bases-loaded walk, one scored when Colin Brueggemann’s grounder to third was mishandled, and another came in when Jayson Jones grounded into a fielder’s choice.
Donovan LaSalle dropped a wellplaced squeeze bunt that brought in the final run.
“This tells us we’re doing the right things,” said Smith, who had four total hits on the day and extended his hitting streak to 16 games. “Baseball’s hard. It doesn’t always go your way. We gotta keep working, stick with our process and keep playing hard.”
The Cowboys will try to keep the momentum going at 6 p.m. Tuesday when Oral Roberts comes to O’Brate Stadium.
OSU sweeps K-State with dominant pitching
STILLWATER — With its season teetering toward treacherous territory, the Oklahoma State baseball team came through with one of its most impressive series performances of the season.
The Cowboys finished off a sweep of Kansas State by taking both ends of a doubleheader Sunday at O’Brate Stadium, 7-0 and 10-2.
OSU (15-14, 4-6 Big 12) needed just five pitchers to get through 18 innings, and while the offensive production was necessary for the victories, the work on the mound was beyond critical.
The Pokes came into the series having lost four in a row, getting swept at Kansas last weekend. And they had lost eight of the previous 11 games prior to Friday night’s 4-3 win over the Wildcats.
Now, for the first time in a few weeks, the Cowboys have some positive momentum pushing them forward.
“Obviously, I think the conversation for today starts with the outing that Sean (Youngerman) gave us, followed by a quality outing from Hunter (Watkins),” OSU coach Josh Holliday said. “When you get a great start like that, where (Youngerman is) basically overpowering and dominant, and then we’re able to add to that and build a lead — you felt pretty good how that was going.”
Youngerman and Watkins, the Cowboys’ starting pitchers for the doubleheader, combined to allow two runs on seven hits with one walk and 16 strikeouts over 13 innings.
Youngerman dominant from start
Youngerman took a perfect game into the sixth inning and three Oklahoma State players hit home runs in the first game of the day.
Though he’s been most frequently used from the bullpen this season, Youngerman was prepared as a potential starter in the preseason, so he felt his body was ready for the 133 pitches he was asked to throw Sunday.
“That’s definitely the most I’ve thrown in a game, but I definitely felt like I was prepared,” said Youngerman, who gave up three hits with no walks and 11 strikeouts over eight innings. “I’m glad they let me stay out there and finish that eighth.”
His previous longest outing had been 74 pitches over five innings against Texas State on Feb. 18. That day, Youngerman struck out five, his most this season. The 11 strikeouts tied his career high, which Youngerman set last year at Division II Westmont College in Montecito, California.
With Youngerman’s strong effort Sunday, Holliday expects the junior right-hander to remain a starter going forward.
“The decision to insert him this weekend, it made a lot of sense,” Holliday said. “He showed us right there that, ‘Hey, I’m gonna give you something that the team needs.’ So yeah, I couldn’t imagine at this point that we wouldn’t stay with that plan.”
The Cowboys got on the board with a solo home run from Nolan Schubart in the first inning, then took command with a five-run fourth.
Kollin Ritchie hit a three-run home run to right field and Brayden Smith drove in two with a triple into the right center field gap.
Catcher Beau Sylvester finished off the scoring with a solo home run to left in the sixth inning.
Watkins keeps momentum going
Watkins allowed two runs on four hits over five innings to win the nightcap, with Matthew Brown and Noah Wech each throwing a pair of shutout innings in relief. Offensively, the Cowboys built momentum with a few K-State miscues.
With the game tied at 2 in the bottom of the fourth inning, Garrett Shull led off the frame with a double to left field and he moved to third on a wild pitch. That set the table for a sacrifice fly when Alex Conover flew out to center field.
The fifth inning was nearly a repeat with Ian Daugherty doubling and moving to third on a wild pitch. But it was yet another wild pitch that brought him home for a 4-2 Cowboy lead.
OSU blew it open in the sixth with consecutive singles by Shull, Conover, Drew Culberson and Brayden Smith — the last of which was misplayed in left field and brought in two runs.
And OSU added four more in the frame without a hit to the outfield. One scored when Nolan Schubart drew a bases-loaded walk, one scored when Colin Brueggemann’s grounder to third was mishandled, and another came in when Jayson Jones grounded into a fielder’s choice.
Donovan LaSalle dropped a wellplaced squeeze bunt that brought in the final run.
“This tells us we’re doing the right things,” said Smith, who had four total hits on the day and extended his hitting streak to 16 games. “Baseball’s hard. It doesn’t always go your way. We gotta keep working, stick with our process and keep playing hard.”
The Cowboys will try to keep the momentum going at 6 p.m. Tuesday when Oral Roberts comes to O’Brate Stadium.
