MajorMike
03-27-2008, 08:13 AM
Justin Wilmeth
OStateIllustrated.com Editor
STILLWATER – Arizona's Ryan Perry racked up the K's, but one slip proved to be the difference in the second game against Oklahoma State.
The Wildcat starting pitcher faced 22 batters, striking out 10 of them. But the third inning proved to be his downfall. Cowboy Dylan Brown got the inning started with a double, while Jordy Mercer soon followed with a single to put two runners on for Matt Hague, who promptly got the GAP Band playing with a shot over the left-center field wall into the net. At the time, that put the Pokes up 3-1. The Wildcats scored a run in the fifth to tighten things up, then reliever Josh Neal sealed the deal, tossing 4.2 innings of two-hit ball and helping OSU hold onto the slim 3-2 win in front of 2,012 fans inside Allie P. Reynolds Stadium on Wednesday night.
The victory completes a two-game sweep of the No. 6-ranked team in the nation, which also extends OSU's current winning streak to four games. Tuesday night Cowboys ran all over the Wildcats, posting a 10-2 win.
"Anytime you beat a top five team, more or less – and they were a preseason No. 1 too – anytime you come in and beat a team like that, it gives you a boost of confidence," Mercer said.
The No. 22 Pokes (17-6) should be full of confidence after this mid-week sweep of the Wildcats (13-7). U of A got on the board in the first and Perry struck out four in his first two innings of work. At that point, it was looking like there wouldn't be many chinks to cut into for OSU. But that changed with Hague's bomb, which now seems even bigger after Anderson's post-game comments on the hurler.
"He's got above-average major league velocity," Anderson said. "I think it was up to 98 (miles per hour) a couple of pitches. He pitched in the mid-90s and had a great breaking ball and Hague got a ball that he could handle and he hit it out of here. Otherwise, I'm not sure we score – he kept striking us out. And people in the stands, the crowd will wonder why we can't get it in play. You know why? Because he's got great stuff. He was one of the top 10 prospects in the Cape (Cod League) and he'll be a high draft choice. I think that's why you saw four scouting directors here to come see him pitch."
"He's tough, for sure," Mercer said of Perry. "Real tough. His fastball's got a lot of life to it and he had a good breaking ball. He looks like a monster out there on the mound. He's pretty intimidating. He's good."
But he wasn't the only solid pitching outing of the night. After Matt Willis started the game and posted two strikeouts and allowed nine hits and two runs over 4.1 innings, Neal came in and beared down on the Cats. He allowed no runs, two hits and hung four K's on Zona the rest of the way.
"You've just got to come out there and throw strikes and let your defense work," Neal said. "They're good enough to make the plays and they did."
Anderson said he thought Neal was calm and collected out there in a high-pressure situation. When he came in, a run had just scored to bring the lead down to one and there was only one out in the fifth inning.
"He seemed to be in control," Anderson said. "When they bunted the ball back to him, he was under control and threw the guy out at second base. He handled things throughout the game because he went into a pressure situation when he came in. I wanted to go with him because I knew that, at some point, that left-hander who has owned us for two games, (Jon) Gaston, was going to come up and I wanted a left-hander to be in the game. It was fortunate the way it worked out."
Fortunate indeed. With the win, OSU completes a two-game sweep of the Wildcats and reinforces the solid showings over the weekend in a pair of wins over Texas A&M.
"We've got to get this game behind us after tonight," Anderson said. "We'll enjoy it, but Friday it starts all over again. They (Kansas State) got a big win over Creighton today, 11-1 and they've won some games in a row. That's a tough place to play up there. Yes, it's a momentum-builder, but we've got to go up there and just keep going with it."
The Pokes face off against the Sunflower State version of the Wildcats this Friday-Sunday.
Zona: 100 010 000 – 2 11 0
OSU: 003 000 00X – 3 9 1
WP: Neal (2-0)
LP: Perry (1-2)
E: Hambly
DP: Wildcats 1, OSU 3
LOB: Wildcats 9, OSU 9
OStateIllustrated.com Editor
STILLWATER – Arizona's Ryan Perry racked up the K's, but one slip proved to be the difference in the second game against Oklahoma State.
The Wildcat starting pitcher faced 22 batters, striking out 10 of them. But the third inning proved to be his downfall. Cowboy Dylan Brown got the inning started with a double, while Jordy Mercer soon followed with a single to put two runners on for Matt Hague, who promptly got the GAP Band playing with a shot over the left-center field wall into the net. At the time, that put the Pokes up 3-1. The Wildcats scored a run in the fifth to tighten things up, then reliever Josh Neal sealed the deal, tossing 4.2 innings of two-hit ball and helping OSU hold onto the slim 3-2 win in front of 2,012 fans inside Allie P. Reynolds Stadium on Wednesday night.
The victory completes a two-game sweep of the No. 6-ranked team in the nation, which also extends OSU's current winning streak to four games. Tuesday night Cowboys ran all over the Wildcats, posting a 10-2 win.
"Anytime you beat a top five team, more or less – and they were a preseason No. 1 too – anytime you come in and beat a team like that, it gives you a boost of confidence," Mercer said.
The No. 22 Pokes (17-6) should be full of confidence after this mid-week sweep of the Wildcats (13-7). U of A got on the board in the first and Perry struck out four in his first two innings of work. At that point, it was looking like there wouldn't be many chinks to cut into for OSU. But that changed with Hague's bomb, which now seems even bigger after Anderson's post-game comments on the hurler.
"He's got above-average major league velocity," Anderson said. "I think it was up to 98 (miles per hour) a couple of pitches. He pitched in the mid-90s and had a great breaking ball and Hague got a ball that he could handle and he hit it out of here. Otherwise, I'm not sure we score – he kept striking us out. And people in the stands, the crowd will wonder why we can't get it in play. You know why? Because he's got great stuff. He was one of the top 10 prospects in the Cape (Cod League) and he'll be a high draft choice. I think that's why you saw four scouting directors here to come see him pitch."
"He's tough, for sure," Mercer said of Perry. "Real tough. His fastball's got a lot of life to it and he had a good breaking ball. He looks like a monster out there on the mound. He's pretty intimidating. He's good."
But he wasn't the only solid pitching outing of the night. After Matt Willis started the game and posted two strikeouts and allowed nine hits and two runs over 4.1 innings, Neal came in and beared down on the Cats. He allowed no runs, two hits and hung four K's on Zona the rest of the way.
"You've just got to come out there and throw strikes and let your defense work," Neal said. "They're good enough to make the plays and they did."
Anderson said he thought Neal was calm and collected out there in a high-pressure situation. When he came in, a run had just scored to bring the lead down to one and there was only one out in the fifth inning.
"He seemed to be in control," Anderson said. "When they bunted the ball back to him, he was under control and threw the guy out at second base. He handled things throughout the game because he went into a pressure situation when he came in. I wanted to go with him because I knew that, at some point, that left-hander who has owned us for two games, (Jon) Gaston, was going to come up and I wanted a left-hander to be in the game. It was fortunate the way it worked out."
Fortunate indeed. With the win, OSU completes a two-game sweep of the Wildcats and reinforces the solid showings over the weekend in a pair of wins over Texas A&M.
"We've got to get this game behind us after tonight," Anderson said. "We'll enjoy it, but Friday it starts all over again. They (Kansas State) got a big win over Creighton today, 11-1 and they've won some games in a row. That's a tough place to play up there. Yes, it's a momentum-builder, but we've got to go up there and just keep going with it."
The Pokes face off against the Sunflower State version of the Wildcats this Friday-Sunday.
Zona: 100 010 000 – 2 11 0
OSU: 003 000 00X – 3 9 1
WP: Neal (2-0)
LP: Perry (1-2)
E: Hambly
DP: Wildcats 1, OSU 3
LOB: Wildcats 9, OSU 9