Stillwater, Ok. – Winthrop recorded their first win over a ranked opponent since 2015 by downing #16 Oklahoma State in the second game of a two-game series with the Cowboys on the road 9-3 Wednesday afternoon.
KEY CONTRIBUTORS
- Ethan Wilson (3-5, R, 3 RBI, 2 2B)
- Alan Benhardt (3-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2-run HR)
- Dusty Vela (2-3, R, 2B)
- Lance Wade (3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K)
W:
Harrison Wilson (1-0, 6.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 5 K)
L: Noah Wech (0-3)
S: N/A
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Eagles drew first blood in the first, with both scoring plays occurring with two outs
- Ethan Wilson's RBI single to right field brought in Jaylen Hernandez and on the next play Alan Benhardt's bunt single scored Koby Kropf
- After three innings of play, Winthrop starting pitcher Lance Wade had struck out five batters and had also retired nine of the first 10 batters he had faced up to that point in the contest
- Winthrop loaded the bases twice in the top of the fourth and was able to capitalize on the second opportunity
- Gabe Natividad's RBI single with two outs drove in two runs aided by a Cowboy error
- Relief pitcher Harrison Wilson entered the game at the start of the bottom of the frame and after giving up Oklahoma State's first hit of the game, induced a double play and struck out the next batter, keeping Winthrop ahead 4-0 going to the fifth
- Benhardt blasted a two-run shot to right field, extending the visitors lead to six in the fifth inning
- Oklahoma State cut the lead in half on Daughtery's sac fly to center field and a two-run home run to right field by Ritchie in the bottom of the stanza
- After the three-run fifth posted by the home team, Wilson completely shut down the Cowboy offense the rest of the way, not allowing a hit after that
- Winthrop sealed the victory in the top of the ninth with three insurance runs
- Dusty Vela came in to score on a wild pitch with no one out
- Then four plays later, E. Wilson hit a clutch, two-out, two-run RBI double down the left field line
TEAM TIDBITS
- Winthrop moves to 1,389-1,005-7 all-time as a program
- This is Winthrop's first win over a ranked opponent in 10 seasons
- The last time this happened was on Mar. 17, 2015 when the Eagles beat #6 South Carolina on the road 7-5
ON DECK
Winthrop travels to the neutral site of Fluor Field in Greenville, S.C. for games on Friday and Saturday against UAB and Michigan State, respectively before coming home to Founders Field to face Cornell on Sunday. The UAB and Michigan State games will start at 6:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. while the Cornell game will take place at 1:00 p.m. All three contests will be streamed on ESPN+.
