Cowboys Spoil Clemson’s Party

CLEMSON, S.C.—Clemson entered the NCAA tournament as one of the hottest teams in the country. The Tigers went 16-4 down the stretch and won the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament, a finishing kick that earned them the No. 7 national seed. With a regional at Doug Kingsmore Stadium for the first time since 2011, Clemson fans responded, packing the park whenever the Tigers were on the field.

But No. 2 seed Oklahoma State came to spoil the party. The Cowboys won Saturday’s winners’ bracket game against the Tigers and, following Clemson’s victory against Western Carolina in an elimination game Sunday, were ready for them again in the championship game.

Oklahoma State defeated Clemson, 9-2, to advance to super regionals for the second time in three years. The victory capped a 3-0 weekend, in which the Cowboys outscored their opposition 27-4. They never trailed, backed by three strong starts from Thomas Hatch, Tyler Buffett and Jensen Elliott, and an offense firing on all cylinders.

Oklahoma State coach Josh Holliday said, without hesitation, that this is the best his team has played all season.

“We’re thrilled with the way our kids played,” Holliday said. “We were very courageous and unified the entire tournament.”

The Tigers became the first national seed to be eliminated, and Oklahoma State is the first team to beat Clemson twice since Georgia Tech won the final two games of its series at Clemson April 22-24. The Cowboys played largely mistake free all weekend and quelled the Tigers powerful offense.

Tigers coach Monte Lee was impressed by the Cowboys’ performance.

“They’re just a team that you have to beat, because they’re not going to beat themselves because of their pitching staff and their defense,” Lee said. “Offensively, the top half of their order did some damage. Just overall they were the better team and you have to give them a lot of credit .They were one of the best teams I’ve seen this year for sure.”

Sunday, Oklahoma State beat Clemson lefthander Pat Krall, who had been the Tigers’ moment-of-truth pitcher, either out of the bullpen or in a starting role. The Cowboys scored one run in the first inning, before Krall settled into the game and began posting zeros on the scoreboard.

But in the fifth inning, the Cowboys got to him again. The first three batters all reached base safely, bringing Corey Hassel to the plate. He lofted a deep fly ball over the fence for a grand slam, giving Oklahoma State a comfortable, 5-0, lead.

Hassel said he was just looking to loft the ball to the outfield to make sure he got a run home.

“Thank God for a crackerjack box (stadium), to be honest,” he said. “That was a fun place to play, a fun place to hit for sure.”

Clemson enjoyed playing in the friendly confines of Kingsmore Stadium all year, but Oklahoma State’s pitchers found a way to keep them in the yard on back-to-back days. After Buffett held the Tigers to one run in seven innings Saturday, Elliott nearly matched him, limiting them to one run in six innings.

Oklahoma State’s relievers also worked effectively over the course of the weekend, particularly Trey Cobb who flipped roles with Buffett, moving from the rotation to the bullpen. Cobb threw three scoreless innings Sunday to finish the game and earn his third save of the season.

Pitching coach Rob Walton said he was looking to jumpstart Buffett, who had a few rough outings down the stretch, by inserting him into the rotation. Cobb has relieving experience, giving the Cowboys confidence to give him the ball in tight situations.

“We have a ton of guys I think can start,” Walton said. “I think that’s how you train your pitchers—you train them all to be starters. You want them all to have three pitches. You want them all to have an out pitch. They all want to have command of their stuff. So I think if you do that, and then the roles kind of come out, then you feel the guy coming in after the guy left is just as good.”

The plan for Oklahoma State’s pitching staff worked perfectly over the weekend, as did its approach at the plate. And by the end of the weekend, they had acquired at least one new fan in Clemson.

“(They) just played a really high level of baseball,” Lee said. “Josh Holliday and his coaching staff do a great job and they deserve a lot of credit. I’m an Oklahoma State fan now. I hope they make it all the way to Omaha.”

Oklahoma State will play next weekend for that trip to the College World Series, which would be its first since 1999. Its opponent and location are still to be determined, pending the result of Monday’s championship game in the Columbia Regional between host South Carolina and No. 2 seed UNC Wilmington.

A South Carolina victory would mean Oklahoma State would travel to Columbia next weekend, a prospect Holliday and the Cowboys are prepared for.

“When we left Stillwater, we said we hope to not be back here for a couple weeks, we’d like to go play baseball all across the great state of South Carolina,” Holliday said. “That was our mindset. If you don’t leave home thinking that way, there’s no way you can do it.

“We look forward to being together as a team and we’ll worry about whomever that opponent is whenever it’s decided. UNC Wilmington and South Carolina, they still have a score to settle before it’s all said and done. Whoever it is, it doesn’t matter. We’re together and we’re playing ball together.”