Cowboys nip Horns in 18, minutes shy of NCAA mark

By Tim Ahrens

CollegeBaseballInsider.com

 

STILLWATER, Okla. – Oklahoma State’s Corey Hassel wanted just one thing after the opening game between the Cowboys and Texas ended.

 

“My girlfriend actually brought me Whataburger, so I guess I’ll have Whataburger,” Hassel said early Saturday morning.

 

For ending an 18-inning marathon with a three-run walk-off home run? Whataburger doesn’t seem enough.

 

With Gage Green and Hunter Hagler on base, Hassel swung at a 1-2 pitch and sent it well over the wall in left field at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium in OSU’s 6-3 victory against the Longhorns, tying the teams for first in the Big 12.

 

“It was an epic game, what else can you say?” OSU coach Josh Holliday said. “... A lot of courage, a lot of kids to be mentioned, but Corey in the end got the one swing of the bat that we all sought to have for the last nine of innings after that thing ended in regulation.”

 

If not for an RBI single from Conor Costello in the bottom of the ninth with two outs, the game would have been cut at least in half instead of the 6 hour, 53-minute contest it finished as.

 

The game was 11 minutes shy of setting an NCAA Division I record for longest game played in terms of time. The contest came seven innings short of breaking the record for most innings played, set in a 2009 NCAA Regional contest between Boston College and Texas, which lasted 25 innings.

 

It wasn’t the first time Hassel or his teammates have played twice the average baseball game, either. In 2014, OSU lost to Oklahoma 12-9 in 18 innings, coming back from a 9-3 deficit in the fifth to send it to extras.

 

“Physically, it’s tiring, and mentally and emotionally,” Hassel said. “We let a lot of opportunities slip away throughout that game, but we never stopped fighting and kept coming the entire time.

 

“That’s a big plus for our team … a lot of guys want to win and we have a lot of great teammates, and they came through.”

 

The Cowboys (5-2 Big 12, 20-9) left 19 runners on base, and Texas (5-2, 17-13) left 20. Both teams used nine pitchers, with OSU using five in the eighth inning alone. After leading 2-1 since the third inning, OSU’s bullpen fell apart and gave up two runs on a wild pitch from closer Koda Glover and a single that scored an unearned run.

 

After Costello singled up the middle to score Jacob Chappell, Green had the opportunity to end the game with a walk-off RBI. On the first pitch, Green seemed to check his swing, but accidentally made contact with the ball and sent it back to pitcher Connor Mayes.

 

Both teams had multiple opportunities to score throughout the extra innings, but neither could come out ahead until Hassel’s three-run shot to left.

 

Before that, he was already doing what he could to keep the Cowboys in the game -- from the mound.

 

Hassell pitched the game’s final three innings after playing in center field the previous 15. He struck out three and gave up one hit, taking the decision as well.

 

“Can’t say I have [had a player do that] before,” Holliday said. “I can’t remember much right now, I’m delirious like you guys [reporters] are right now. It’s a great moment for Corey, it’s a great moment for our team.

 

“There are a lot of kids who had the chance to do something tonight that will hopefully push them moving ahead and give them confidence and belief in themselves.”

 

Before Hassell, Carson LaRue tossed 3.2 scoreless innings, and Kyle Bagnell added 3.2 scoreless innings with four hits and six strikeouts. Texas’ Ty Marlow hurled 4.1 scoreless relief innings with three hits and five strikeouts.

 

Offensively, Green went 3 for 8 with a run for the Cowboys, and Ben Johnson went 3 for 9 with a run for the Longhorns.

 

Game 2 of the series is Saturday, with the first pitch coming at 6:30 p.m.