Scott WrightThe Oklahoman
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Coach Josh Hollidayand the11th-seeded Oklahoma State Cowboyswill face the Florida Gators in the NCAA baseball tournament on Sunday night in the Stillwater Regional final.
The Gators must beat the Cowboys twice to advance to the super regionals.
OSU beat Florida 7-1 on Saturday night to advance to the finals, while the Gators beat Nebraska 17-11 earlier Sunday to reach the final.
Here's what you need to know about the Cowboys (42-17) and Gators (30-28):
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Oklahoma State baseball live score updates vs. Florida
Final: Florida 5, Oklahoma State 2 | Gators force decisive game
With 5 ⅔ innings of shutout relief work from Brandon Neely, Florida finished off a 5-2 win over Oklahoma State to force the if-necessary game in the Stillwater Regional.
The Cowboys and Gators will meet at 2 p.m. Monday at O’Brate Stadium in a winner-take-all game with a berth in the Clemson Super Regional on the line. Clemson advanced through its regional earlier Sunday.
Neely walked a runner in the ninth but that was it. He allowed one hit and no runs for the Gators.
— Scott Wright, Staff writer
More: Oklahoma State baseball falls to Florida in first shot to reach NCAA super regional
Middle 9: Cowboys’ last chance
Gabe Davis got out of another scoreless inning with two flyouts and a strikeout, his eighth in four innings. And to end the frame, Florida star power hitter Jac Caglionone hit a mammoth fly ball to center fielder Zach Ehrhard.
OSU sends Forsythe, Benge and Schubart to the plate for the ninth.
— Scott Wright, Staff writer
End 8: Empty inning for OSU
The Cowboys couldn’t make anything happen in the eighth inning with three straight strikeouts and will go to the final frame trailing 5-2.
Gabe Davis heads back to the mound for the Pokes, having worked three innings with two hits and seven strikeouts so far.
OSU will have the top of its order coming up in the ninth.
— Scott Wright, Staff writer
Middle 8: Davis strikes out three
OSU’s Gabe Davis walked a batter in the middle of it all, but struck out three Gators to keep them from extending their 5-2 lead.
— Scott Wright, Staff writer
End 7: Another check-swing strikeout
OSU’s Ian Daugherty was called out on a check-swing third strike to end the seventh inning after an appeal to the first base umpire, who rang him up. It was a call Daughterty argued, thinking he had drawn ball four.
— Scott Wright, Staff writer
Middle 7: Davis strands one
OSU pitcher Gabe Davis allowed a single, but got a strikeout to end the inning and keep the Florida lead at 5-2.
The Cowboys are down to their final nine outs to avoid returning to the park Monday for a winner-take-all regional final.
— Scott Wright, Staff writer
End 6: Cowboys go quietly
OSU had a pair of strikeouts and a groundout, going down in order in the bottom of the sixth.
Gabe Davis is back to the bump for the seventh, with Florida leading 5-2.
— Scott Wright, Staff writer
Middle 6: Colby Shelton gives Florida lead
OSU’s Carson Benge ran out of gas in the sixth inning. After a walk and a bloop single, Florida took the lead when Colby Shelton lined a home run into the right field bullpen. The Gators lead 5-2 heading to the bottom of the sixth.
After allowing another single, Benge was pulled in favor of tall right-hander Gabe Davis. Benge stayed in the game as the designated hitter.
Davis allowed another run to score on a wild pitch before getting a strikeout to end the inning.
— Scott Wright, Staff writer
End 5: Cowboys strand two
OSU got runners to second and third with one out, but the inning ended with two strikeouts that OSU folks weren’t happy with. First, Colin Brueggemann was called out on a check swing when he thought he held up. Then Avery Ortiz disagreed with a third-strike call.
OSU still leads 2-1 after five.
— Scott Wright, Staff writer
Middle 5: Benge breezes through
OSU pitcher Carson Benge needed just eight pitches to get through the top of the fifth and maintain OSU’s 2-1 lead.
Benche is now at 70 pitches through five innings. He has thrown at least 80 pitches in his three previous starts, and over 100 in the last two.
— Scott Wright, Staff writer
End 4: OSU retakes lead
Florida second baseman Cade Kurland couldn’t handle Tyler Wulfert’s smashed grounder, and the error led to OSU taking a 2-1 lead when Colin Brueggemann scored from second base.
Brueggeman had doubled when he hit a soft liner into short left field against a defensive shift expecting him to pull the ball to the right side of the field.
The Cowboys went on to load the bases but couldn’t add to the lead. Carson Benge struck out looking on a pitch he argued was inside. And Nolan Schubart’s line drive into the right-center field gap was caught on a smooth diving play by center fielder Michael Robertson.
— Scott Wright, Staff writer
Middle 4: Gators tie it on close calls
Florida’s Ashton Wilson survived a pair of close plays, one of which went to video review, to score the tying run for the Gators, knotting the game at 1.
Wilson singled, stole second, then tagged up and advanced to third base on a flyout to center field. When Carson Benge’s pitch in the dirt bounced in front of home plate, Wilson sprinted down the line, sliding in just ahead of Benge’s tag. The pitcher had grabbed the ball before diving to make the tag.
Wilson was called safe and OSU coach Josh Holliday challenged the call, but it was upheld. Benge is at 62 pitches through four innings.
— Scott Wright, Staff writer
End 3: Schubart singles, gets stranded
Nolan Schubart, known for his otherworldly power hitting, had perhaps one of the softest singles you’ll ever see from him. Protecting the zone with his swing, he dinked one off the end of his bat toward the shortstop.
But because the infield was shifted for him to pull to the right side, no defender was close enough to get there. Pitcher Cade Fisher tracked the ball down and tried to throw Schubart out, but wasn’t in time.
However, Schubart was stranded at first, keeping the Cowboy lead at 1-0 after three.
— Scott Wright, Staff writer
Middle 3: Defense shines for Cowboys
OSU pitcher Carson Benge gave up a leadoff double, but some solid defense kept the Gators from threatening.
A sacrifice bunt attempt went south when Benge made a sliding catch on the popup near the third base line. He nearly doubled off the runner at second, but the throw was wide.
Then shortstop Lane Forsythe made a strong throw from deep in the hole on the left side for the second out, and a hard line drive to center was caught by Zach Ehrhard to end the inning.
— Scott Wright, Staff writer
End 2: Solid contact but no runs
OSU hit the ball hard in the bottom of the second, but a pair of rocket line drives were handled by Florida’s outfielders, ultimately stranding Avery Ortiz, who had singled with one out.
The Cowboys lead 1-0.
— Scott Wright, Staff writer
Middle 2: Benge, Daugherty erase Gators
OSU pitcher Carson Benge walked a pair of batters, but got strikeouts for the first and third outs of the frame. And in between, catcher Ian Daugherty cut down another Gator, who attempted to steal second base.
Daugherty fired a bullet to second, where it was gathered by Avery Ortiz to place the tag.
OSU leads 1-0, coming to the plate in the bottom of the second.
— Scott Wright, Staff writer
End 1: OSU takes lead with controversy
With two video reviews on one play, OSU and Florida coaches were left half-angry, and OSU with a 1-0 lead.
Initially, Zach Ehrhard appeared to hit a two-run home run, but a young fan was ruled to have reached into the field of play to catch the ball just above the top of the right field fence.
Umpires gathered and called for video review, which came back as a fan interference call. That sent Ehrhard back to second base and Nolan Schubart — who was on first before the hit — to third base.
Then after a discussion with OSU coach Josh Holliday and another umpire meeting, a second review was called. It was then ruled that Schubart would have scored, and he was awarded home plate.
It was the second time in two games that an OSU player had a home run wiped out by fan interference. Aidan Meola had the same situation in left field on Saturday.
— Scott Wright, Staff writer
Middle 1: Brueggemann shows off his glove
OSU first baseman Colin Brueggemann had a pair of nice defensive plays to end the Florida half of the first inning.
He made a long stretch to come up with a throw from short right field on a groundout to second base. Then he tracked down a foul popup well beyond first base for the final out.
The Cowboys will send Lane Forsythe, Carson Benge and Nolan Schubart to the plate in the bottom half.
— Scott Wright, Staff writer
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Oklahoma State baseball highlights vs. Florida
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What time does Oklahoma State baseball vs. Florida start?
- Date:Sunday, June 2
- Time:7:30 p.m. CT
- Where:O'Brate Stadium in Stillwater
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What channel is Oklahoma State baseball vs. Florida on today?
- Streaming:ESPN+
- How to watch online:Watch ESPN (here's how to stream it live)
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