UC Riverside 7, No. 23 Oklahoma State 0 - Box Score
The Highlanders baseball team got back to its winning ways on Sunday as junior pitcher
Paul Applebee threw his second complete-game of the season with a three-hit, six-strikeout, 7-0 gem over No. 23 Oklahoma State.
The Upland, CA native retired the first 10 batters he faced before Kevin David doubled becoming the first Cowboys baserunner of the day. By that time, UC Riverside (10-3) had already staked Applebee to a 2-0 lead courtesy of a
Ryan Goetz groundout and a
Tony Nix RBI double. Applebee (3-0) retired the next two hitters to get out of the inning, and the Highlanders pushed three runs across in the bottom half of the fourth to take a 5-0 lead.
The lefthander ran into a little trouble in the top of the fifth when the first two batters singled putting runners at first and second with nobody out. Applebee worked his way out of the jam, however, stirking out the next two batters and enducing a grounder back to the pitcher's mound for the third out of the inning. That was all the offense the Cowboys (9-2) could muster as Applebee retired the final 14 batters of the ball game.
UCR tacked on a run in the sixth when
Trevor Hairgrove opened the frame with a double. He scored on the same play after a throwing error by Oklahoma State shortstop Tom Belza. The Highlanders scored their final run of the game with two outs in the bottom of the eighth.
Joey Gonzales got things rolling with a single, advancing to second on a wild pitch.
Michael Hur walked, and Gonzales took off for third following another Cowboys wild pitch. A Goetz' single brought Gonzales home for the 7-0 final.
In all, Oklahoma State used six pitchers allowing nine Highlanders hits and issuing six walks. Starter Joe Kent took the loss allowing three hits, three walks and two runs through two plus innings.
Next up for the Highlanders is a Tuesday road trip to Loyola Marymount. First pitch is at 3 pm.