Cowboys Mash Six Homers, Rout USC Upstate to Reach Regional Final

After managing just five hits in an 11-inning win over Alabama State on Saturday, Oklahoma State's bats came alive in a big way Sunday afternoon.

The Cowboys blasted six home runs and rolled to a 12-1 victory over USC Upstate in a rematch with a spot in the Tuscaloosa Regional final on the line.

Four of those six long balls came from two players. Campbell Smithwick and Remo Indomenico each homered twice, while Avery Ortiz and Terrance Brown also went deep in the offensive explosion.

While the lineup provided plenty of fireworks, Hudson Barrett was equally dominant on the mound. The right-hander made USC Upstate hitters look overmatched, tossing seven shutout innings while tying a career-high with 10 strikeouts and allowing just two hits.

Smithwick got the scoring started with a two-run blast to the opposite field in the bottom of the second inning.

The Cowboys broke the game open an inning later. Oklahoma State sent 11 batters to the plate in the third and erupted for seven runs on six hits. Ortiz and Indomenico each launched home runs during the inning as the Cowboys raced out to a 9-0 lead.

Smithwick pushed the lead into double digits in the fourth inning with his second home run of the day, making it 10-0 while helping Oklahoma State make program history. Smithwick became the seventh Cowboy to reach double-digit home runs this season, tying the 1997 squad for the second-most players with 10 or more home runs in a single season. Only the 1987 team, with eight players reaching the mark, sits ahead of the Cowboys.

Indomenico continued his impressive regional performance in the seventh inning, crushing his second home run of the game and recording his first multi-homer contest of the season. Brown later added the exclamation point with the first home run of his collegiate career.

Sunday's performance was a complete turnaround from Oklahoma State's previous game against Alabama State. After struggling to generate offense and surviving with just five hits Saturday night, the Cowboys wasted no time taking control against USC Upstate. Oklahoma State scored in five different innings and turned nearly every mistake by the Spartans into another run.

The offensive outburst not only kept the Cowboys' season alive but also provided momentum heading into their biggest challenge of the season. After dropping their regional opener to USC Upstate on Friday, Oklahoma State has now won back-to-back elimination games and finds itself one victory away from forcing a winner-take-all showdown.

Now the challenge gets even bigger.

The Cowboys will face host and top-seeded Alabama at 7 p.m. Sunday night with their season still hanging in the balance. A win would force a decisive winner-take-all game Monday with a trip to the Super Regionals on the line. A loss would bring Oklahoma State's season to an end.