LAWRENCE, Kan. – Oklahoma State suffered its first extra-inning loss of the season Sunday as Dylan Ditzenberger’s walk-off double in the bottom of the 11th lifted Kansas to a 7-6 win over the Cowboys at Hoglund Ballpark.
With the loss, OSU fell to 21-13 overall and 7-5 in Big 12 Conference play. The Cowboys have not won a series in Lawrence since 2007, a streak of six consecutive series.
Ben Leeper took the loss on the mound as he allowed two runs in an inning of work to fall to 3-1 on the year.
The Cowboys collected 13 hits on the day, with Jake Taylor’s 3-for-6 day leading the way. Christian Funk also continued his surge as he homered for the fifth time on the weekend and drove in a game-high four runs.
KU (19-16, 4-8) took the game’s initial lead in the second inning, plating an unearned run with two outs on a fielding error by first baseman Alix Garcia to go up 1-0.
The Cowboys were not down long, however, as KU returned the favor in the third. After a three-base error and a walk with two outs, Funk delivered an RBI single to left field to tie the score at 1-1.
The score remained tied until the fifth when Funk continued his assault on KU pitching. With Cade Cabbiness and Hueston Morrill on base following hits, Funk smashed a three-run homer to right field to put OSU on top 4-1. The blast was Funk’s eighth round tripper of the season.
The power surge continued with the next batter as Andrew Navigato made it back-to-back jacks for the Cowboys when he deposited an Eli Davis pitch over the wall in right-center field to extend the lead to four.
KU got a run back in the bottom of the fifth following a Blake Shinkle triple and an RBI groundout off the bat of Ditzenberger that made the score 5-2.
The Jayhawks tied the score again in the seventh, getting a two-out, three-run home run from Rudy Karre. After reliever Brady Basso retired the first two batters in the inning, Cabbiness dropped a fly ball in right field before a single brought Karre to the plate, where he delivered the tying shot over the center-field wall.
The game went into extra innings still knotted at 5-5, but the Cowboys soon broke the tie. Noah Sifrit led off the 10th with a double to left field, and Morrill followed with a single to put runners on the corners. After an out, Navigato delivered a sacrifice fly to center field to plate Sifrit with the go-ahead run.
OSU was poised for a win in the bottom of the inning. After a leadoff walk, Leeper retired the next two Jayhawks. But Skyler Messinger lined a ball into center field that a diving Trevor Boone could not grab as it rolled to the wall for a triple to tie the score at 6-6.
In the bottom of the 11th, another leadoff walk by Leeper doomed the Cowboys as, following the free pass, Jake Lyons took the mound and surrendered Ditzenberger’s double as Brett Vosik raced home from first base with the winning run.
OSU opens a five-game homestand Tuesday night against Dallas Baptist at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium before returning to Big 12 play Thursday with the series opener against Texas.