THE RUNDOWN
No. 20 DBU (28-12, 11-4 CUSA) dropped a road matchup with Oklahoma State (18-19, 6-9 Big 12) on Tuesday night at O'Brate Stadium in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The loss ended a nine-game winning stretch by the Patriots.
 
DBU went to work quickly, using speed on the basepaths to apply pressure and notch the game's first run. Keaton Grady led off the night by legging out an infield single and later stole second and took third on a passed ball. With Grady 90 feet from home and one out, Nathan Humphreys lifted a pop-up into shallow left field that fell between the fielders on the left side of the diamond, bringing Grady home. Humphreys followed with a steal of his own, but two groundouts to shortstop Drew Culbertson ended the inning.
 
The Cowboys answered in the second, as Brock Thompson launched a three-run shot to right that gave OSU a two-run cushion, but the Patriots hustled for their second tally in the fourth. With two outs, Jake Bennett drew a walk and came around to score on a sky-high fly ball by Landon Underhill that narrowly eluded Culbertson's glove. The ball's hang time allowed a dashing Bennett to reach the plate, narrowing the game to a 3-2 deficit.
 
With a one-run difference at the midway point, OSU poured on the runs in the home half of the fifth. After Brayden Smith reached on a leadoff hit-by-pitch, star right fielder Nolan Schubart started the scoring with a two-run home run. The floodgates opened from there, with the next four Cowboys reaching base, fueling a six-run outburst. In the sixth, OSU tacked on two more with a pair of solo homers courtesy of Schubart and Colin Brueggemann, pushing the margin to 11-2.
 
DBU responded in its next turn at the plate. Michael Dattalo started the seventh with a single through the right side and reached third on a Luke Heefner hit-by-pitch and a Grant Jay fielder's choice. With runners on the corners, Humphreys ripped a line drive to the left-center gap for a stand-up two-run double, but the runs proved to be negligible, as OSU finished the game in run-rule fashion with a five-spot in the seventh.
 
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- Tuesday's loss snapped the Patriots' nine-game winning streak, their longest since starting the 2024 campaign 9-0.
- The Cowboy victory splits the season series between DBU and OSU.
- Prior to Tuesday night, the Patriots had won five straight against the Cowboys. 
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
3 - Nathan Humphreys recorded his sixth three-hit game of the year, marking his career-best for three-hit games in a season.
10 - Humphreys also extended his hitting streak to 10 games, the second-longest of his career.
11 - Grant Jay stretched his hitting streak to 11 games, his longest since opening the 2024 season on a 13-game streak.
 
UP NEXT
DBU heads to Ruston, Louisiana, this weekend for a key Conference USA series against Louisiana Tech (25-15, 10-4 CUSA). Game one is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. on Friday, April 25, at JC Love Field. Read Full Article