Oklahoma State defeated Texas Tech 7-2 in the Big 12 Championship opener Wednesday night at Globe Life Field.
With the win, the 17th-ranked Cowboys improved to 37-16, but TTU fell to 32-25. OSU, the No. 2 seed in the tournament, will play No. 8 seed UCF in the championship game Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
Carson Benge earned the win on the mound and proved why he is one of the top two-way players in college baseball by going 3-for-5 at bats and scoring two runs at the plate.
Benji pitched 6 1/3 innings, recording a career-high 10 strikeouts and allowing just one earned run and three hits. With this win, his record this season improves to 3 wins and 1 loss.
Zach Ehrhardt hit a home run and collected three RBIs to lead the Cowboys' offense, while Robert Krantz held the Red Raiders scoreless and struck out four over the final two innings to secure the win.
OSU took the lead in the first at-bat. Following Benji's double, Ehrhardt hit his 12th home run of the season into the left field seats, giving the Pokes a 2-0 lead.
Benji kept TTU off the scoreboard, and the Cowboys added runs in the fifth and sixth innings to extend their lead.
In the fifth inning, Benge again led off with a hit, then walked Erhardt and Nolan Shubert to load the bases, and on his third walk of the inning, Ian Dougherty was walked, scoring an RBI and bringing in a run.
OSU took advantage of a free base again in the sixth inning. Lane Forsythe walked with one out, and Benji followed with a single to force the Cowboys into the corner. Forsyth scored on a wild pitch, making the score 4-0.
After Benge recorded his 10th strikeout in the top of the seventh, Cade McGehee reached on an error and then Gavin Kash hit a two-run homer to cut OSU's lead in half.
But OSU retook the lead in the bottom of the seventh thanks to the Red Raiders' inability to throw strikes. The Cowboys loaded the bases with two walks and scored on a wild pitch to take a 7-2 lead.
