STILLWATER, Okla. – BYU baseball dropped a second-straight game to Oklahoma State, losing 6-1 on Friday.

"I was proud of the guys tonight," BYU head coach Mike Littlewood said. "We played very solid, had a better approach at the plate, and Cy was outstanding. Our offense will come around and when it does we will be a pretty good team."

Box Score

Game Summary

• BYU starter Cy Nielson had a career high nine strikeouts in seven innings
• Oklahoma State scored one run in the first, then hit two home runs
• The Cougars scored a lone run in the top of the ninth

Player Highlights

• Hobbs Nyberg: 2-4
• Hayden Leatham: 1-3, BB
• Cy Nielson: 7 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, BB, 9 K

A double and a single put Oklahoma State on top in the first. Then in the third, the Cowboys hit a two-run home run to take a 3-0 lead.

But after the home run, Cy Nielson retired the next 10 Cowboy batters, including five by strikeout, on his way to retiring the side in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings.

In the seventh, Nielson walked his first batter, then another runner reached safely on a Cougar error. Oklahoma State took advantage, hitting another two-out homer, this one a three-run shot, to go up 6-0.

BYU scattered four hits, matching Oklahoma State’s total. The Cougars tacked on a run in the ninth, loading the bases with no outs after walks by Bryan Call and Hayden Leatham and a single by Nyberg. Austin Deming hit a grounder to third to score Call, but two consecutive outs closed out the game.

The Cougars and Cowboys will play the third and final game on Saturday, Mar. 7, at noon CT on BYU Radio 107.9 FM and ESPN960 AM.

PROVO, Utah – BYU baseball and defending Big 12 champion Oklahoma State are set to play a three-game series in Stillwater starting Thursday, Mar. 5.

The first two games will stream live on ESPN+ while all three games will air on BYU Radio 107.9 FM and ESPN960 AM. Games one and two will begin at 4 p.m. CT with game three at noon CT.

Game Notes

The Cougars (7-6) and Cowboys (8-5) have played 13 times previously with OSU owning a 9-4 advantage. The two teams last faced off in a two-time series in Stillwater in 2009 with Oklahoma State winning both games. BYU’s last victory came in a 9-8 road victory in 2005.

Starters for BYU this week will be RHP Justin Sterner (0-0, 3.18), LHP Cy Nielson (0-2, 4.50) and RHP Jarod Lessar (0-0, 4.72). The Cougars come in with a team ERA of 4.05 and an opposing batting average of .274. 

The Cowboys currently rank eighth in the nation in total hits, 23rd in batting average and 35th in walks so far this season. On the mound, OSU sports a team ERA of 4.78; starters this week will be LHP Parker Scott (2-1, 3.00), RHP Justin Campbell (0-2, 7.30) and Bryce Osmond (0-1, 6.55).

The Cougars are 25-70 all-time against current Big 12 teams, including 38 games against TCU when both were members of the Mountain West Conference. BYU last played a Big 12 squad in a three-game sweep over Kansas in 2016.