ARLINGTON, Texas — Ryan Sepede came off the bench with the bases loaded and two outs in the fifth inning and deposited a fastball into the left field seats to pace BYU to an 8-6 win over No. 6 ranked Oklahoma State at Globe Life Field on Thursday.

“I told Ryan before the game to be ready to hit,” said BYU head coach Mike Littlewood. “I really felt like he would have the opportunity to come in and have a big at bat for us tonight, but there’s nothing better than a pinch-hit grand slam. That's a storybook ending. I was proud of the way our team just kept battling.”

BYU (8-3) jumped out to an early lead in the bottom of the first inning with three runs on back-to-back home runs by Cole Gambill and Collin Reuter. Mitch McIntyre led off the game with a single to left center to set up the two-run homer to right center by Gambill. Reuter then homered to left center for a 3-0 lead.

OSU answered in the top of the third with a two-out walk and a two-run homer by Roc Riggio to right field. The Cowboys picked up three more runs on four hits in the fifth inning to jump out to a 5-3 lead.

Led by season RBI leader Sepede, BYU answered with five runs in the sixth to regain the lead, 8-5. Reuter was hit by a pitch to get things going, then Josh Cowden drew a walk and Hayden Leatham singled to score Reuter. Austin Deming walked on a 3-2 pitch to load the bases and set up Sepede’s grand slam heroics.

“I tried to keep things simple,” said Sepede of his at bat in the sixth. “Coming off the bench, bases loaded and two outs, I was just looking for a fast ball that I could hit up the middle. I really don’t have the words to describe it. I’m just thankful for the opportunity to play in this ballpark and help the team. It was a surreal experience.”

The Cowboys scratched out another run in the top of the eighth but that would be the closest OSU would get. BYU closer Reid McLaughlin came on to close out the eighth and ninth innings for the save.

“We have a lot of guys that can come in get outs,” said Littlewood. “Our pitching staff has been outstanding this year and they were again tonight.”

Sophomore righty Bryce Robison picked up his second win of the year, while McLaughlin record his fifth save in as many tries. The save also gives McLaughlin 16 for his career which makes him the all-time save leader at BYU, passing Mason Marshall (2012-17) and Ryan Hancock (1881-93), who both had 15. 

The Cougars have won eight of their last nine games and are now 6-0 on the season when scoring six or more runs. The win over Oklahoma State is the highest ranked win in the Littlewood era since BYU defeated No. 2 ranked LSU in 2013.

BYU will face OSU again on Friday at 6:30 p.m. CST (5:30 p.m. MST) in the second game of the three-game series at Globe Life Field. The game will be broadcast via FaceBook Live as well as the BYU Sports Network—BYUCougars.com and the BYU Cougars app.

BYU-OSU photos by Jay Hinton

PROVO, Utah — Due to inclement weather and cold temperatures, the BYU-Oklahoma State baseball series scheduled for March 10-12 in Provo is being moved to Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, home of the Texas Rangers.

“We were looking forward to hosting Oklahoma State at Miller Park, but the weather forecast for Provo does not look good this week,” said BYU head coach Mike Littlewood. “We are excited about the opportunity to play at Globe Life Field and appreciate everyone involved in making the move possible. It will be an incredible experience for our players to play in a Major League Baseball facility and should be a great opportunity as we prepare to move into the Big 12.”

The three-game series between the Cougars and the Cowboys remains scheduled for March 10-12, with game times set for 6:30 p.m. CST Thursday, 6:30 p.m. on Friday and 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. 

Tickets for the three-game series at Globe Life Field are available online at texasrangers.com/collegebaseball. 

BYU is 7-3 on the year and received votes this week in the USA Today Baseball Top 25 Poll. The Cougars have wins over Ohio State and Marshall to go along with series victories over Arizona State and Milwaukee. OSU is current 6-4 and ranked No. 6 in the country with series victories over Vanderbilt, ASU and Wright State. 

The two universities have previously played 16 times in baseball with OSU holding a 12-4 series lead. The first game was played on Feb. 22, 1979, which the Cowboys won 7-5. The series is tied 3-3 in neutral-site games. 

Globe Life Field opened in 2020. The facility is scheduled to host the Big XII Baseball Championship from 2022-24. Globe Life Field was built as a public-private partnership between the City of Arlington and the Rangers and is a multipurpose sports and entertainment venue that measures 1.8 million square feet. The 5.5-acre retractable roof is the largest single-panel operable roof in the world. It weighs 24-million pounds and can be opened in approximately 12 minutes. The field features a specially designed synthetic grass playing surface that was provided by Shaw Sports Turf.

The Cougars began playing baseball in 1908 and have made 14 NCAA Tournament appearance and won 18 conference championships. BYU has had 61 All-Americans and 118 players taken in the MLB Draft. Over the past 10 seasons under Mike Littlewood, the Cougars are 239-188 and won WCC Titles in 2016, 2017 and 2019.

The Cowboys began playing baseball in 1909 and have traditionally been one of the top programs in college baseball. Oklahoma State won the 1959 national championship, has appeared in the national championship game six times and made 20 trips to the College World Series, which ranks fourth all-time. They have 46 NCAA Tournament berths, including 19 straight from 1981-1999 and have captured 19 NCAA Regional titles. In nine seasons under head coach Josh Holliday, OSU is 320-177-2 and won Big 12 Championships in 2014, 2017 and 2019.