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Watts-Brown strikes out 13 in OSU’s win vs Baylor
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As the sophomore righty departed the mound and approached the home dugout, he was immediately met with a swarm of applause from fans present at O’Brate Stadium. OSU coach Josh Holliday even met him along the third base line to exchange a high-five and a pat on the back. Normally it’s everything a starting pitcher could ask for at the end of an outing.
game I start I always want to try to finish.”
Juaron Watts-Brown knows the feeling of a good outing.
On Sunday afternoon, No. 20 OSU downed Baylor 13-2 in seven innings to clinch a series sweep – the Cowboys’ fourth of the season.
A stellar outing from WattsBrown gave the OSU’s offense enough leeway to find its rhythm in the later innings to secure a win. He threw six innings with 13 strikeouts and just two earned runs.
“It was a good bounce back outing,” Watts-Brown said. “We swept the series so it was definitely a good one. I was executing pitches better. I was filling up the (strike zone) and making the right pitches when I needed to.”
Yet, one small thing made him slightly distasteful about the way it ended.
“I wanted to finish (the game),” he said. “The want was too strong. That’s when the seventh (inning) kind of got out of hand a little bit. Every
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Holliday often emphasizes to his players the importance of being the best versions of themselves. WattsBrown knows he’s had a couple of shaky performances so far this season. Still, with the help of his coaches and teammates manages to pinpoint his growth from his initial start against Missouri to a tying season-high in strikeouts and holding an ERA below 3.00.
“Josh kind of told me after the game that I gave (the team) my all so they were giving me theirs and that I need to accept that and not be so frustrated,” Watts-Brown said. “It helped me calm down a lot and realize the good in my outing.”
Watts-Brown struck out his first 11-of-14 batters faced to set the tone for the OSU (20-5, 4-2) offense, which recorded 16 hits and three home runs on Sunday. It solidified a thunderous offensive weekend which featured 39 runs and 44 hits combined.
Watts-Brown departed the game in the top of the seventh, with two opposing runners in scoring position. Baylor (9-15, 2-4) plated both runners to prevent a shutout. One half inning later, the Cowboys pieced together five hits for five runs, highlighted by a walk-off grand slam from sophomore center fielder, Brennan Holt – the first home run of his college career.
“Sweeping anyone is hard and conference sweeps are extremely hard,” Holliday said. “Three of the days we got quality starts (from our pitchers). New faces contributed and that’s always good for the team. Yeah, I think our kids did a heck of a job (this weekend).”
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Boynton examining transfer portal, anticipating roster turnover
in their best interest or the interest of the program to be back next season,” Boynton said. “Not all of those decisions are necessarily mine or theirs.” aren’t naive about college basketball’s current landscape.
Sam Hutchens Staff Reporter
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After their season ended with a 65-59 loss to North Texas in the NIT, Cowboy basketball players met individually with coach Mike Boynton. No conversation went exactly the same.
“Each situation is a little different in regards to whether they are even capable of being back, or whether it’s
The Cowboys finished 20-16, earning the No. 1 overall seed in the NIT after being the first team out of the NCAA tournament. The team will look different next season.
“There’s going to be a lot of fluidity in the roster, honestly,” Boynton said.
Guard Caleb Asberry and forward Bernard Kouma are the only two Cowboys who have exhausted their eligibility. And to be clear, Boynton said none of the players who can return to OSU said they did not want to in their meeting with Boynton.
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And yet, Boynton and his staff
“I don’t expect everyone that’s eligible (to return) to be back, in all candor,” Boynton said.
It’s why Boynton took his laptop to Wichita when traveling to watch his son play basketball. Between games, he sat in the corner, put headphones on and watched film on players in the transfer portal. He had the laptop out when eating dinner recently, evaluating potential Cowboys while a women’s game played in the background.
“We’re going to continue to make sure we are aggressive in the recruiting space,” Boynton said. “A lot of it will be through the transfer portal. We’ve already made a lot of contacts.”
Still dealing with NCAA-im- posed scholarship reductions, Bonyton said he has more flexibility when assigning scholarships for next year. He may use all 13 if the right player mandates it, or he could stick to using just 12.
It is all about the fit, as his team evolves.
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“What’s glaring, from my perspective, we need more playmakers,” Boynton said. “We’ve got to get deeper. We’ve got to get probably more dynamic in terms of playmaking front court, obviously, we got to get more skilled there.” sports.ed@ocolly.com
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