Skip To Main Content

Upcoming Events and Recent Results

Western Illinois University Athletics

NickMilligan
3
Western Illinois WIU 0-4
4
Winner Oklahoma State OSU 6-3
Western Illinois WIU
0-4
3
Final
4
Oklahoma State OSU
6-3
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Western Illinois WIU 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 3 7 1
Oklahoma State OSU 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 X 4 8 2

W: LaRue (1-0) L: Baksha, J.T. (0-1) S: Glover (2)

Game Recap: Baseball | | WIU Athletic Communications

Leathernecks Strikeout 17 in 4-3 Loss to No. 10 Oklahoma State

Joe Mortillaro went five innings with no earned runs and nine strikeouts in the 4-3 loss on Friday (Feb. 27).

AUBURN, Ala. - Joe Mortillaro's second start as a Leatherneck was a quality one as the junior allowed no earned runs on four hits and had nine strikeouts over five innings. However, the Queens, N.Y. native would not factor in the decision as Western baseball would fall 4-3 to no. 10 Oklahoma State at Plainsman Park in Auburn, Alabama on Friday (Feb. 27), moving to 0-4 in 2015.

"It all starts on the mound," said head coach Ryan Brownlee. "Joe (Mortillaro) gave us a quality start and his composure was really good. We didn't handle the ball well in the first inning and he pitched through it. We struck out 17 guys. That is a lot of strikeouts. I thought we executed really well offensively but we have to be a touch better with runners in scoring position. We will get better as the season goes on, but that was nice to see out of our pitching staff. We got better from last week and that is what you want."

The Purple and Gold fell behind early in the bottom of the first inning. A walk, an error at third base, and a sacrifice fly helped give OSU a 1-0 lead heading into the second. 

"We gave them that first run and we can't do that," said coach Brownlee. "We don't need to do that. We are good enough to not give away runs."

The Leathernecks would strike next. In the top of the third Chris Tschida drew a one-out walk and stole second base before advancing home on an error credited to Oklahoma State's left fielder, Jon Littell. Payton Jeffers would add on a second run in the top of the fourth inning. Jeffers drew a leadoff walk before grabbing a stolen base of his own. Brent Turner's two-out RBI single would score Jeffers, and give Western the lead, 2-1.

"We are really giving ourselves a chance to score some runs," said Brownlee. "I definitely like the makeup of our team. They have a little swagger, which I like, and they're competitive. That's all you can ask of them."

An insurance run from Colton Pogue in the seventh inning gave Western some room to breath. However, the Cowboy bats came alive in the bottom of the seventh as they scored three runs on three hits before right-hander Nick Milligan stepped in to get the final out. Milligan would go on to strikeout the side in the bottom of the eight, but the Purple and Gold could not rally, coming up one run short.

"We played solid defense, but we still have a couple things to clean up," said Brownlee. "But that's all part of it. I'm really looking forward to getting after it tomorrow."

The Leathernecks continue their weekend series tomorrow (Feb. 28) against the Gamecocks of Jacksonville State. Tom Constand will take the mound with first pitch scheduled for 7 p.m. Live stats and audio will be available at GoLeathernecks.com. Fans can also receive inning-by-inning updates on twitter at @WIU_Baseball. 
Print Friendly Version