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  "description": "The OSU catcher's first career home run in an OSU uniform gave the Cowboys a brief lead — one they couldn't hold",
  "path": "/francisco-homers-in-osu-debut-but-cowboys-drop-10-9-thriller-to-oru/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-04-09T15:30:45.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.thestillwegian.news",
  "tags": [
    "Don't Miss a Game"
  ],
  "textContent": "Brady Francisco's first home run in an OSU uniform came in the bottom of the fourth inning — and he didn't know it until the crowd told him.\n\nWith a runner on first and two outs, the OSU catcher unloaded on a 1-2 slider from ORU starter Brendan Asher. He knew the ball had collided with the sweet spot of his bat, but instead of admiring his work, he initiated a dead sprint for extra bases. He didn't realize the ball had cleared the left field wall until he heard the roar of the crowd. As soon as he looked up, he saw the third base umpire signaling a home run.\n\n\"It felt good,\" Francisco said. \"I honestly had no clue it was out until I saw the umpire (signal it was a home run).\"\n\nBrady Francisco (30) is greeted at home plate by Garrett Shull (5) and Alex Conover (14) after hitting a two-run home run in the fourth inning of OSU's 10-9 loss to Oral Roberts on Tuesday at O'Brate Stadium in Stillwater. The blast was Francisco's first home run in an OSU uniform. – Photo by Bruce Waterfield/OSU Athletics\n\nThe two-run blast gave OSU a 5-3 lead — a moment of genuine euphoria in what would become one of the more painful nights of the Cowboys' season.\n\nDespite a strong push in the final frame, OSU dropped a home midweek contest to Oral Roberts 10-9 on Tuesday at O'Brate Stadium. In a game where the Cowboys trailed for the majority of the night, a late rally gave fans at the orange-clad confines of O'Brate hope — all to no avail.\n\nThe thrilling finish came down to a single moment in the ninth. Runners on second and third, one out, OSU trailing by one, Oklahoma State head coach Josh Holliday signaled for a contact play from the home dugout — a decision he said was centered around pinch runner Ezra Essex's immense speed and base running skills.\n\nWhich meant Essex had one job — score.\n\nCatcher Campbell Smithwick swung at a first-pitch curveball outside of the strike zone, hitting a soft ground ball toward Oral Roberts second baseman Martell Davis, who seamlessly collected it and gunned the ball toward home plate. While Essex had already initiated his sprint, it was neutralized moments later.\n\n\"The contact play was on,\" Holliday said. \"Ezra did the right thing. That's the way the play was designed to put pressure on the defense to try to score the tying run right there.\"\n\nDavis' arm bested Essex's speed as OSU logged its second out of the inning. The once-euphoric crowd at O'Brate Stadium fell into disbelief, as the sense of an inevitable defeat loomed large.\n\nOne at-bat later, the end result was finalized. ORU closer Jack Hill struck out OSU left fielder Alex Conover, jolting the visitors' dugout into a frenzy, and the home dugout into utter silence.\n\n\"I think we didn't probably let that at-bat unfold the way we should have,\" Holliday said. \"I think if you were to grab Campbell right now and say, 'Hey, right now would you like to have one more pitch to work with?' he'd (say yes). I think we just got a little fast right there.\"\n\n* * *\n\n**_A message from Visit Stillwater_**\n\n**Orange Power Weekend** is coming to America's friendliest college town — packed with the Remember the 10 run, the spring football game, OSU Big 12 baseball, and softball. Put on your brightest orange and cheer on the Cowboys, then stick around for Calf Fry, Red Dirt concerts, and downtown arts festivals.\n\nDon't Miss a Game\n\n* * *\n\nORU drew first blood in the top of the first, capitalizing on a defensive miscue from Avery Ortiz at second base. Two at-bats later, Makani Tanaka scorched a cookie from OSU two-way lefty TP Wentworth, launching a two-run home run to give the Golden Eagles an early 2-0 lead.\n\nIn the bottom half of the inning, center Kollin Ritchie launched his 19th homer of the season in solo fashion to left field. Brock Thompson tied the game at 2 with a solo shot in the bottom of the third.\n\nAt that moment, the track meet had commenced.\n\nOSU and ORU continued to trade punches. In the top of the fourth, a fielding error by right fielder Garrett Shull allowed ORU to retake the lead at 3-2 before the Cowboys answered with two runs of their own in the bottom half — capped by Francisco's milestone blast — to go back in front 5-3.\n\nThe Golden Eagles clawed back, however, scoring three times across the fifth inning to grab a 6-5 lead. OSU refused to fold. In the bottom of the eighth, Ritchie plated Francisco with a sacrifice fly, and Conover scored on a wild pitch to knot the game at 8-8 — setting up what looked like a potential Cowboys victory.\n\nInstead, ORU shortstop Hudson Ellis delivered a crushing blow, lining a clutch two-out, two-RBI double on a 3-2 count off OSU closer Noah Wech in the top of the ninth to give the Golden Eagles a 10-8 lead.\n\nBut the Cowboys didn't falter.\n\nFirst baseman Colin Brueggemann — who led the Cowboys with a three-hit, RBI outing — led off the bottom half of the inning with an opposite-field solo blast to left-center field, his 10th homer of the season, to make it 10-9. Wentworth followed with a single up the middle, before Essex entered to pinch run in his place. One at-bat later, freshman Remo Indomenico reached base via a fielder's choice, putting the Cowboys in prime position to tie it, or walk it off.\n\nColin Brueggemann (12) smiles in the dugout during OSU's 10-9 loss to Oral Roberts on Tuesday at O'Brate Stadium in Stillwater. Brueggemann led the Cowboys with three hits and an RBI, capping his night with a solo home run — his 10th of the season — in the bottom of the ninth to pull OSU within one. – Photo by Bruce Waterfield/OSU Athletics\n\nInstead, the opposite unfolded.\n\nSmithwick prematurely bit on a breaking pitch, Essex was gunned down at home plate and OSU players and coaches left their home confines having suffered a grueling defeat.\n\n\"Oral Roberts, they're just competitive,\" OSU catcher Brady Francisco said. \"That's really all it is. I thought our pitchers threw well for the most part, and there's obviously things that we can all improve on, but I just think they did their part as a team and they just really put together great at-bats and made us pay.\"\n\nOSU had won four straight heading in, and was only two days removed from a series sweep of Cincinnati at home. The Cowboys (21-12) plated 47 runs in that span, which prompted Holliday to echo a recurrent sentiment postgame of how he believes his team is playing its best baseball, despite the loss Tuesday.\n\nIn the end, however, OSU had an array of opportunities to deliver. None better than what came in the final offensive frame.\n\nBut when it mattered, such opportunities were squandered. And the Golden Eagles (18-12) left O'Brate Stadium victorious for the second-straight year, and the sixth time over the past seven meetings between the two teams in Stillwater.\n\n\"I think at the end of the day, we were in a good spot, but we just didn't quite finish the job,\" Holliday said. \"I am pleased that we fought and we rallied and put ourselves in that position. Next time, I think we'll slow down and finish the job.\n\n\"Ultimately, it's a learning moment. Baseball has a lot of those, and that was one right there. Now, we've just got to make sure to apply it moving forward.\"\n\n### **Ortiz returns to OSU lineup**\n\nThe Cowboys welcomed starting second baseman Avery Ortiz back into their lineup on Tuesday.\n\nHolliday had been hinting at Ortiz' imminent return from the injured list for the past two weeks. And at long last, it came.\n\nIt marked the junior infielder's first appearance since Feb. 14, when Ortiz exited OSU's Opening Weekend contest against Bedlam rival Oklahoma late due to an unspecified leg injury.\n\nOrtiz delivered in flashes, though a small and limited sample size. He went 1-for-2 on the night, logging a double in the bottom of the fourth — during which Shull's error in right field helped ORU briefly retake the lead — and took care of routine defensive plays outside of a lone blemish in the top of the first.\n\nHolliday noted how Ortiz isn't at full strength, but is nearing it. And while he didn't specify how much Ortiz would play this weekend when OSU faces Kansas State on the road, starting Friday at 6 p.m. at Tointon Family Stadium in Manhattan, Kan., he said he and his coaching staff plan to \"ease\" Ortiz back into action over the course of the next month.\n\nAvery Ortiz (7) smiles while standing on second base after hitting a double in the fourth inning of OSU's 10-9 loss to Oral Roberts on Tuesday at O'Brate Stadium in Stillwater. The hit was part of Ortiz's first appearance since Feb. 14, as the junior infielder returned from a leg injury that had sidelined him for nearly two months. – Photo by Bruce Waterfield/OSU Athletics\n\nOrtiz has battled injuries throughout his college career. But when healthy, he has been a promising prospect for the Cowboys.\n\nAs a freshman in 2024 — his healthiest season thus far — he slashed .258/.300/.333 to go with 34 RBI and nine home runs. Defensively, he tallied a .939 fielding percentage.\n\nWhile Shull has held his ground defensively in his place, Ortiz's upside can't be overlooked. And his return to the lineup couldn't have come at a better time with an unforgiving five-week stretch awaiting OSU.\n\n\"He earned the right to be on the field,\" Holliday said. \"He's been working his tail off for 40-some odd straight days, or whatever it's been, to get healthy enough to try to play. We wanted to get him back involved with our team. He's an important part of our team, and it's good to get him back out there.\n\n\"It's a step in the right direction to have him back in there. He's not 100%... We've just got to come and bring him back along and get him involved in a positive way. Swing wise and defensively, he's moving really well. Running the bases, we're still working our way back to full strength. But we're trying to get him back involved so he can be a contributor because we know what player he can be.\"\n\n### **Francisco's milestone moment**\n\nFrancisco's fourth-inning two-run blast raised his batting average to .350 — through only 20 at-bats — and showed he is capable of run production that makes him a viable backup for Smithwick, who has secured OSU's everyday starting spot at catcher.\n\n\"I was in a position to be able to contribute and I really just wanted to pull through for the guys there,\" Francisco said. \"Obviously the end result wasn't what we wanted, but that was a cool moment, for sure.\n\n\"I just saw a slider and just stuck to my plan and didn't really think too much about it.\"",
  "title": "Francisco get First Homer, But Cowboys Drop 10-9 Thriller to ORU",
  "updatedAt": "2026-04-14T03:40:41.307Z"
}