Tivy product Rhodes nearly steals one for Oklahoma State in Tuscaloosa regional opener

Kerrville’s Stormy Rhodes couldn’t quite pull off the comeback, but the Oklahoma State sophomore right-hander gave the Cowboys every chance to win.

Rhodes, a Tivy High School product, entered Friday’s NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional opener in relief with the Cowboys already trailing USC Upstate 5-4 and two outs in the third inning. He worked the final 6⅓ innings, striking out six and allowing three runs on four hits — a workmanlike effort that kept Oklahoma State within striking distance until the final out.

The Cowboys fell 8-5 to the No. 3-seeded Spartans, dropping to 37-21 and into an elimination game Saturday.

Rhodes has been a steady presence out of the OSU bullpen all season. In 64⅔ innings across 21 appearances, he carries a 4.04 ERA with 62 strikeouts against just 20 walks. His best outing came May 16 against Arizona, when he threw seven innings — his longest appearance of the year. Friday’s 6⅓-inning effort against Upstate matched his second-longest, and he was at his sharpest in the strikeout column, punching out six.

The loss wasn’t on Rhodes. Oklahoma State stranded 13 runners and committed three errors, including two in the fourth inning that allowed an unearned run to score and pushed Upstate’s lead to 6-4. By the time the Spartans added a two-RBI insurance single in the eighth, the Cowboys were chasing a deficit their offense couldn’t quite overcome despite loading the bases in both the eighth and ninth innings.

Oklahoma State faces Alabama State in an elimination game Saturday at 1 p.m.