Box Score MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 24-ranked West Virginia University baseball team fell, 2-1, to No. 3 Oklahoma State on Friday night at Wagener Field at Monongalia County Ballpark.
 
In front of 3,291 fans, the seventh-largest crowd in ballpark history, the series opener between the two Big 12 Conference foes featured a well-played, pitcher's duel. The Mountaineers (21-11, 5-2 Big 12) finished with seven hits and played errorless defense in the field.
 
Justin Campbell earned the win for the Cowboys (25-9, 8-2 Big 12), while junior right-handed pitcher Jacob Watters was the tough-luck loser, evening his record to 2-2 on the year.
 
"If you're a fan of college baseball, then you just got treated to one of the best games you're ever going to see," WVU coach Randy Mazey said. "It was well-pitched, well-defended, and the offenses did great against two of the best pitchers in all of college baseball going head-to-head. That was just a great game – it's just a shame the Mountaineers had to lose it."
 
Watters was electric in the early going, retiring the first six Cowboys he saw to begin the night. The Rocky Gap, Virginia, native struck out the side in the second, before OSU opened the scoring with a run in the third.
 
WVU, meanwhile, stranded a runner at third base in the bottom of the frame to keep it a 1-0 ballgame.
 
The Cowboys threatened again in the fifth, but WVU got a pair of big outs to get out of the inning unscathed. After OSU made an out on the base paths, Watters recorded an inning-ending strikeout to hold the Pokes at bay.
 
However, Oklahoma State doubled its lead with a solo home run in the seventh.
 
Watters tied his career high with eight strikeouts on the night. In all, he logged 6.1 innings, surrendering two runs on six hits with one walk on 109 pitches.
 
WVU was able to collect back-to-back hits to begin the bottom of the seventh. But the scoring chance stalled with an out at the plate and two strikeouts.
 
Following Watters' exit, freshman right-hander Chris Sleeper provided quality work out of the bullpen to keep the Mountaineers within reach. The Henrietta, New York, native pitched 2.2 innings, allowing no runs on two hits with a pair of strikeouts.
 
West Virginia made it a one-run game in the bottom of the eighth, thanks in large part to senior outfielder Austin Davis' aggressive baserunning. After he reached on a base hit, Davis stole second and third. Then, junior outfielder Victor Scott II registered a sacrifice fly to center to make it 2-1.
 
WVU also got the tying run aboard in the ninth but a strikeout ended the game.
 
A trio of Mountaineers – Davis, sophomore outfielder Braden Barry and sophomore infielder Mikey Kluska – finished with a pair of hits in the setback. The loss snapped WVU's season-long, six-game win streak.
 
Next up, the Mountaineers and Cowboys meet in the middle game of the three-game, weekend series on Saturday afternoon in Morgantown. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. ET.
 
Saturday is Family Day, featuring four tickets and a $10 concession voucher for just $25. The first 500 fans in attendance also will receive a Jedd Gyorko bobblehead.
 
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.