Arizona State traveled to Stillwater for their final series of the regular season knowing full well what the stakes were.
The Sun Devils had played themselves into second place in the Big 12 standings, just two games behind West Virginia. The Mountaineers have dominated all season, but began to slip in the past two weeks, leading to them falling from the top spot in our power rankings for the first time in nearly two months.
With a series against the Cowboys, near the bottom of the Big 12, Arizona State was in good position to apply some real pressure to West Virginia, who themselves drew a tough final series with a surging Jayhawks club.
Earlier in the day on Thursday, Arizona State got what they needed: West Virginia fell to Kansas in the series opener. That created a golden opportunity for the Sun Devils less than an hour before they were set to throw out the first pitch in Stillwater.
To put it simply, the opportunity was squandered.
Ben Jacobs got the start, and he was given an early lead thanks to a one-run RBI from Matt King in the top of the first. But Oklahoma State quickly took Jacobs for a ride, tying things up with a solo home run in the first and then plating four runners in the second to go up 5-1.
Another solo homer in the fifth made it a 6-1 game, and Jacobs exited having given up seven hits (all but one turned into runs) while striking out eight batters.
Going into the top of the ninth, Arizona State nearly made a miraculous comeback. With two outs, they loaded the bases and Isaiah Jackson trimmed the lead to four with an RBI single. Brody Briggs was up next and launched the ball deep to right field, coming excruciatingly close to a game-tying grand slam, but it was fielded for the third and final out.
With the Sun Devils' loss, West Virginia officially clinched the regular season Big 12 title despite losing themselves earlier in the day.
Of course, that really only matters for seeding in the Big 12 tournament, but it's still an emotional letdown given how Arizona State had a shot at overtaking the Mountaineers. Now, they're just fighting for second place, as well as the right to close out the regular season with another series win.