Buffett pushes Cowboys within win of CWS Finals

Two days after blanking UC Santa Barbara, Oklahoma State got another masterful pitching performance Monday in Omaha, with Tyler Buffett's eight scoreless innings propelling the Cowboys to a 1-0 victory over the Arizona Wildcats and bringing them within one win of securing a spot in the College World Series Finals.

Despite sitting through a lengthy rain delay, Buffett wasn't at all fazed when he took the mound at TD Ameritrade Park three hours later than expected, as the 6-foot-1 sophomore allowed just three singles and a couple walks in eight innings of work, fanning six while throwing 60 of his 100 pitches for strikes.

Bobby Dalbec, who got the start for Arizona, was comparably superb, striking out 12 while allowing just five hits over eight frames, but the Wildcats offered no support for their towering junior who surrendered the game's only run on a fourth-inning single from Garrett Benge that plated Donnie Walton from second.

Trey Cobb, called on to record the final three outs of the game, didn't disappoint in relief of Buffett, allowing just one walk in a scoreless ninth inning to secure the 1-0 victory.

Now the only undefeated team left in their bracket, Oklahoma State will get three nights off before taking on the victor of Arizona's win-or-go-home showdown with UC Santa Barbara on Wednesday night.