Notebook: Bogusz progressing in rehab; Hendry finding comfort in relief role

a little bit more lately and maybe things haven’t come as easy, maybe some things haven’t gone our way,” Holliday said. “Sometimes kids just run out of emotional gasoline, if you will, to keep fueling the fight. But we had some gritty performances today.

“It’s a tremendous team win in a time that we desperately needed it.”

Bogusz shows flashes of prime condition, close to full-go number of viable relievers is minimal and adding Bogusz would be a win for Holliday’s pitching staff.

“It’s the job of being a bridge man,” Holliday said. “Gotta take the ball from the start until the end of the game and (Bogusz) has been doing that for us.”

Hendry deemed as feasible bullpen piece and figure out Tuesday and decide how we wanna line him up for next weekend,” Holliday said. “But (Hendry’s) ability to deliver late is very valuable to us as we figure out who we are as (a pitching staff).”

Adkison “tough as a rock”

Chase Adkison hasn’t had it easy.

Since Feb. 25, the junior has been intaking all starting reps at catcher.

Josh Holliday stood at the podium in the team meeting at O’Brate Stadium.

The OSU coach displayed a look of fatigue. This time, however, his visible exhaustion was met with joy.

For three consecutive games prior, the eighth inning doomed OSU. On Sunday, the polar-opposite transpired. A six spot in the bottom of the eighth inning aided the No. 18 Cowboys in their 11-6 series-finale win against West Virginia.

Since a midweek road loss to Dallas Baptist on March 28, OSU had gone 3-6, including consecutive series losses to TCU and the Mountaineers. The Cowboys had lost five consecutive games, including six of seven.

All Holliday seeks for his team is confidence. In his mind, Sunday’s win goes a long way in resonating confidence verbatim to the type felt during its 20-5 start to the year.

“Yeah, we’ve played from behind

Ryan Bogusz finished his redshirt freshman season, displaying signs of a potential starting pitcher.

Featured for most of it was a steady command of his breaking pitches and the ability to provide extended innings – as shown in last season’s Big 12 Tournament game against TCU. However, shoulder surgery in the fall brought a halt to any plans of starting Opening Weekend.

Occasional outings -- usually no longer than two innings -- have displayed flashes of the reliable bullpen option he was in 2022, when Bogusz held a sub-2.0 ERA through the regular season.

Simultaneously, multi-run innings were proof of continued rehab being necessary.

His three scoreless innings in Sunday’s win provided a silver lining to Holliday, giving him hope that Bogusz’s progression is close to a full cycle. The

Brian Hendry spent the first half of his season shut down to rehab from Tommy John surgery.

He recorded occasional starts on the mound; however, they were minimal. As the season progressed, he found himself in a starting role. He owned a 2.67 ERA through three starts. A sevenrun outing against Baylor skewed his ERA, exceeding 5, and hasn’t been the same since.

Hendry entered game two of OSU’s series against TCU as a reliever and surrendered only two runs through three innings. He recorded another sustainable outing during a midweek against Oral Roberts.

On Sunday, his scoreless 1 2/3 innings pitched bought his team enough time to piece together a six-run eighth inning to clinch a win.

So, is Hendry’s newfound role permanent? If that’s the case, is it sustainable?

“We’ll break this (outing) down

Sophomore Ian Daugherty began the season as the team’s starter, but he was made unavailable due to an undisclosed injury. Daugherty made his first appearance since game one against LMU behind home plate in the top of the ninth in Sunday’s win over West Virginia.

“(Adkison) has been gutty for two months,” Holliday said. “That’s a lot of reps at catcher with minimal rest.”

Thirty-one consecutive games with no rest. Most teams utilize two catchers for a reason – holding a starting role at such a position is exhausting. Still, he holds a batting average of .309. Albeit his steal rate for opposing runners is high, his stability behind the plate hasn’t gone unnoticed.

“He’s been tough as a rock for sure,” Holliday said. “He’s been good for us (at catcher).” sports.ed@ocolly.com

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