Stillwater, Okla. ? Junior reliever Stephen Villines matched a career-high six innings pitched, as the Kansas University baseball team fell to No. 12 Oklahoma State, 8-1, Saturday.

Villines gave the Jayhawks (20-35-1, 6-17 Big 12) one of the best performances of his career through the first five innings of relief retiring 14 of the 15 Cowboys he faced until the eighth inning. Oklahoma State used a little Senior Day magic to score three runs off Villines and end his bid at a perfect six frames.

“He has had a great year, he has been very special,” head coach Ritch Price said. “You have to be a baseball player to understand how hard his job is and then to extend him more than one inning like we have had to do the last few times he has pitched, makes his job even harder. He is a special young man.”

Price had to call to his ace arm out of the bullpen after Kansas starter sophomore lefty Blake Weiman (2-7) got knocked around for five runs in one-plus innings. The southpaw couldn’t register an out in the second and exited the game after giving up a two-run home run. Freshman Zack Leban bridged the gap to Villines in the second with a 14-pitch performance to limit the damage to that home run.

Three Oklahoma State pitchers held the Jayhawks to one hit, a second-inning triple by Colby Wright.

The series loss eliminated Kansas from the Big 12 Championship, as the top-eight teams in the conference qualify.

Kansas 010 000 000 — 1 1 0

Oklahoma State 320 000 03x — 8 9 0

W — Garrett Williams, 2-0. L — Blake Weiman, 2-7.

2B — Conor Costello, OSU. 3B — Colby Wright, KU. HR — Corey Hassell, OSU.

KU Highlights — Colby Wright, 1-for-3, R; Matt McLaughlin, 0-for-1, RBI.