Big 12 Baseball Championship: Day Four Recap

Phillips Big 12 Baseball Championship - Friday's Games

Game Thirteen –No. 7 Kansas 11 – No. 9 TCU 10
Game Fourteen – No. 1 Oklahoma 8 - No. 7 Kansas 6
Game Fifteen –No. 3 Oklahoma State 4 - No. 10 Texas Tech 0
Game 16 – No. 2 Oklahoma State 10 – No. 8 UCF 1

The first two games on Friday at the Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship in Arlington were high-scoring affairs that caused the last two games to be played late into the night.

The week started with the top ten teams from the regular season facing off in a new, modified double-elimination tournament format. After Friday’s games, we are down to the final two teams – No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 3 Oklahoma State.

Friday saw No. 7 Kansas, No. 8, No. 9 TCU, and No. 10 Texas Tech get eliminated and sent home.

Game Thirteen –No. 7 Kansas 11 – No. 9 TCU 10

The first elimination game of the day brought some early fireworks. No. 7 Kansas (31-23) started the morning with nine runs in the first inning against No. 9 TCU (33-21). The Horned Frogs would chip away, and thanks to five TCU home runs, the score was tied 10-10 at the stretch. Kansas would get a home run in the 8th inning, and that would end up being the game-winner.

For a complete recap of this game, read our article here.

TCU's five home runs are the most by a team in a single NCAA game played at Globe Life Field. They also tied a Big 12 Championship record. The feat had occurred two other times. Oklahoma State was the first to hit five home runs in a tournament game in 1997 against Texas A&M. Missouri would match it in 2000 against Nebraska.

Winning pitcher: - Hunter Cranton (4-3); Losing pitcher – Braeden Sloan (4-4).

With the loss, TCU was eliminated from the tournament. Kansas then played Oklahoma in the second game of the day.

Game Fourteen – No. 1 Oklahoma 8 - No. 7 Kansas 6

For the second game of their day, No. 7 Kansas got off to another hot start – this time scoring four runs in 1st inning and another two in the 2nd inning. But as they showed in the first game, it seemed no lead was big enough for the Jayhawks. Just as TCU did earlier, No. 1 Oklahoma (37-18) chipped away and had the game tied at 6-6 by the end of the 6th inning.

The game would remain tied until the bottom of the 9th inning. Third baseman Anthony Mackenzie would get the inning started with a single. Jackson Nicklaus would then send one deep over the right field wall for a 2-run, walk-off game-winner.

The Sooners advanced to its fifth Big 12 Championship final. They are 3-1 in the final, with victories in 1997, 2013, and 2022. Oklahoma moved to 5-1 against Kansas in the Big 12 Championship and is now 46-43 all-time at the Big 12 Championship. Kansas fell to 15-26 in the tournament.

Winning pitcher – Ryan Lambert (4-0), Losing pitcher – Cooper Moore (1-4).

With the loss, Kansas was eliminated from the tournament. Oklahoma will play in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship final on Saturday at 6 p.m. against Oklahoma State.

Game Fifteen –No. 3 Oklahoma State 4 - No. 10 Texas Tech 0

It was a rematch of the game from Wednesday: No. 3 Oklahoma State (38-17) against No. 10 Texas Tech (33-26) in the third elimination game of the day. The Pokes shut out the Red Raiders. OSU scored a run in the third inning, another in the seventh inning, and two more in the eighth inning.

The Cowboys are now 5-2 against the Red Raiders in the tournament, including 2-0 this year.

Winning pitcher – Sam Garcia (7-3); Losing pitcher – Trendan Parish (2-2).

With the loss, Texas Tech was eliminated from the tournament. Oklahoma State then immediately played UCF in Friday’s final game.

Game 16 – No. 2 Oklahoma State 10 – No. 8 UCF 1

Thanks to the two long games in the morning/afternoon session, the final semifinal match started late and ended in the early hours of Saturday morning. No. 2 Oklahoma State (39-17) once again met No. 8 UCF(35-19) in a rematch of Thursday’s game. But unlike Thursday’s game that went to extra innings, this one was all OSU and was never in doubt.

The Cowboys put two runs up in the 1st inning, two more in the 2nd inning, and four runs in the 4th inning, all before the Knights scored their only run in the 5th inning.

Oklahoma State has advanced to the Big 12 Championship final every year since 2018. This will be their eighth appearance in the final, a conference record. The Cowboys won the Big 12 Championship in 2004, 2017, and 2019. After its inaugural appearance in the tournament, UCF finished 2-1.

Winning pitcher – Brian Holiday (6-3); Losing pitcher – Wiley Hartley (3-3).

With the loss, UCF was eliminated from the tournament. Oklahoma State will play in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship final on Saturday at 6 p.m. against Oklahoma.

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