Big 12 Baseball Roundup: Week 2 Conference Play Recap

Late game walk-offs and road upsets shake up the 2nd weekend of Big 12 conference play.

Sawyer Strosnider launches a 2-run homerun in the 11th inning vs Texas Tech fueling the Horned Frog series win in Lubbock. | gofrogs.com

After the 2nd week of conference play, the Big 12 had some surprising results in conference matchups this past weekend.

TCU Baseball rebounded with a solid series win over Texas Tech in Lubbock this past weekend. But who moved up and down in the conference standings?

Conference Recap

As of right now, Arizona and Kansas State hold firm at the top of the Big 12 with 5-1 records in conference play. Arizona State once again went 2-1 on the weekend now with series wins vs TCU and Kansas, two seemingly formidable teams in the Big 12. Texas Tech remains in the top 4 teams in the conference with a 4-2 record.

Kansas, UCF, TCU, and BYU exit the 2nd conference weekend all tied in the middle of the conference standings at 3-3. TCU and BYU put together some solid road series wins against Texas Tech and Cincinnati respectively, while the Jayhawks and Knights stumbled going 1-2 on the weekend.

West Virginia now stands at 2-2 in the conference after the series loss vs Arizona, but if we're being honest, the Mountaineers and Wildcats played a 4th game in their 16-inning series opener where Arizona came out on top 6-4.

Baylor, Utah, and Houston now stand at 2-4 in conference play, with the Cougars being one of the more shocking results of the weekend. Houston traveled to Orlando and took the series from a hot-hitting Knights team. Cincinnati sits at the bottom of the conference at 1-5 as they continue to go through pitching struggles after dropping the series to BYU.

Conference Standings

Arizona (5-1)
Kansas State (5-1)
Arizona State (4-2)
Texas Tech (4-2)
Kansas (3-3)
UCF (3-3)
TCU (3-3)
BYU (3-3)
West Virginia (2-2)
Baylor (2-4)
Utah (2-4)
Houston (2-4)
Oklahoma State (1-3)
Cincinnati (1-5)

Who Shined in Week 2?

As an honorable mention, I want to give the Horned Frogs their flowers for putting together a series win in Lubbock, TX, for the first time since 2015. TCU moved back to .500 (3-3) in conference play with the 2-1 series win off the back of some big-time swings from Sawyer Strosnider on Sunday afternoon.

Have a day @sawyerstro 😤 pic.twitter.com/apJgH6V4SV

— TCU Baseball (@TCU_Baseball) March 23, 2025

Arizona State is the first team that caught my attention this past weekend with their series win vs Kansas including a series-deciding walk off homerun by Sun Devil, Nu'u Contrades in the 9th inning. Head coach Willie Bloomquist and his squad now have series wins over both the Horned Frogs and the Jayhawks in their first two weekends of conference play and are tied for 3rd in the conference with Texas Tech having a 4-2 record.

The Sun Devils dominated the first game of the series 9-2 with a 4-RBI performance from Josiah Cromwick. The catcher accounted for the first 4 runs for the Sun Devils with a fielder's choice groundout and 2 home runs in the first 3 innings. The Jayhawks sent the series to a Game 3 decision with a 7-3 win on Saturday, largely due to the Kansas pitching staff. Kannon Carr and Alex Breckheimer were stellar for the Kansas pitching staff, only allowing the Sun Devils to score in 1 inning. Carr finished with 7.0 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, and 5 Ks. Breckheimer finished the win off with 2.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, and 2 Ks.

In the series finale, it was a back-and-forth game giving viewers the impression that whoever got to hit last would take the game and the series. Kansas struck first early in the game with a 2-run 1st inning as Dariel Osoria singled to score Brady Ballinger and Brady Counsell had a sac fly to score Jackson Hauge.

Isaiah Jackson accounted for 3 RBI in the 2nd and 4th innings with a walk and a 2-run home run to give the Sun Devils the lead. Kansas took the lead back in the 6th with a 2-spot Michael Brooks with an RBI walk, and Ty Wisdom with an RBI fielder's choice. Jacob Tobias had a 2-RBI double in the 7th to give ASU the lead heading into the 9th inning.

Kansas looked to be in control as they took a 1-run lead in the 9th inning with a Tommy Barth 2-run home run. After notching 2 outs in the 8th, Eric Lin would continue to pitch in the 9th against the heart of ASU's lineup. There were 2-out dramatics in this one as the Sun Devils quickly had a baserunner after Landon Hairston singled to center field. Contrades then immediately homered to right field to take Game 3 and the series as ASU walked it off 7-6

WALK. IT. OFF. CONTRADES.

SUN. DEVILS. WIN.#O2V /// #ForksUp pic.twitter.com/YzuBh2HuCE

— Sun Devil Baseball (@ASU_Baseball) March 23, 2025

The Houston Cougars also shocked the Big 12 with their series win vs the UCF Knights in Orlando. Before the series the Knights had previously boasted an impressive 12-2 record at home in the 2025 season. Not only had UCF held a good home field advantage, but the Knights also had won 10 of their last 11 games including a midweek win vs #6 Florida.

Houston took won the series opener on Friday 7-5 with a massive 6-spot in the 5th inning. Riley Jackson had a solo-homerun in the inning and Malachi Lott had a 3 RBI triple to propel the Cougars to a win. Wiley Hartly allowed UCF to bounce back winning the 2nd game of the series with 5.0 innings pitched only allowing 3 hits and 1 earned run.

Houston would take the series finale by a score of 7-4 largely in part due to a 3-run 7th inning fueled by walks and smart execution at the plate. Evan Haeger, Xavier Perez, and Aaron Lugo all put the ball in play to score their fellow teammates after UCF began the inning loading the bases with 2 walks and a hit by pitch.

HIGHlights from Orlando 🤩 pic.twitter.com/dA9yWs88O2

— Houston Baseball (@UHCougarBB) March 24, 2025

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