Big 12 Baseball Roundup: Week 9 Sorts Out Crowded Conference Mess

The race to the top of the Big 12 standings is still a hotly-contested one, but some teams are beginning to finalize their bid for the best team in the league.

For the last month or so, the overarching answer to who's the best team in the Big 12 Conference has been "Who the hell knows?" Although far from clear, the sediments settled a bit in the league race river in Week 9. Three teams appear to be serious contenders and another three make things interesting. Everyone else has work to do.

The big three in the Big 12 currently: the Oklahoma Sooners (21-14, 11-4 Big 12) West Virginia Mountaineers (22-13, 11-4), and Oklahoma State Cowboys (25-11, 10-5). The latter two crack D1Baseball's top 25 ranking, with WVU debuting at 22 this weekend. Of course, come tournament time in Arlington, anything can happen. But there's worse goals to have than a regular season conference title.

With so many teams left on the block, which other three teams could make things interesting? Do some of the big-name programs have a shot left at seriously competing? Let's dive into what unfolded in Week 9 of the college baseball season in the Heartland.

Week 9 Roundup: Pokes, Sooners, Mountaineers Reign

Nobody in the league is hotter right now than No. 15 Oklahoma State. Winners of a league-best six straight, the Pokes swept Cincinnati (20-16, 7-8) in Stillwater, following up series wins against TCU, West Virginia, and Oklahoma. The home stretch for Josh Holliday's crew is far from easy – Oklahoma State visits Kansas State and Texas in two of its next three series, followed up by a home series against Texas Tech.

Oklahoma secured perhaps the most impressive series win of the weekend, sweeping Kansas State. Catcher Scott Mudler sealed the sweep with a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the ninth Sunday. The Sooners' bats left little doubt in the other two games, scoring 23 runs on Friday and Saturday combined. With WVU and Oklahoma State hot on its tail, Oklahoma clinched a critical series sweep.

Since returning J.J. Wetherholt, West Virginia won 6-of-7 games, only dropping a midweek to Marshall. The star junior notched his first home runs on the season this weekend, going yard both on Saturday and Sunday. WVU swept UCF, who had just cracked the top 25 (and was the only Big 12 team to be ranked two weekends ago!). They continue to win in the clutch – the Mountaineers are also 3-1 in one-run games in that stretch.

Teams Who Could Make A Push

Despite taking lumps this weekend, the Kansas State Wildcats (21-13, 7-8) and Texas Tech Red Raiders (26-11, 9-9) are teams just a few games back capable of making a run at the top of the conference. Tech dropped two of three in Fort Worth, with bats once again failing to come alive against conference competition.

Outside of Big 12 play, the Red Raiders score more runs than anyone else in the nation. However, they failed to crack three runs in two of three games against TCU this weekend, bringing their conference scoring average down to just 5.8 runs per game (from 14.4 in non-league play). But Tim Tadlock brings experience and pedigree to the table; it'd be foolish to completely write Tech off.

The Texas Longhorns (22-15, 9-6) are in a fascinating position. They're just 6-6 against top-50 RPI competition on the season, including 0-3 against ranked opponents. These aren't the Longhorns of late, but they have an opportunity to quickly take control of the Big 12 if the team sorts itself out. On deck for Texas is TCU, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State.

Team That Impressed Me Most

Oklahoma sat atop the Big 12 standings for a couple weeks, even picking up a comfortable multi-game lead. But that changed in Week 8 when they dropped two of three at Oklahoma State. Heading into this past weekend, OU found themselves in a battle for first with a Kansas State team on tap capable of being pesky.

Instead of letting an opportunity slip, Oklahoma swept Kansas State right out of Norman. While the Sooners still share first place with West Virginia, it was one of the best saves by a team on the season yet. The wins improved Oklahoma to 13-11 on the season against top-50 RPI competition and their six wins against top-25 teams leads the Big 12.

Per D1Baseball's RPI and DSR, Oklahoma is a top-30 team nationally. Though they fail to crack the top 25 rankings, the Sooners are a team to keep a close eye on come the postseason.

Notable Performances

Kodey Shojinaga, C, Kansas: The sophomore absolutely stuffed the stat sheet this weekend against Pacific. Shojinaga notched 11 hits in 17 at-bats and drove in 10 batters on those hits, which included three doubles and a homer. Nobody in the country took more at-bats than he and few did more with their opportunities.

Scott Mudler, C, Oklahoma: Mudler hit 7-for-11 on the weekend, including 3-for-4 on Sunday, and delivered the walk-off RBI single to seal the sweep. The nine hitter in the Sooners' lineup bats .305 on the year with 20 RBI despite limited work (22 games). As far as nine hitters go – heck, for any hitter in the order – Mudler is the definition of a "tough out."

Owen Woodward/Cade Citelli, RHPs, Houston: The tandem worked a complete game against Texas, splitting innings nearly identically, and allowed just one run while ringing up 16 Texas batters. Houston sits a distant last in the Big 12 standings, but its rotation of starting pitchers continues to battle. Woodward himself struck out 10 of 15 batters faced in just 4.2 innings of work. Citelli worked the rest of the game en route to a 9-1 Houston win Friday night.

Big 12 College Baseball Standings

Rankings courtesy of D1Baseball. Records accurate as of Tuesday.

T1. #22 West Virginia Moutaineers (22-13, 11-4)

T1. Oklahoma Sooners (21-14, 11-4)

3. #15 Oklahoma State Cowboys (25-11, 10-5)

4. Texas Longhorns (22-15, 9-6)

5. Baylor Bears (16-18, 8-7)

6. Texas Tech Red Raiders (26-11, 9-9)

T7. Kansas State Wildcats (21-13, 7-8)

T7. Kansas Jayhawks (19-14, 7-8)

T7. Cincinnati Bearcats (20-16, 7-8)

10. UCF Knights (21-12, 8-10)

11. TCU Horned Frogs (22-12, 7-11)

12. BYU Cougars (14-18, 6-12)

13. Houston Cougars (17-18, 5-13)

Upcoming Weekend Series

Conference Play

Houston at Cincinnati: UC Baseball Stadium (Cincinnati, OH)

Kansas at Baylor: Baylor Ballpark (Waco, TX)

Oklahoma at BYU: Miller Park (Provo UT, THU-SAT)

Oklahoma State at Kansas State: Tointon Family Stadium (Manhattan, KS)

TCU at Texas: Disch-Falk Field (Austin, TX)

West Virginia at Texas Tech: Rip Griffin Park (Lubbock, TX)

Non-Conference Play

UCF vs. Central Michigan: John Euliano Park (Orlando, FL)

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