Texas Longhorns Lead Big 12 Baseball With Successful Week 2
Opening weekend has come and gone but we are still just getting started in college baseball. This past week, some teams had their home openers while others were on the road in tournaments. Now we just wrapped up the full second weekend in baseball and even though some weather got in the way, I will go over each weekend series from all nine (Thanks Iowa State) Big 12 baseball teams.
Texas Longhorns (Weekend Series 3-0) (Overall 8-0)
Friday: Beat Boise State 7-0
Saturday: Beat Boise State 2-1
Sunday: Beat Boise State 7-3
The Longhorns stayed hot at the Disch sweeping the Boise State Broncos in their three- game series. Texas opened Friday with an easy 7-0 win as outfielders Duke Ellis and Austin Todd combined for five RBI’s as starting pitcher Bryce Elder struck out 11. While the bats weren’t as hot on Saturday, left fielder Eric Kennedy knocked a solo shot to break up a tie game in the seventh to give Texas the victory. Not to mention, pitcher Ty Madden completed a full game striking out 7 while allowing just two hits. To complete the sweep, Texas had to sweat one out as they entered the ninth inning with a two-run lead, Boise State’s Geon Hyoung Kim knocked a two-run shot to tie up the game. Fortunately for the Longhorns, third baseman Cam Williams hit his own two run blast to give Texas the win in extra innings. Next up is a home game against Sam Houston State on Tuesday night.
Baylor Bears (Weekend Series 1-2) (Overall 4-3)
Friday: Lost to Oral Roberts 7-3
Saturday: Beat Oral Roberts 7-4
Sunday: Lost to Oral Roberts 4-2
It certainly wasn’t the weekend Baylor had hoped for dropping the series on Sunday afternoon, but it started on Friday as Baylor gave up four runs in the sixth inning on Friday night to break a two-run tie. On Saturday, the Bears powered their way back as they poured in six runs in the first three innings to cruise to an easy thanks to a collective effort which got started by an Andy Thomas two run homer in the first inning. However, the pitching struggled in the series finale and the Baylor bats went cold as they racked up just two runs on Sunday. Next up is a home match with UTRGV on Wednesday.
TCU Horned Frogs (Weekend Series 1-1) (Overall 5-1)
Saturday: Beat Minnesota 12-0
Sunday: Lost to Minnesota 7-6
Even though the series is split right now, TCU will have a chance to take the series on Monday as they will battle the Gophers for their third game to wrap up their road series. The Horned Frogs dominated the series opener on Saturday night as they were led by shortstop Tommy Sacco and third baseman Connor Shepherd who combined for six RBI’s in game one. Of course, the pitching by Johnny Ray was spectacular as he lasted a full nine innings giving up just two hits. As good as the pitching was on Saturday, it was a big let down on Sunday as starting pitcher Charles King gave up seven runs in just a little over three innings of work. TCU ended up clawing their way back a bit, but it just wasn’t enough to overcome the early hole. Not to mention, it was TCU’s first loss of the season.
Texas Tech Red Raiders (Weekend Tournament 2-1) (Overall 6-1)
Friday: Lost to Tennessee 6-2
Saturday: Beat Stanford 7-2
Sunday: Beat Houston 3-2
Tech spent their weekend in Round Rock, Texas for the Round Rock Classic. On Friday night, Texas Tech was given their first lost of the season to Tennessee. While their usual batting power wasn’t there, pitcher Clayton Beeter gave up four runs in just four innings and the Red Raiders never could find the offense to get back into the game. But on Saturday, there was no lack of offense. Stanford got up 2-0 in the first inning, but Tech went on to outscore the Cardinal 7-2 in the final eight innings thanks to their eleven hits on the night. While both starting pitchers (For Houston and Texas Tech) gave up two runs a piece, it turned into a bullpen game as both bullpens did a great job in the final five innings allowing just one run that ended up being the game winner in the tenth inning as second baseman Brian Klein hit a game winning RBI single to seal the deal. Next up is a home game against Southern on Tuesday.
Oklahoma Sooners (Weekend Series 3-1) (Overall 7-2)
Friday Game 1: Beat Illinois State 2-1
Friday Game 2: Beat Illinois State 4-1
Saturday Game 1: Beat Illinois State 3-2
Saturday Game 2: Lost to Illinois State 7-5
Due to weather (I think) the Sooners played back to back double headers this past weekend. There wasn’t much offense in the first game of the four as had just five hits in the game but the work by starting pitcher Cade Cavalli was excellent as he struck out nine batters through seven innings. The pitching stayed hot in the second game on Friday thanks to Wyatt Olds (Who struck out nine) but it was the third inning that pushed the Sooners over as center fielder Tanner Tredaway hit a two run shot to push the game open for Oklahoma.
Saturday’s double header opener turned into a pitching battle as both starting pitchers (ISU’s Sean Sinisko and Oklahoma’s Levi Prater) gave up just two runs in six and one thirds innings. With a tie game at two heading into the bottom of the eighth inning, third baseman Peyton Graham hit a sac fly to give the Sooners a 3-2 lead and ultimately the win to take the series before the final game. For the first time all weekend, the pitching for Oklahoma went south in game four as starting pitcher Dane Acker allowed five runs in seven innings before being pulled. Even the bullpen struggled as they allowed Illinois State to add some insurance runs in the eighth inning to give the Sooners their only loss of the weekend. Next up is a date with Arkansas in the Shriner’s Hospitals for Children Classic in Houston on Friday afternoon.
Oklahoma State Cowboys (Weekend Series 3-0) (Overall 5-2)
Friday: Beat UTRGV 17-2
Saturday: Beat UTRGV 11-7
Sunday: Beat UTRGV 8-4
No better way to open a new stadium than with a three-game sweep and that’s exactly what the Cowboys did this past weekend. Friday’s game was a complete domination as the Pokes racked up seventeen runs on a whopping nineteen hits. Alix Garcia, Max Hewitt and Justin Campbell combined for nine RBI’s and starting pitcher Parker Scott struck out ten batters in just six innings. While the pitching wasn’t nearly as dominate on Saturday, the Pokes bats still had plenty leftover from the day before ad they yet again had double digit hits and runs in game two led by Jake Thompson and Max Hewitt. On Sunday, the Cowboys found themselves down 3-0 early but then the rally started when right field Caeden Trinkle hit a two-run bomb in the fourth inning to start an 8-0 run heading into the final inning. Next up is a home game against Little Rock on Tuesday.
Kansas State Wildcats (Weekend Tournament 1-2) (Overall 3-4)
Friday: Beat Missouri 5-1
Saturday: Lost to Texas A&M Corpus Christi 5-2
Sunday: Lost to Utah 2-1
The Wildcats spent their weekend at the Texas coast down in Corpus Christi for the Kleberg Bank College Classic. The opener went great for Kansas State as starting pitcher Connor McCullough allowed just one run through six innings of work as Kamron Willman and Chris Ceballos each knocked in a pair of runs to give Kansas State an early win. But in game two against the hometown team, Kansas State scored early thanks to a wild pitch and an RBI ground out by Kamron Willman to give the Cats an early 2-0 lead. That lead didn’t last long because pitcher Carson Seymour allowed five runs in just a little over four innings and the Wildcats never came close to a comeback on Saturday.
The final game for Kansas State was certainly an odd one against Utah. Starting pitcher Jordan Wicks pitched a perfect seven innings yet the game was still scoreless as he left the mound. Right fielder Zach Kokoska knocked in a run to give the Wildcats a 1-0 going into the bottom of the ninth but the Utes were able to pick up two runs to win due to a hit and a wild pitch. Next up is a date with the Wichita State Shockers on the road on Wednesday before their home opener this upcoming weekend.
Kansas Jayhawks (Weekend Series 2-2) (Overall 4-3)
Friday: Lost to Charleston Southern 2-1
Saturday Game 1: Beat Charleston Southern 13-4
Saturday Game 2: Lost to Charleston Southern 1-0
Sunday: Beat Charleston Southern 9-1
While I am sure Kansas wanted a series win, I don’t think a split series on the road was such a bad thing for the Jayhawks. Friday’s match turned into a pitcher duel as Kansas starting pitcher Ryan Cyr allowed just five hits and two runs through eight innings. However, the offense wasn’t there as the Jayhawks had just three hits in game one. The bats did come alive in game one of the doubleheaders on Saturday as Kansas poured on thirteen runs led by shortstop Benjamin Sems and first baseman Nolan Metcalf who each went yard.
Yet again, the bats went from hot to cold in the second game on Saturday because Kansas had just one hit all game long. Even though Kansas had solid pitching in that game, the lack of offense proved to be costly dropping game three 1-0. Remember when I mentioned hot and cold? Well this isn’t some Katy Perry song because this is baseball here but that continues to be a perfect description of this team this past weekend. In the series finale, starting pitcher Eli Davis allowed just one run in six innings of work while Kansas piled on nine runs off ten hits to split the series at two apiece. Next up is a matchup against Michigan State in the First Pitch Invitational in Greenville, South Carolina on Friday.
West Virginia Mountaineers (Weekend Tournament 2-2) (Overall 5-3)
Friday: Beat Kennesaw State 7-1
Saturday: Beat St. Joseph’s 5-1
Sunday Game 1: Lost to Illinois 2-1
Sunday Game 2: Lost to Coastal Carolina 14-2
West Virginia spent this past weekend in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for the Brittain Resorts Invitational going 2-2. They started off the weekend with an easy 7-1 victory over Kennesaw State as starting pitcher Jackson Wolf (struck out eight) and closer Beau Lowery allowed just one run all game long. It started when the Mountaineers got off to a 6-0 start through three innings and never looked back. The solid pitching continued in game two of the weekend because pitcher Ryan Bergert struck out eleven batters while giving up just two hits and one run through eight innings. They needed that because the offense wasn’t as good as the opener but thanks to Paul McIntosh’s two RBI’s, West Virginia was able to score five runs on just five hits.
Then came Sunday which was a day this baseball would likely want to forget. West Virginia scored a run in the first inning of game one of the doubleheaders against Illinois and little did we know that would be the only run of the game for them. Starting pitcher Jake Carr pitched eight innings and allowed a two-run shot in the fourth but the offense didn’t have his back in the game as they fell 2-1 to Illinois. If game one on Sunday was a bummer, game two was a complete meltdown. West Virginia ended up using nine total pitchers and just about all of them were rocked as Coastal Carolina racked up a total of twelve runs in the seventh and eighth innings to get a 14-2 win. The Mountaineers were in the game before the seventh inning and just melted down late. Next up is a matchup against VCU on the road on Friday.
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