We are in the eighth full weekend of conference play as eight Big 12 teams are back in action on the diamond this weekend. There are several big-time matchups around the conference and here is what happened in the Big 12 on Friday night.
#9 Texas Tech: 7
#3 Oklahoma State: 6
I talked about Jake Thompson in my preview of this series and sure enough, he was the one to get the game started with his two-run blast in the first inning. Oklahoma State’s 2-0 lead would last just a couple of innings before Cole Stilwell’s grand slam in the fourth inning. The Red Raiders would add another run in the next frame but then Oklahoma State started making a little comeback. Roc Riggio drove in a run and so did Chase Adkison. Of course, Griffin Doersching joined the home run party as well bringing the Cowboys within a run.
Then things got a little whacky in the final two innings. Tech would score on a wild pitch in the eighth inning and took a two-run lead heading into the bottom of the ninth. In those final three outs, Oklahoma State scored a run thanks to David Mendham but failed to tie the game as Jaxson Crull was thrown out trying to score. It was a heck of a way to start this series and I can’t wait for game two.
Oklahoma: 15
West Virginia: 1
How about these Oklahoma Sooners? The continue to stay red hot on Friday night with an easy win over West Virginia. Jackson Nicklaus started the party with a solo shot in the third inning and the Sooners never looked back. Oklahoma scored in just about every inning and ace pitcher Jake Bennett was excellent on the mound. Bennett pitched six full innings striking out seven batters and allowed just a single run. As good as it was for Oklahoma, it was a devastating way to start the weekend for West Virginia.
Baylor: 4
Kansas State: 2
I didn’t think Baylor would be able to pull out a victory in this series without Tyler Thomas on the mound, but they found a way to get it done behind pitcher Jake Jackson. While Jackson was doing his thing the Bears found their offense in the fifth inning. There a fielding error helped Baylor score and then Jared McKenzie would drive in a run as well. Kansas State would finally score their first run of the game in the sixth inning as Dylan Phillips went deep but it wasn’t enough to get the job done for Kansas State.
TCU: 15
Kansas: 6
TCU scored three runs to start the game, but Kansas managed to have a huge second inning scoring five of their six runs on the evening. The Frogs would take the lead back in the sixth inning thanks to Tommy Sacco and really broke the game wide open in the eighth inning. There David Bishop and Luke Boyers went yard along with Kurtis Byrne. It was really great to see those bats of TCU get back on track as they start their weekend with a game one victory.
