Friday Big 12 Baseball Six-Pack: Opening Day
Is there anything better than cold beer and baseball? It’s a combination that is hard to beat during the season. No matter what kind of beer you drink (or how many), let’s take a look at some of the best action on the Big 12 baseball diamond from Friday with a nice six pack.
Best Game
#5 TCU vs Florida Gulf Coast
This game was absolutely nuts from start to finish. While TCU jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, the Eagles were able to score a whopping seven runs in the third and fourth inning combined. By the time the seventh inning came around, Florida Gulf Coast had a 9-3 lead and like many others, I thought this game was all but over.
It turns out, I was wrong. The Horned Frogs started making their epic comeback as both Anthony Silva and Chase Brunson hit home runs in the seventh before scoring four more in the eighth. With a tie game going into the bottom of the ninth and runners on second and third, Jack Arthur struck out, but it was a wild pitch and was able to reach base on bad throw that helped bring in a run and help TCU complete the comeback of a lifetime.
Best Win
Houston Over Binghamton
This may not seem like a great win but if you read my preview, you know just how good this Binghamton team is. They were the favorites to win the America East Conference and make the postseason. Going into the bottom of the fifth, Houston was down by one and thanks to a couple of errors were able to score a few runs and take a 5-3 lead. From there Alex Lopez and Cameron Nickens would drive in a couple of insurance runs to help the Cougars seal the deal. It was a great win for Houston and a good job of making sure they start the season off with a victory in their first game as a member of the Big 12.
Worst Lost
Kansas
The Kansas Jayhawks were down in Corpus Christi, Texas to start the season and it certainly was a rough way to get things going. They played UIC (University of Chicago Illinois) and gave up a whopping nine runs in the first five innings. Luckily for Kansas, UIC didn’t score again, and they were able to make a comeback and pull within a pair of runs after Kodey Shojinaga’s grand slam in the ninth inning. Unfortunately, the comeback fell just a little short as they lost 11-9.
Friday MVP
Kansas 2B Kodey Shojinaga
Even though his team lost, it certainly wasn’t because of Kodey. In fact, Kansas would have never even came close in their game against UIC if not for Kodey. He ended up hitting a solo home run in the fifth inning before hitting his monster grand slam in the ninth to pull his team within two.
Pitcher of the Day
Baylor RHP Mason Marriott
The Bears played the first game of the season to kick things off for the Big 12 and Masom Marriott put on quite the show in Arlington. Baylor played in the Shriners Children’s College Showdown and played Nebraska for their first game. In that game, Mason pitched almost six full innings and struck out ten batters and allowed just a single run. Even though Baylor didn’t win the game, Mason put them in a position to do so.
Best Home Run
Texas SS Jalin Flores
For those of you who followed along with me last year know I am a sucker for grand slams. I just freaking love them and are some of the best plays in baseball in my opinion. With that said, you shouldn’t be surprised at my pick here. Texas was down 3-2 in the bottom of the sixth against San Diego and then Jalin Flores hit a grand slam to give Texas a 6-3 lead. To me, that play completely changed the game and Texas didn’t look back after that as they went on to win 7-3.
Full Scoreboard
Nebraska: 4, Baylor: 3
Jacksonville: 11, Cincinnati: 3 (Game One)
Jacksonville: 8, Cincinnati: 6 (Game Two)
Oregon: 4, Oklahoma: 2
UIC: 11, Kansas: 9
UCF: 12, Bryant: 11
West Virginia: 6, Stetson: 4
BYU: 8, USC: 1
Sam Houston: 7, Oklahoma State: 2
Houston: 8, Binghamton: 4
Cal: 6, #24 Kansas State: 3
#9 Tennessee: 6, #21 Texas Tech: 2
#16 Texas: 7, San Diego: 3
#5 TCU: 10, FGCU: 9
