Big 12 Baseball Thursday Six-Pack: Kansas State Crushes Texas While UCF Walks Off Texas Tech
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 Thursday with a nice six pack.
Best Game
Texas Tech at UCF
Coming into the weekend, this was one of the most underrated series not just in the Big 12 but in all of college baseball. In the middle of the Big 12 title race, this is an important series for both teams. UCF got on the board first thanks to a bases loaded walk to take an early 1-0 lead. Texas Tech finally would answer in the fourth inning when Kevin Bazzell went deep to tie the game.
The fifth inning is where Texas Tech would take their first lead. Landon Stripling hit a two-run bomb before Cade McGee added another run later in the inning.
The Knights would score a run in the fifth and sixth inning to pull within one. But it was in the ninth inning where the heat really started to turn up. Jack Zyska drilled a double down the line to bring in the tying run. And as crazy as that moment was, it wasn’t as crazy as the way the game ended. With the bases loaded, Andrew Williamson was hit by a pitch and the winning run came in to give UCF a 5-4 victory.
Best Win
#23 Kansas State Over Texas
If you were looking for the primetime series of the weekend then you found it right here in Manhattan, Kansas. I don’t know what Kansas State did before the game, but I recommend they do it all the time because they put an absolute beatdown on Texas. While the Longhorns scored the first three runs of the game, the Wildcats responded by scoring a whopping eight runs in the second inning.
Chuck Ingram made it a 9-3 game in third with his RBI before David Bishop, Kaelen Culpepper, and Kyan Lodice all went deep.
Going into the final inning, Kansas State was up 14-3 and while Texas scored a few runs in the ninth, it wasn’t enough as the game ended 14-6 in favor of Kansas State. It was a great series opening win for the Wildcats.
Worst Loss
BYU
I thought the Cougars were playing better as of late and then they got crushed by Kansas at home. While BYU only used three pitchers, they all got rocked as they gave up nearly 15 hits on the day in their 11-1 loss. And now due to the weather, these two will play a doubleheader on Friday to finish out the series.
Thursday MVP
Cincinnati DH Tommy O’Connor
Tommy had a big day for the Bearcats as he hit two home runs against Baylor on Thursday night.
Pitcher of the Day
TCU RHP Louis Rodriguez
Louis was fantastic on Thursday against a good Houston team. He pitched eight full innings and didn’t allow a single run. In fact, he allowed just three hits on the evening and struck out ten batters.
Best Home Run
Kansas C Jake English
Jake’s early dinger in this game really set the tone for Kansas as they went on to put a beatdown on BYU. And just look at those beautiful mountains.
Full Scoreboard
Lamar: 12, #25 Oklahoma: 10
#23 Kansas State: 14, Texas: 6
Kansas: 11, BYU: 1
Cincinnati: 8, Baylor: 3
TCU: 14, Houston: 1
UCF: 5, Texas Tech: 4
