Big 12 Baseball Friday Six-Pack: Oklahoma Gets Upset by Lamar While UCF Takes Care of 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 Friday with a nice six pack.
Best Game
Oklahoma State at West Virginia
After covering Big 12 baseball over the last few years, I get used to seeing a lot of high scoring games. And as entertaining as they are, sometimes I do enjoy a classic old school pitching battle between two great pitchers. That is exactly what we saw on Friday night in Morgantown. Sam Garcia (Oklahoma State) and Aidan Major (West Virginia) both pitched seven innings and only gave up a total of three runs between them. Sam went seven innings and allowed just one run on three hits while Aidan allowed just two runs on six hits during his eight innings on the mound. Oh, and by the way, each pitcher had over ten strikeouts in this one.
It was a throwback game that I couldn’t take my eyes off of and someone had to win it. Luckily for the Cowboys, they ended up on the winning end. Colin Brueggemann hit a solo blast in the second inning before Zach Ehrhard knocked in another run in the sixth.
West Virginia would make things interesting in the seventh when Grant Hussey went yard, but Carson Benge was able to get the save for Oklahoma State to take game one 2-1.
Best Win
UCF over Texas Tech
If you haven’t been paying attention to UCF baseball this season, then maybe it’s time to wake up and open your eyes. After going 0-3 in conference play to start the season, the Knights have now won six out of their last eight including series wins over Oklahoma State, Kansas, and now Texas Tech. While UCF didn’t light up the scoreboard on Friday night in their 2-1 win over Texas Tech, they were backed by some excellent pitching thanks to Dom Stagliano Chase Centala. I think maybe it’s time to consider this team as a true Big 12 title contender and don’t be surprised to see them in the top 25 after the weekend.
Worst Loss
#25 Oklahoma
After dropping game one to Lamar on Thursday, the Sooners once again had another rough game on Friday. Oklahoma dug themselves into a deep hole that they were unable to climb out of. At one point in this game, Lamar had a 13-5 lead in the fifth inning, and they never looked back. In the last two games, the Sooners have given up a total of 25 runs which is not good at all. Now after dropping the series, Oklahoma is going to have to step it up on Saturday to avoid being swept.
Friday MVP
Texas RF Max Belyeu
Max had a monster day at the plate knocking in five RBIs in Texas’ big win over Kansas State. The highlight of his evening was this two-run blast in the eighth inning.
Pitcher of the Day
TCU LHP Payton Tolle
Payton is no stranger to this award, and he yet again had another incredible performance. He pitched 8.2 innings and allowed just three hits while striking out 13 batters. He is becoming one of the best pitchers in all of baseball right now.
Best Home Run
Texas 1B Jared Thomas
This homer was important for Texas to keep up with Kansas State early after getting blown out on Thursday. It sent a message that Texas was ready for whatever on Friday night.
Full Scoreboard
Texas: 21, #23 Kansas State: 11
Lamar: 13, #25 Oklahoma: 8
Oklahoma State: 2, West Virginia: 1
TCU: 6, Houston: 2
UCF: 2, Texas Tech: 1
Kansas: 4, BYU: 3 (game one)
Kansas: 8, BYU: 5 (game two)
Baylor: 8, Cincinnati: 6
