OU Erases Six-Run Deficit to Walk-Off Kansas and Advance to Big 12 Championship
Despite a stellar game from the No. 7 seed Kansas Jayhawks, it will be Oklahoma who advances to Saturday’s Big 12 Championship Game after overcoming a massive deficit to secure a walk-off 8-6 win.
The semifinal round of the Big 12 Baseball Tournament is a single-elimination format, so KU had the perfect opportunity to play spoiler and send the top-seeded Sooners home. And, after Kansas jumped out to a 6-0 lead over Oklahoma on Friday, it seemed that the Jayhawks’ Cinderella story might just continue right into the Big 12 Championship Game.
However, with the Big 12’s top-ranked offense and one of the deepest reliever rotations in the nation, Skip Johnson’s team was never out of it, and after putting up a five-spot in the fifth inning, it was apparent that Kansas was in for a dog fight.
Kansas went with J’Briell Easley on the mound and got the performance of a lifetime out of the junior right-hander out of Shawnee, Oklahoma. In 4.2 IP of work, Easley recorded a career-high 11 Ks, allowing six hits, three earned runs, and just 1 BB to one of the hottest offenses in the country.
However, when Easley ran out of gas and the Jayhawks had to turn to the bullpen, it was costly. After outlasting TCU in an 11-10 ballgame earlier in the day, there just wasn’t enough left in the tank for KU to hold onto their lead.
Jaxon Willits got the Sooners on the board with a two-run shot off Easley in the fifth, leading to a pitching change shortly three after for the Jayhawks. Jackson Nicklaus kept the party going with a two-RBI single to center field to cut the lead to two runs. Kendall Pettis added to the momentum by bringing Nicklaus across to make it 6-5, Kansas, and the Jayhawks would get out of the inning after that.
OU picked things right back up with an RBI double from Willits in the sixth, making it 6-6 and Oklahoma having all the momentum, but the offense went quiet for a bit after that. Despite both teams getting runners in scoring position, it became a game of chicken in the seventh and eighth, as both teams continually left runners on base.
The top half of the ninth went that way for Kansas as well, leaving two on before surrendering the inning to OU. However, just two batters into the inning, Jackson Nicklaus did this.
It was a fitting ending to an absolute classic from both teams, and Oklahoma’s ability to rip off runs in bunches has made them a force to be reckoned with all season long.
The Sooners project as the No. 7 seed in the NCAA Baseball Tournament that is set to begin next week, making them a likely candidate to host through the Super Regionals.
OU will now await the winner of Game 16, which is scheduled for tonight. In that contest, UCF will face the winner of Oklahoma State and Texas Tech, who will take the field shortly to decide the final team to advance to the semifinals.
