The Big 12 remains tight as 10 of the 13 teams jockey for a spot in the Phillips 66 Championship in Arlington, Texas in late May. West Virginia and Oklahoma are both 8-4, with Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Cincinnati, and Texas are all a win back at 7-5. UCF and Texas Tech are both 8-7, having played one more conference series than the Mountaineers and Sooners.
Recapping the Midweek
Tuesday
Oklahoma held on to defeat UT Arlington 11-9.
Sam Houston defeated Houston in Huntsville 8-5.
No. 22 Oklahoma State travelled to Wichita State and won 9-5.
BYU went across town and defeated Utah 7-3.
Kansas edged out No. 23 Nebraska 13-11 in the Buck O’Neil Classic played in Lawrence.
Cincinnati defeated crosstown rival Xavier 5-2 in the Joe Nuxhall Classic.
Wednesday
Marshall topped West Virginia 3-2 in 11 innings.
Stetson defeated No. 15 UCF 5-3.
No. 22 Texas Tech thumped Abilene Christian 21-3 on the road.
Kansas State won 6-3 over Wichita State.
Texas and Texas State played a home-and-home series during the midweek. Texas won the first game 9-1, after weather Tuesday night in San Marcos forced the ninth inning to be completed in Austin on Wednesday. Texas lost game two at home 7-3.
TCU and Baylor each had midweek games cancelled due to weather.
Weekend Schedule
No. 15 UCF (21-9, 8-7) at West Virginia (19-13, 8-4)
Cincinnati (20-13, 7-5) at No. 20 Oklahoma State (22-11, 7-5)
No. 22 Texas Tech (25-9, 8-7) at TCU (20-11, 5-10)
Kansas State (21-10, 7-5) at Oklahoma (18-14, 8-4)
Texas (20-14, 7-5) at Houston (16-16, 4-11)
Baylor (13-18, 5-7) at BYU (14-15, 6-9)
Kansas will not play a Big 12 opponent this weekend.
League Notes
Texas Tech leads the Big 12 with a .328 batting average. Damian Bravo leads the Big 12 with a .457 average, while TJ Pompey is eighth at .357. Gavin Kash leads the Red Raiders with 10 home runs.
West Virginia Friday night starter Aidan Major currently leads the team with 55 strikeouts. Saturday starter Derek Clark is 3-0 on the mound and leads the Mountaineers with a 1.70 ERA. Clark tossed a complete-game three-hit shutout against Kansas last weekend and was named the Big 12 Pitcher and Newcomer of the Week.
The Oklahoma pitching staff has recorded double-digit strikeouts in 16 of their 32 games this season with a season-high 15 three different times. The Sooners staff has thrown three shutouts in 32 games played this season, already surpassing last season's total of two in 60 games. The three shutouts rank second in the Big 12 and 15th nationally.
Three Baylor players own active on-base streaks of at least 10 games: Wesley Jordan (23), Hunter Teplanszky (15), and Enzo Apodaca (10), while four Bears have six-game hitting streaks or better in Apodaca (10), Teplanszky (7), Ty Johnson (6), and Zach Mazoch (6).
Matt Prevesk leads UCF with a .365 batting average while Andrew Estrella has a team-high six home runs. Chase Centala leads the Knights pitching staff with a 2.61 ERA and seven saves.
Carson Benge leads Oklahoma State with 30 RBI and 14 doubles and is second in home runs with six while hitting .331. In 11 relief appearances, he has posted a pair of saves to go along with 14 strikeouts while allowing only three runs over 11 innings.
Christian Mitchelle has been a dual threat for Cincinnati early on. Mitchelle has started 22 games at shortstop and has taken the mound in 12 games. Mitchelle has four saves this season and to go with a 1.54 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 23 1/3 innings pitched.
Jared Thomas is the leading hitter for Texas with a .403 batting average and 11 doubles and 10 home runs, while Jalin Flores leads the team and Big 12 Conference with 13 homers. Texas has hit 66 home runs as a team.
Kansas State has a .305 team batting average, which is second highest in the Big 12. Kaelen Culpepper and Chuck Ingram have each hit seven home runs this season for the Wildcats.
Houston's Harold Coll is on a team-leading six-game hitting streak, Anthony Tulimero is on his heels with a five-game hitting streak of his own, and Jacob Schoenvogel has hit safely in four-straight games.
In BYU's two wins at Texas last weekend, catcher Collin Reuter combined for six hits in 10 at-bats, including four home runs, and five RBI.
TCU is in the midst of a four-game losing streak, its longest of the season. The Horned Frogs have scored just nine runs in the last four games.
Kansas ranks in the top five of the Big 12 in multiple team statistics. The Jayhawks are second in double plays turned (26), third in doubles (79), fourth in ERA (4.73), and fifth in batting average (.289), on-base percentage (.391), slugging percentage (.481), strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.43) and WHIP (1.47).
Quoted
"I've never shied away from talking about these games having a deeper level of emotional magic to them. If people can say that then they're probably not truly as heartfelt a Cowboy or Sooner as maybe those of us that are. If these games feel like just another game to you then you weren't raised here or you didn't go to school here." - Oklahoma State head coach Josh Holliday on the Bedlam Series rivalry with Oklahoma.
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