New Rankings
The new College Baseball Nation Top 25 features three teams, two of them are new this week. The UCF Knights move up ten spots to No. 15 and are in the Top 25 for the second-straight week. Oklahoma State returns to the Top 25 for the first time since the preseason poll, checking in at No. 20. Texas Tech also returns for the first time since week 3, finding themselves at No. 22.
A Look Back at Week 5 in Big 12 Baseball
Kansas State at No. 15 UCF
The Knights defended their newly ranked status with a 7-4 victory on Friday night to open the series with the Wildcats. Lex Boedicker went 4-for-5 with six RBI and he was the UCF offense on Friday night as he accounted for all six runs driven in. Kyle Kramer (5-0) and Chase Centala handled the back half of the game on the mound for the Knights and allowed Kansas State just one run. UCF pitching struck out 12 Wildcats in the game.
Kansas State re-set the series to even with a 4-3 victory Saturday night. Owen Boerema (3-2) pitched six innings to earn the win. UCF was limited to just five hits in the game and the Wildcats staff racked up 11 strikeouts. Kansas State was also limited to just five hits in the game. A Nick English sacrifice fly RBI in the sixth inning proved to be the difference in the ballgame.
The Knights responded with a 6-1 win on Sunday to claim the series at home, their fourth straight conference series win. The offense took advantage of some Kansas State errors while Dominic Castellano (3-0) was dominant out of the UCF bullpen over 5 2/3 innings, striking out a career-high eight batters and allowing just one unearned run.
Oklahoma at No. 20 Oklahoma State
The Cowboys took the Bedlam Series opener 9-6 in Stillwater. Zach Ehrhard led the way for the Oklahoma State offense with three RBI, and Nolan Schubart added a home run and drove in two runs of his own. Left-hander Sam Garcia earned the win on the mound going 5 2/3 innings, while striking out nine Sooners batters and allowing just two runs.
An outright slugfest ensued on Saturday as ERAs all around took a major hit. The Sooners offense exploded for 16 base hits, six of those for home runs, led by Scott Mudler who had six RBI. Jaxon Willits and Jackson Nicklaus each added three RBI. Oklahoma claimed the road win on Saturday,19-10 to even the series.
Oklahoma State trailed going to the bottom of the seventh inning on Sunday when they responded by scoring six runs which was enough to win 9-5 to claim the Bedlam series. Donovan LaSalle hit a three-run home run in the seventh inning rally, a home run which traveled 435 feet to left-center field. Carson Benge homered for the sixth time this season and he was one of two Cowboys to walk with the bases loaded for a RBI.
Ehrhard was 6-for-13 with two home runs and eight RBI in the Bedlam Series for the Cowboys and is currently the leading hitter in the Big 12 play.
Houston at No. 22 Texas Tech
Texas Tech opened the weekend at home with a 12-9 victory over Houston. Kevin Bazell was 3-for-4 with three RBI and Damian Bravo also added three RBI. Reliever Josh Sanders pitched three perfect innings for the Red Raiders to close out the game.
Texas Tech then captured the weekend series with a 15-12 win on Saturday afternoon. A seven-run third inning was followed by a five-run fourth inning. TJ Pompey hit a grand slam in that third inning and had 5 RBI in the game. Bravo was 4-for-5 and added 4 RBI of his own. Houston pitching walked thirteen batters in the game.
For the second day in a row, a seven-run third inning aided by a grand slam proved the difference in the ballgame. Gavin Kash hit the grand slam Sunday, his eighth home run of the season, on the first pitch he saw in the at-bat. The Red Raiders went on to complete the weekend sweep with a 12-8 victory.
TCU at Cincinnati
Cincinnati opened the series with a 4-2 victory on Friday. The Bearcats did not get their first hit in the game against Payton Tolle until the bottom of the sixth inning when they scored all four of their runs. After tying the game on a bases loaded walk, Hunter Jessee had a big two-run single up the middle and Alec Jones also delivered a run-scoring single.
The Bearcats altered their starting pitching plan for the second week in a row, and instead of making his usual Friday start, Seth Logue came out of the bullpen after an "opener" started the game for Cincinnati. Logue took the mound with two outs in the fourth inning and pitched the rest of the game, throwing 5 1/3 innings while he allowed just two runs and struck out six and did not walk a batter.
On Saturday, a three-run home run off the bat of slugger Tommy O'Connor gave Cincinnati a 6-0 lead, in the second inning. The Bearcats held on to that lead, eventually taking the series with a 6-2 victory. Right-hander Tommy Boba (3-3) delivered a great performance over 5 2/3 innings and earned the win. Christian Mitchelle relieved Boba and was nearly perfect over the final 3 1/3 innings, allowing just one TCU baserunner to earn the save.
After taking a 3-1 in the bottom of the first inning, Cincinnati scored five more runs in the bottom of the second inning when they sent 11 batters to the plate. Three of the runs that scored in the inning were the result of bases loaded walks. Kerrington Cross ended the game in the bottom of the seventh inning when his two-run blast over the left field wall gave Cincinnati a 13-2 victory because of the Sunday run-rule. Nathan Taylor pitched a complete game over seven innings, allowing just the two TCU runs. The victory gave Cincinnati its first series sweep in the Big 12.
BYU at Texas
The Cougars came out swinging against Texas and took an early lead that they never relinquished to capture the opener in Austin 7-5. Collin Reuter had three hits for BYU, including a home run and two RBI. Cooper Vest 4-for-5 in the game with two doubles and one RBI. Cougars right-hander Ben Hansen (4-3) did not have his best stuff on Friday, but he gutted out 5 1/3 innings and helped save the BYU bullpen while also earning the win.
Texas evened the series on Friday night with a 4-3 win behind a solid starting effort by Ace Whitehead who pitched 5 1/3 innings and allowed three runs on five hits. The trio of Jalin Flores, Will Gasparino, and Max Belyeu drove in all four runs for the Longhorns. Gage Boehm was perfect in 3 2/3 innings of relief work for Texas to pick up his third save of the season. Boehm struck out five BYU batters and did not allow a baserunner.
BYU took the road series with a 7-5 victory in Austin on Saturday. Reuter (3-for-4) was the BYU offense in the series finale as the catcher hit three home runs and drove in five of BYU's seven runs. The Cougars threw the equivalent of a bullpen game on Saturday using five pitchers, none of whom pitched more than 2 2/3 innings to close out the series win on the road.
West Virginia at Kansas
West Virginia got a much-needed boost with the return of both JJ Wetherholt and Logan Sauve to their lineup. The Mountaineers picked up a win in the duo's first game back, 11-10 at Kansas. West Virginia scored six times in the seventh inning and Wetherholt delivered the go-ahead run with a double in the ninth inning. Jayhawks catcher Jake English was 3-for-3 with four RBI and Lenny Ashby was 2-for-3 with two RBI in defeat.
Almost every weekend in the Big 12 there is an old school pitcher's duel. Saturday was the one this weekend when Dominic Voegele of Kansas faced Derek Clark of West Virginia. Voegele threw six innings and allowed three runs while striking out seven. But Clark was better on Saturday as he pitched a 4-0 complete game shutout on just three hits. The feat was also Clark’s third straight complete nine inning game. In easily his best start of the season, he lowered his ERA to 1.70. Brodie Kresser was 4-for-4 at the plate with one RBI and Wetherholt also drove in a run.
All bets were off on Sunday when West Virginia completed the series sweep in Lawrence with a 16-9 victory. Sauve, Sam White, Reed Chumley, and Kyle West hit back-to-back-to-back-to-back home runs in a five-run eighth inning. Chumley (3-for-4) homered twice in the game and Grant Hussey also homered as the Mountaineers hit six runs in the game.
Clark spoke with College Baseball Nation after the weekend road sweep.
Looking back at his Saturday outing, Clark indicated that everything was firing on all cylinders, "Everything was working for me. I think Coach Mazey called a great game and kudos to my defense behind me, they played one heck of a game and that's all I can really ask for."
In his previous two starts, Clark was pitching in tight ballgames with little to no room for error, especially late. So how does he pitch with the pressure of knowing a mistake could cost him, and his team? "Baseball is about controlling what you can control," Clark said. "So what I can do is just go out there and compete for my team and do anything in my power to keep us in that game." With a little more run support on Saturday, Clark's approach did not change much, "Just attacking the zone, throwing strikes, trying to get my guys off the field." As evidence of this mentality, Clark retired 13 of the final 14 Kansas batters he faced on Saturday. And sure, he hoped for more runs.
Wetherholt was only one of the players returning to the West Virginia lineup this weekend. Having missed all but four games in March, catcher Logan Sauve made his return behind the plate, and in the batting order right behind Wetherholt at the top. The impact of their return was noticeable from the start, Wetherholt was 3-for-4 on Friday with 2 RBI and a walk. "It definitely gives us confidence," Clark said.
"We all know JJ is one of the best players in the country. So having his swag in the lineup, along with Logan, it just brings a little bit different energy to our order. I feel like we have a really scary offense that we don't have enough credit for right now." Sauve delivered nine base hits in the series in that two-spot, including a 5-for-7, 4 RBI performance on Sunday when the Mountaineers scored 16 runs.
Over those last three mound starts, Clark has thrown 127, 117, and 123 pitches, respectively. He has not changed his recovery process over the last four years between starts, regardless of pitch count, "Having a week is really how I prepare," Clark said. "So I've got it down to a science, in my opinion." Part of the recovery process is the go-to meal upon returning to Morgantown after a road trip. Clark's place of choice?
"Chipotle. Easy."
Baylor did not play a Big 12 opponent this weekend.
Weekly Awards
Big 12 Players of the Week
Player: Damian Bravo, Texas Tech, OF
Pitcher: Derek Clark, West Virginia, LHP
Newcomer: Derek Clark, West Virginia, LHP
Quoted
“Great weekend for the Mountaineers! It’s really hard to win a series on the road in this league let alone get a sweep. Nice to have our guys back in the lineup.” - West Virginia head coach Randy Mazey on X after Sunday’s sweep.
"It’s big for us to have a guy that’s a Swiss Army Knife back there that can come in short relief, long relief and start a game. He’s a valuable asset." - UCF head coach Rich Wallace on reliever Dominic Castellano after Sunday's win.
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