Oklahoma is in first place in the Big 12 standings at 7-2, followed closely by Texas and Kansas State at 6-3. Kansas has matched Oklahoma's win total with seven, but is 1 1/2 games behind due to playing three more Big 12 games to this point.
Recapping the Midweek
Texas Tech won both games of a Monday-Tuesday midweek against Stanford, 10-9 in 11 innings and 15-12.
Oklahoma travelled to Wichita State and defeated the Shockers 11-2.
Texas stopped Abilene Christian 11-1.
Oklahoma State beat Oral Roberts 9-0.
Baylor defeated Houston Christian 13-5.
TCU fell at UT Arlington 6-4.
No. 25 UCF stomped Bethune-Cookman 14-1 in Daytona Beach. A Wednesday match up with North Florida was postponed because of weather.
Houston outlasted Rice 4-3 to sweep all three games of the Silver Glove Series.
Kansas was walked-off at Wichita State on Wednesday 7-6.
Kansas State vs. Missouri State on Wednesday 8-4.
Cincinnati had a Tuesday match up with Xavier cancelled.
West Virginia did not play a midweek game.
BYU did not play a midweek game and actually has not played a game since their doubleheader with Kansas on Friday.
Weekend Schedule
BYU (11-14, 4-8) at Texas (18-11, 6-3) (Thursday-Saturday)
Kansas State (19-8, 6-3) at No. 25 UCF (19-7, 6-6)
Houston (16-12, 4-8) at Texas Tech (21-9, 5-7)
TCU (20-8, 5-7) at Cincinnati (16-13, 3-3)
Oklahoma (16-12, 7-2) at Oklahoma State (19-10, 5-4)
West Virginia (16-12, 5-4) at Kansas (15-11, 7-5)
Baylor will not be playing a Big 12 opponent this weekend.
League Notes
Jared Thomas and Peyton Powell have been atop the Texas batting order this season, starting almost every game in the top two spots for the Longhorns. Thomas has a hit in 26 of the 29 games and has also scored at least one run in 23 of the 29 games, while leading the team with 35 runs scored. Thomas's on-base percentage of .517 from the leadoff spot is the best on the team. Powell also has a hit in 25 of the 29 games and is second on the team with 30 RBI.
Oklahoma State starter Brian Holiday has opponents hitting just .160 against him, which leads the Big 12. Holiday is second in the league and 13th nationally in ERA at 1.75, having allowed only 10 earned runs in a conference-high 51 1/3 innings pitched.
TCU lost its first non-conference game of the season on Tuesday night at UT Arlington. Horned Frogs shortstop Anthony Silva has reached safely in 19-straight games.
Texas Tech 15-3 at home this season and have lost just one home series (to Texas) this season. In those 18 home games the Red Raiders have outscored their opponents 229-117 overall. Texas Tech is hitting .362 at home where they have also hit 42 of their 51 home runs this season.
Cincinnati's Josh Kross leads the Big 12 and ranks fourth nationally in RBI (44) and is tied for the Big 12 lead with 11 home runs. Kross has reached base in 23-straight games entering this weekend and has six home runs in his last seven games.
UCF starter Dom Stagliano leads the starting rotation with a 3.14 ERA and a 1-1 record. Fellow starter Ben Vespi leads the staff in strikeouts (27) and innings pitched with 32 innings. Chase Centala enters this weekend ranked fourth nationally and tops in the Big 12 Conference in saves with six.
Jake English leads Kansas with a .345 batting average and eight home runs. Dominic Voegele leads the pitching staff with a 1.89 ERA while Reese Dutton is 6-1 with a team-high 43 strikeouts on the season.
Houston pitching has not allowed a home run in the last 10 games, the first time the Cougars have not given up a home run in 10-straight games since 2017.
Kaelen Culpepper and Chuck Ingram have each hit seven home runs this season for Kansas State. Ingram and Brady Day each have 44 hits this season.
Kyson Witherspoon leads Oklahoma with a 1.41 ERA in 32 innings pitched to go with 37 strikeouts. Brendan Girton has 31 strikeouts in 22 1/3 innings pitched. Grant Stevens leads the Sooners with five wins (5-0 record), which is second in the Big 12 and 10th in the country.
Reed Chumley leads West Virginia with a .316 batting average and is tied with Grant Hussey for the team lead with six home runs. Chumley and Kyle West lead the Mountaineers with 18 RBI.
BYU pitchers Stone Cushing, Mason Olson and Ben Hansen maintain top 10 marks in the Big 12. Cushing leads the league in games finished (12) and is tied with Kansas State’s Jackson Wentworth for second with five saves. Olson’s 12 appearances are good for fourth in the Big 12 while Hansen ranks ninth with 35 2/3 innings pitched.
Baylor has won each of its last three home weekend series (3-0 vs. Oral Roberts, 2-1 vs. Texas Tech, 2-1 vs. Cincinnati).
Golden Spikes
On Thursday, USA Baseball announced its Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List. Two of the 45 players on the list call the Big 12 home:
Brady Day; INF/OF; Kansas State
Brian Holiday; RHP; Oklahoma State
Quoted
"Like with anything in life, baseball, sports in general, there's ups and downs, and it's how do you manage those things," TCU head coach Kirk Saarloos said on his radio show Wednesday. "So how do we handle the good times and how do we handle the bad times? And I think the big thing is when you look at the totality at the end of the year, I think that's what it comes down to. Were you able to weather storms when it was bad? Were you able to ride the highs when it was good?"
"My thing is, how do we handle the hard times?," Saarloos added. - Kirk Saarloos Radio Show, April 3, 2024
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