Big 12 Baseball Week Review - Week Ending April 2nd

Big 12 Baseball Week Review (Week ending Monday, April 2nd)

Big 12 Rankings this Week
USA Today/ ESPN Coaches' Poll: Texas, 6th; Texas A&M, 13th; Oklahoma State, 15th; Oklahoma, 22nd
Baseball America Top 25: Texas, 7th; Oklahoma State, 13th; Texas A&M, 16th; Oklahoma 19th
Collegiate Baseball Top 25: Texas, 7th; Texas A&M, 13th; Oklahoma State 20th; Oklahoma, 21st

Big 12 Weekly Awards
Rebel Ridling - Oklahoma State - Player of the Week
Adrian Alaniz - Texas - Pitcher of the Week

Baylor

1-3

Tue., Mar. 27 Baylor 10, UT-Arlington 2 Sat., Mar. 31 Oklahoma State 15, Baylor 5 Sat., Mar. 31 Oklahoma State 14, Baylor 7 Sun., Apr. 1 Oklahoma State 10, Baylor 5

Ouch. I guess someone has to be at the bottom of the conference and right now that someone is Baylor. They get swept at Oklahoma State by serious margins. In their double header on Saturday, Baylor gave up a total of seven home runs, including five in the first game. I watched part of the Sunday game on FSN, and Baylor scored five runs in the first inning then decided to go home early and watch Oklahoma State run around the bases for the rest of the afternoon.

Houston comes to Waco mid-week, and then it doesn't get any easier in conference as Oklahoma visits Waco next weekend.

Kansas

1-3

Tue., Mar. 27 Missouri State 7, Kansas 2 Fri., Mar. 30 Kansas 7, Missouri 5 Sat., Mar. 31 Missouri 8, Kansas 7 Sun., Apr. 1 Missouri 10, Kansas 9

Last year's Big 12 champs, Kansas is battling Baylor for the cellar early this season. They were beaten mid-week by Missouri State (RPI:122) , then lost a series at Missouri. They were close to winning Sunday, coming back from an eight-run deficit, but Mizzou's Evan Frey hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to win it for the Tigers.

Kansas plays Kansas State tomorrow night in a game televised on FSN Midwest, then plays Kansas Wesleyan Wednesday before welcoming the Longhorns to town next weekend.

Kansas State

2-2

Tue., Mar. 27 Wichita State 8, Kansas State 3 Sat., Mar. 31 Texas Tech 16, Kansas State 5 Sat., Mar. 31 Kansas State 4, Texas Tech 3 Sun., Apr. 1 Kansas State 7, Texas Tech 3

Ranked Wichita State beats them, then they bounce back to take a series against the Red Raiders. Friday's game was suspended with no score in the second, then completed Saturday. Tech pounded the Wildcats in the first game, shortened to seven innings. The second game was the continuation of the Friday night game. The series win for Kansas came with the Jayhawks scoring five runs in the eighth inning.

The game against Kansas tomorrow will count as a non-conference game (didn't know they could do that, rather bizarre, eh?), then Missouri comes to Manhattan next weekend.

Missouri

2-2

Tue., Mar. 27 Creighton 4, Missouri 3 Fri., Mar. 30 Kansas 7, Missouri 5 Sat., Mar. 31 Missouri 8, Kansas 7 Sun., Apr. 1 Missouri 10, Kansas 9

Missouri loses to Creighton (RPI:92) in Omaha mid-week, then they drop their first game to Kansas, then they bounce back, winning on Saturday and Sunday to take the series. The Tigers were down by a run Sunday when they picked up a two-run homer to take the game and the series. The Tigers have won all five of their three-game series this season. Mizzou continues to climb.

Missouri gets Southern Illinois (RPI:37) mid-week, then Kansas State next weekend.

Nebraska

3-2

Tue., Mar. 27 Nebraska 5, Northern Colorado 3 Wed., Mar. 28 Nebraska 4, Northern Colorado 1 Fri., Mar. 30 Nebraska 11, Texas A&M 4 Sat., Mar. 31 Texas A&M 8, Nebraska 5 Sun., Apr. 1 Texas A&M 8, Nebraska 7

Nebraska's two game series was close against Northern Colorado but they picked up two much-needed wins. The Huskers finally win a Friday night game and get ahead in a series. Tony Watson pitched well and the offense responded. Unfortunately, the offense couldn't come through the rest of the weekend. In Saturday's game, the Huskers gave up six runs in the second inning as Charlie Shirek was yanked after only two innings. Sunday's game had it's share of controversy as Jeff Tezak was nailed at second base by a bad throw, then called out later after a long delay. The rest of the game was played under protest with the Huskers losing in the ninth inning as the Aggies picked up a RBI with two outs.

Nebraska plays rival Creighton (RPI:92) at Rosenblatt on Tuesday, the first of three games. Oklahoma State and their big offense come to Lincoln next weekend.

Oklahoma

1-2

Fri., Mar. 30 Texas 4, Oklahoma 3 Sat., Mar. 31 Texas 3, Oklahoma 1 Sun., Apr. 1 Oklahoma 5, Texas 2

It would have been nice for the Sooners to take the series against the 'Horns, but at least their win on Sunday kept them from getting swept, and broke a 15-game losing streak by the Sooners when playing in Austin. Friday's game featured a balk scoring a run for the Horns in the seventh. Imagine that being called in Austin.

Oklahoma gets TCU (RPI:56) mid-week, then travels to bottom dweller Baylor next weekend.

Oklahoma State

3-0

Sat., Mar. 31 Oklahoma State 15, Baylor 5 Sat., Mar. 31 Oklahoma State 14, Baylor 7 Sun., Apr. 1 Oklahoma State 10, Baylor 5

Oklahoma State swept Baylor over the weekend, moving into first place in the Big 12 with Texas' Sunday loss against Oklahoma. Oklahoma State has won eight straight conference series dating back to last year (not a good sign for the Huskers this coming weekend, but all streaks must end, right?).

Oklahoma State travels to Lincoln this coming weekend. The Huskers need to win this home series.

Texas

3-1

Tue., Mar. 27 Texas 6, Rice 4 Fri., Mar. 30 Texas 4, Oklahoma 3 Sat., Mar. 31 Texas 3, Oklahoma 1 Sun., Apr. 1 Oklahoma 5, Texas 2

Texas had a darned good week, knocking off top-ten ranked Rice (RPI:6) mid-week. They then win a series against Oklahoma at home, but fail to get the sweep by losing Sunday. Texas pitcher Adrian Alaniz picked up his second Big 12 pitcher of the week award in 2007, pitching his second complete game of the year on Saturday.

Texas gets UT-San Antonio (RPI:47) mid-week, then will take on lowly Kansas next weekend at Lawrence.

Texas A&M

3-1

Tue., Mar. 27 Texas A&M 13, TCU 2 Fri., Mar. 30 Nebraska 11, Texas A&M 4 Sat., Mar. 31 Texas A&M 8, Nebraska 5 Sun., Apr. 1 Texas A&M 8, Nebraska 7

Texas A&M picked up a nice mid-week game against TCU (RPI:56). They then bean their way to a series win over Nebraska. Okay, that's not fair, is it? In the Friday tilt, the Aggies committed seven errors, then came back Saturday to win 8-5. Texas A&M pitched well on Saturday when Nebraska did not, and then won the Sunday game with a run in the bottom of the ninth.

Texas A&M will play Texas State (RPI:69) mid-week, then head to Texas Tech for the next series.

Texas Tech

2-2

Tue., Mar. 27 Texas Tech 10, New Mexico St. 3 Sat., Mar. 31 Texas Tech 16, Kansas State 5 Sat., Mar. 31 Kansas State 4, Texas Tech 3 Sun., Apr. 1 Kansas State 7, Texas Tech 3

Texas Tech collapsed twice this last weekend. They pounded the Wildcats in the first game on Saturday after Friday's contest was delayed due to weather. The second game on Saturday was the continuation of Friday's match. It featured the Wildcats coming from behind scoring three runs in the bottom of the eighth. The second collapse for Tech come in Sunday's game when they again gave up five runs in the eighth.

Texas Tech gets to play ranked Texas A&M at home for their next series.