Big 12 Baseball Weekly Review - April 21st, 2008

by corn blight on Apr 21, 2008 6:04 PM CDT in Baseball Comment 8 comments

In the Big 12 this week:

- Texas A&M stays in first place with a series sweep over Baylor

- Texas gets swept at home by Oklahoma State, the first home sweep against them since 1996

- Nebraska holds second in Big 12 with series win over Kansas

- Kansas State drives Tech into the cellar

I'm running a day late due to travel.

Big 12 Baseball Weekly Review - April 21st, 2008

Big 12 National Rankings
National Collegiate Baseball Writers	April 21st	TexasA&M, 6th; Missouri, 9th; Nebraska, 13th; Oklahoma State 14th; Texas, 25th; Baylor, 29th
Baseball America Top 25	April 21st	Missouri, 4th; Nebraska, 8th; Oklahoma State, 13th; Txas A&M, 18th
Collegiate Baseball Top 25	April 21st	Texas A&M, 8th; Nebraska, 10th; Missouri, 11th; Oklahoma State, 18th
ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll	April 21st	Texas A&M, 6th; Nebraska, 8th; Missouri, 10th; Oklahoma State 14th

	Record Last Week	Results	Upcoming (RPI)
Baylor	1-4	Tue., Apr. 15 Baylor 11, Dallas Baptist 4 Wed., Apr. 16 Dallas Baptist 13, Baylor 5 Fri., Apr. 18 Texas A&M 2, Baylor 1 Sat., Apr. 19 Texas A&M 11, Baylor 1 Sun., Apr. 20 Texas A&M 13, Baylor 12 (11)	Texas (37) @Texas State (88) Nebraska (15)
Awful week for Baylor, losing two one-run games to the Aggies. The first loss came when an Aggie was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Then on Sunday Baylor takes the Ags to 11 innings, losing on a two-out RBI single. Tough losses. The mid-week game with Texas is not a conference game. I'm not sure how they do that, but it's not a conference game.

Kansas	3-2	Tue., Apr. 15 Kansas 11, Baker 6 Wed., Apr. 16 Kansas 7, Missouri State 6 Fri., Apr. 18 Nebraska 7, Kansas 6 Sat., Apr. 19 Nebraska 8, Kansas 6 Sun., Apr. 20 Kansas 6, Nebraska 3	@ Wichita State (20) @Oklahoma State (6)
I saw all three games in this series - Kansas played pretty well. All three were great games. Friday night the Jayhawks did a good job of hitting and scored six runs against Husker ace Johnny Dorn, but they committed two errors that allowed three unearned runs to score. Saturday, again, KU played well, but Husker catcher Mitch Abeita hit a grand slam in the fourth. Those two losses for KU came down to not making the hits when they needed them most. Sunday, it was the Huskers' turn. The Jayhawks made the plays, and Nebraska had poor hitting in critical situations.

Kansas State	2-2	Tue., Apr. 15 Creighton 6, Kansas State 5 (11) Fri., Apr. 18 Kansas State 12, Texas Tech 3 Sat., Apr. 19 Kansas State 7, Texas Tech 4 (10) Sun., Apr. 20 Texas Tech 19, Kansas State 4 (7)	UC Irvine (18) Texas (37)
Kansas State picked up their second Big 12 series win over Tech in Lubbock. With the wins, Kansas State moved themselves above Oklahoma tied for seventh place with Kansas. Remember that only the top eight teams make the Big 12 tourney, so if you're not in that, there's no way to make a NCAA tourney run.

Missouri	3-1	Wed., Apr. 16 Missouri 16, William Woods 9 Fri., Apr. 18 Missouri 9, Oklahoma 4 Sat., Apr. 19 Missouri 6, Oklahoma 5 (10) Sun., Apr. 20 Oklahoma 22, Missouri 4 (7)	Eastern Illinois (206) Southern Illinois (169) @Texas A&M (22)
Missouri picked up a series win at Norman, the first time the Tigers have taken a series in Norman since 1971. Holy cow. That's unbelievable. It was a close series, though, Friday's game - the Sooners were up 4-1 after six when the Tigers came back. Saturday's game was extra innings, and Sunday the Tigers got run-ruled. Missouri has won the series finale only once in five Big 12 series and has lost the last four Sundays. Sunday's loss was the worst for Mizzou since an 18-0 loss to Oklahoma State in 1991. What this says about the Tigers is that they still have a shot at the Big 12, but without a deep pitching staff they're not going to get far in the postseason.

Nebraska	4-1	Tue., Apr. 15 Nebraska 3, Wichita State 0 Fri., Apr. 18 Nebraska 7, Kansas 6 Sat., Apr. 19 Nebraska 8, Kansas 6 Sun., Apr. 20 Kansas 6, Nebraska 3	Creighton (107) @Creighton @Baylor (47)
Nebraska had a nice week - shutting out highly-ranked Wichita State, then winning the series at home against Kansas. Kansas played tough, but in the first two games the Huskers battled and got the plays they need to win the series. Friday night's game was a back and forth game. KU took an early lead, then the Huskers scored three in the fourth, with KU coming right back in the fifth with three of their own. Nebraska's winning runs came in the seventh as Craig Corriston belted in two RBI. In the ninth, Kansas had moved a runner to third and it looked like the game would go extra innings (and it was cold at Haymarket Friday), but the 'Hawk's batter popped up a foul to end the game. Saturday was more of the same - with Nebraska contiuing to get hits when they were needed. Sunday's game featured Omaha native TJ Walz pitching 7 2/3 innings for the Jayhawks and picking up his first conference win. It was KU's turn to get the hits and make the plays. Nebraska pitching coach Eric Newman got tossed Sunday after a fairly explosive encounter with the home plate ump. The calls were inconsistent on both sides - it seems that it's really hard for these guys to make a third strike call, and nearly impossible to get a third strike at 0-2.

Oklahoma	3-2	Tue., Apr. 15 Oklahoma 5, TCU 4 (12) Wed., Apr. 16 Oklahoma 15, Southern Nazarene 3 (8) Fri., Apr. 18 Missouri 9, Oklahoma 4 Sat., Apr. 19 Missouri 6, Oklahoma 5 (10) Sun., Apr. 20 Oklahoma 22, Missouri 4 (7)	TCU (32) @Texas Tech (88)
I haven't looked it up yet, but I have to believe that Oklahoma is losing more close games than anyone else in conference. Oklahoma is a better baseball team than their record shows and this past weekend is a good example. They lose a series to Mizzou by one run in extra innings - but then Sunday they blast the Tigers for 22 runs on 24 hits.

Oklahoma State	4-1	Tue., Apr. 15 UT Arlington 7, Oklahoma State 3 Wed., Apr. 16 Oklahoma State 25, Mid-America Christian 1 Fri., Apr. 18 Oklahoma State 2, Texas 1 (11) Sat., Apr. 19 Oklahoma State 8, Texas 7 Sun., Apr. 20 Oklahoma State 13, Texas 10	Wichita State (20) Kansas (122)
Is Oklahoma State good, or does Texas really suck? I'm leaning towards the latter, although I suspect it's a combination of the two. Okie State goes into Austin and sweeps a series by a total of five runs. On Friday, OSU pitcher Andrew Toliver pitched eight innings, giving up one run on only three hits, while walking four and striking out seven. Saturday, the Cowboys scored three runs in the top of the ninth to take the series. On Sunday, Texas lead 8-2 after five innings but the Cowboys added three in the sixth, five in the eighth, and three in the ninth. Cowboy Rebel Ridling went 3-for-5 with two home runs and a triple and five RBI. I'd be re-miss if I didn't point out that UTSA beat both OSU and Texas this past week.

Texas	0-4	Wed., Apr. 16 UT Arlington 4, Texas 3 Fri., Apr. 18 Oklahoma State 2, Texas 1 (11) Sat., Apr. 19 Oklahoma State 8, Texas 7 Sun., Apr. 20 Oklahoma State 13, Texas 10	@Baylor (47) UT-San Antonio (77) @Kansas State (73)
Texas season is all about "get a lead and lose it". They appear to be having the season that Nebraska had last year where they just can't things going and that was all about a lack of team chemistry. Last weekend Texas was torched by Missouri, this weekend they give up their first home sweep in over 10 years and their first in Big 12 conference history. I'm not sure when the last time Texas was below .500 in Big 12 play (other than at the start of a season, maybe), or if that has happened, but that's where they are now. If they go into KSU next weekend and lose the series you might as well write them off.

Texas A&M	3-1	Tue., Apr. 15 Rice 11, Texas A&M 2 Fri., Apr. 18 Texas A&M 2, Baylor 1 Sat., Apr. 19 Texas A&M 11, Baylor 1 Sun., Apr. 20 Texas A&M 13, Baylor 12 (11)	Texas State (88) Missouri (41)
Texas A&M has a school-record 12-game conference winning streak and they are hot hot hot. I thought that Baylor would at least pull off one win, but NO! Like i said earlier, Baylor lost by the smallest of margins, but when you're hot, that's how it happens. You get all the small things and the Aggies have it right now.

Texas Tech	1-5	Tue., Apr. 15 UNLV 9, Texas Tech 8 Wed., Apr. 16 UNLV 15, Texas Tech 8 Fri., Apr. 18 Kansas State 12, Texas Tech 3 Sat., Apr. 19 Kansas State 7, Texas Tech 4 (10) Sun., Apr. 20 Texas Tech 19, Kansas State 4 (7)	New Mexico State (159) @New Mexico State Oklahoma (48)
Tech lost a series to Kansas State at home. They are in the cellar. That's about it.

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Big-12 RPI Update

Here is my most recent RPI update. It was a great series this weekend between KU and NU. Edge of the seat baseball Friday-Sunday.

Oklahoma State makes a big move after sweeping Texas in Austin. The Cowboys climb six notches to #6, while Texas falls nine to #37. Kendall Rogers wrote at Rivals.com that Texas right now is a loss to Kansas State away from missing the NCAA tournament! Nebraska, Baylor and Kansas State all remain steady. For Kansas State this is a bit surprising given that they took two of three this weekend at TTU. A&M moves up four spots to #22. Missouri actually falls five to #41. It must be the performances of Missouri's past opponents dragging them down this week as the Tigers are playing fine. Oklahoma moves up eight notches despite a tough week? Texas Tech's free fall is reflected in the RPI rankings this week. The Raiders tumble 19 notches to #83. The Hawks continue their steady climb, up ten this week. KU `s win over Missouri State helped a bit, and taking one of three in Lincoln was actually better then expected performance.

RPI ranking	Team	NCAA D-I record	Big-12 record	Last Week
6	Oklahoma State	26-11	11-7	12
15	Nebraska	27-7-1	13-4-1	13
22	Texas A&M	33-7	15-3	26
37	Texas	23-16	8-10	28
41	Missouri	26-10	9-6	36
47	Baylor	22-17	8-10	47
48	Oklahoma	24-15-1	4-10-1	48
73	Kansas State	18-20	5-10	71
83	Texas Tech	18-23	5-13	64
122	Kansas	21-18	5-10	132

by James Quinn on Apr 21, 2008 7:30 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Missouri

I think Missouri's RPI keeps falling because of the lousy opponents they're playing midweek.

Look at this week.... Eastern Illinois, Southern Illinois.

Boyds shows their schedule strength at 24th, but again, those low RPI teams will drag that down.

Go Big Red!

by corn blight on Apr 21, 2008 7:56 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Weird Big XII Scheduling question

Do Texas and Baylor get an extra Big XII game? According to the Horns' schedule, Texas plays Baylor 4 times in the next 2 weeks, which would give them and the Bears a total of 28 Big XII games, while everyone else only has 27. Anyone know what's up with that?

Got Corn?

by huskerlibrarian on Apr 21, 2008 7:39 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Never mind

Didn't see the note in the Baylor capsule...
Odd thing is that Big12sports.com has the game marked as a conference game.

Of course, Texas also plays TBA in Austin on May 14th. Time TBA. So I guess I'm going to stop questioning scheduling.

Got Corn?

by huskerlibrarian on Apr 21, 2008 7:51 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

yeah

I noticed that too - but when I do the recaps, I go through all the Big 12 sites and check what they're saying against the Big 12 site.

It's rather weird because there are a fair amount of discrepancies - I think a couple of weeks ago, the Texas or Oklahoma sites had different scores for a game, and you're right about scheduling - it bounces all over the place.

Go Big Red!

by corn blight on Apr 21, 2008 8:03 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Big-12 Non Conference games

Last year Kansas played a fourth game with Missouri and Kansas State. This year they will play a fourth game with Missouri at Kauffman Stadium mid-week.

Kansas does this because there are so few NCAA teams within driving distance of Lawrence that they simply cannot schedule enough mid-week games. And the opponents KU is able to bring into Lawrence tend to be very low ranked clubs.

This year, due to rain outs, KU will play six NAIA games.

I'm sure Nebraksa goes through the same problems every year. But at least with Nebraksa's background and attendance they are much more able to attract quality mid-week non-conference games.

by James Quinn on Apr 21, 2008 9:07 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

it brings

up another issue with RPI's. Since there are so many teams playing teams around them for geographic reasons, some teams are at a huge disadvantage. I keep thinking I ought to do an extensive article on that... but I haven't gotten the data together yet.

Go Big Red!

by corn blight on Apr 21, 2008 10:38 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Boyd's World

A lot of good stuff there about RPI rankings at Boyd’s World. With so much incestuous play in the midwest and northeast it seems to me that teams from these regions are at an inherit disadvantage to teams from the southeast, southwest and west coast. Every win a midwest team scores likely causes them a degree of pain in return as their victories drag down the overall regional win% thus hurt the 75% of their RPI score that comes from the record of their opponents and their opponent’s opponents. The more interplay the more it becomes a zero sum game, and there is a lot more inter-play in the midwest then there is in sunbelt.

One solution to this is for midwest teams to travel out of the region for games, but by doing so they must play road games which they are more likely to lose. The other solution is to bring teams from the south or west to play here in the midwest and we all know that is a non-starter. When was the last time South Carolina, Stanford, Florida, etc. agreed to fly for a non-conference game? The answer honestly might be never. And to be honest a bit further, this situation pretty well pisses me off. But it is what it is.... The ACC and SEC are so wrapped up in their own little world they think nothing that happens north or the Mason-Dixon Line or West of the Mississippi matters at all. Not too surprising given their refusal to engage the rest of the nation on the field of play. This is why I get that special joy watching SEC and ACC teams knocked out of the tournament early in June.

It is not a well publicized fact but in NCAA baseball the RPI does not take into account road vs. home.

by James Quinn on Apr 22, 2008 12:20 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs