Big 12: TCU Powers Past Oklahoma State, 13-5
OKLAHOMA CITY – No. 11 TCU, powered by a nine-run eighth inning, toppled No. 16 Oklahoma State, 13-5, in a wild finish to day two of the 2016 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark Thursday night.
Both teams posted a four-run inning early, sending the game to the fifth tied at four. The draw would be shortlived as the TCU offense exploded for nine runs on eight hits, including back-to-back homers from freshman Luken Baker and sophomore Evan Skoug, to give the Frogs a 13-5 lead after eight innings of play.
The TCU offensive barrage all came with two outs in the inning, marking the highest single-inning run scoring output in the 2016 Big 12 Championship.
TCU’s Preston Guillory picked up his fourth win of the season in Thursday’s outing, while Oklahoma State’s Tyler Buffet suffered the loss to drop to 6-3 on the year.
Leading the way for the Frogs, for the second straight day, was Baker who recorded a 3-for-5 effort that included two runs and an RBI. The Spring, Texas, native has now reached base safely in 26-straight games and has totaled eight hits, six runs, four RBI and two homers through his two games at the 2016 Big 12 Championship.
NOTES
– TCU improves to 7-4 all-time in the Big 12 Championship.
– Oklahoma State falls to 21-34 all-time in the Big 12 Championship.
– In the all-time Big 12 Championships series between TCU and Oklahoma State, the Frogs lead 3-0.
– No. 2 seeds are now 40-30 all-time in the Big 12 Championship
– No. 3 seeds are now 27-36 all-time in the Big 12 Championship.
– For the second-consecutive game, Evan Skoug and Luken Baker crushed towering back-to-back home runs. There have been three instances of back-to-back blasts in the 2016 Big 12 Baseball Championship, with the other one coming from a pair of Texas batters. The two Horned Frog homers give the team 10 overall during the eighth inning in 2016, more than any other inning.
– Luken Baker, the 2016 Big 12 Freshman of the Year, followed up his impressive 5-for-5 performance from a night ago with a 3-for-5 night tonight. Baker has now extended his reached base safely streak to 26 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the Big 12.
– Oklahoma State started the game off with a bang, plating four runs in the bottom of the first inning to open with a 4-0 lead. However, the Cowboys failed to hold on and are now 14-6 when scoring in the first inning, and 30-7 when scoring before their opponent.
STAT OF THE GAME
TCU’s breakout eighth inning saw the Horned Frogs score nine runs, just two short of the Big 12 Championship single-inning record (11) set by Texas in 2009. The Horned Frogs have scored more runs in the eighth inning than any other inning this season, tallying 68 runs in the frame overall.
WHAT’S NEXT
With the loss, Oklahoma State will meet Texas in the second of two elimination games on Friday evening. First pitch for that game is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT. TCU will be back in action to face the winner of that game on Saturday at 12:30 p.m.