Big 12 baseball to start conference play
Teams ready after nearly a month of nonconference games
Big 12 baseball teams are going strong into the start of conference play. No team in the conference has a losing record.
By Tyler Passmore (Contact)
Thursday, March 13th, 2008
Baylor Bears
After a 20-6 annihilation of Illinois on Feb. 29, the Bears went 3-1 last week. After splitting a two-game series with Louisiana Tech, Baylor beat Mississippi State twice last Sunday, scoring 16 runs in the finale. In the second game, sophomore right fielder Aaron Miller went 2-3 with two walks, raising his average to .383. The Bears will finish a series against Oral Roberts today before playing a home series against Oklahoma State in their Big 12 debut.
Record: 11-2
Oklahoma Sooners
The Sooners went on a tear last week, going 7-0 and sweeping two series. The Sooners started the week off with a three-game sweep of North Dakota State before they launched an offensive attack against Western Illinois in a four-game sweep. In the last week, Oklahoma outscored its opponents 74-22 and scored more than 10 runs in four of those games. The Sooners will host Dallas Baptist and Northern Illinois before their home weekend series against Washington State.
Record: 13-2
Missouri Tigers
The Tigers missed their midweek game, but they swept Indiana State in a three-game weekend at home. Junior Ian Berger pitched six innings in the second game Sunday to bring his ERA to 0.59 and a 1-0 record with 15.1 innings pitched. Missouri will be at home in Columbia this weekend for a three-game series against Toledo.
Record: 9-2
Nebraska Cornhuskers
After losing their first three-game series to Stanford and giving up 17 runs in their first game, the Cornhuskers have bounced back strong. Nebraska is on a ten-game winning streak, after defeating South Dakota State 7-3 at home. Nebraska travels to Manhattan for their Big 12 debut against Kansas State.
Record: 11-2
Texas A&M Aggies
The Aggies had a strong week, going 5-1 with their only loss coming in a 10-8 affair against Rutgers. In the rubber match game against Rutgers on Sunday, junior shortstop Jose Duran went 3-4 with a triple and two doubles, bringing his season average to .375. Texas A&M will have a midweek tune-up against Centenary before they play host to the Texas Tech Red Raiders to kick off Big 12 play.
Record: 11-3
Oklahoma State
Cowboys
The Cowboys had a tough weekend in the San Diego State Tournament and finished with a record of 2-2. Oklahoma State dropped games to San Diego and San Diego State, giving up 7 and 12 runs, respectively. The Cowboys travel to Baylor to begin conference play.
Record: 10-3
Texas Longhorns
The Longhorns started last week off hot with a two-game sweep of Texas A&M Corpus Christi, where they scored 16 and 22 runs. The latter half of last week went less smoothly, and the team dropped two of three against Stanford. The Longhorns got a solid performance from sophomore first baseman and pitcher Brandon Belt, who went 4-4 and also pitched an inning. Texas will travel to Rice on Tuesday and have their first Big 12 home series against Kansas this weekend.
Record: 10-4
Kansas
Jayhawks
The Jayhawks continued last weekend’s success this week, going 4-0 and bringing their winning streak to six games. Junior pitcher Nick Czyz struck out 11 in six innings and improved his record to 1-2. The Jayhawks will play at Missouri State on Wednesday, before traveling to Austin to battle the Longhorns this weekend.
Record: 9-5
Texas Tech
Red Raiders
The Red Raiders fared well last week, going 4-1. Texas Tech dropped one game, in which they gave up 14 runs to Texas State, but salvaged the weekend by winning 8-5 on Sunday against Northern Illinois. The Red Raiders will travel to Texas A&M this weekend to commence Big 12 play.
Record: 8-6
Kansas State
Wildcats
The Wildcats had a tough past week, losing two one-run games to Texas-San Antonio and the opener to Le Moyne. The Wildcats ended up coming back and squeaking out a 11-10 victory Saturday, before winning the series on Sunday. The Wildcats have their first Big 12 series, against Nebraska, this weekend.
Record: 7-6
—Edited by Sam Lamb
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