No. 12 Brigham Young vs. No. 4 Arizona

Despite their surprising upset against fifth-seeded Arizona State in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament Wednesday, reality came striking back down for BYU (28-27), losing 4-1 at the hands of Owen Kramkowski and Arizona (37-18).

Kramkowski was stellar in his and his university’s Big 12 tournament debut, as the 6’3 sophomore right-hander threw six innings of shutout baseball, allowing just four hits and a walk while striking out eight BYU hitters, proving the Globe Life Field lights weren’t too bright, despite a rough performance when he pitched in this park earlier this season.

“I think just going into it, realizing that every game, no matter what, I’m just playing baseball on the baseball field, every game is going to be different. I’m going to have those outings. So realizing that’s going to happen, and that next game was next game, and just worry about the pitch that’s at hand,” Kramkowski said. 

Kramkowski got run support early, with shortstop Mason White and catcher Adonys Guzman taking turns hitting the foul poles just one pitch apart in the bottom of the first inning. 

“Our pitching struggled over this year, and you look at our numbers, and that might be a reason why we didn’t win on Friday and Saturday. Making some adjustments, they will be the biggest key for this program, like moving forward and figuring that part out fast,” BYU head coach Trent Pratt said. 

Arizona would score one more in both the fifth and eighth innings. The Wildcats only used two relief arms, who allowed just a single run on two hits and a walk. 

“Playing a 9 a.m. game is always a challenge for young college kids and old coaches like myself, but I thought our guys came out and played a beautiful baseball game. Obviously, our offense was powered on Mason and Adonys’ home runs, but I thought we pitched extremely well and played great defense today, makes you proud,” Arizona head coach Chip Hale said. 

Arizona will move on to face West Virginia Friday at 4 p.m. local time (2 p.m. Arizona time) in the Big 12 semifinals. The Wildcats took two of three from the Mountaineers in late March in Morgantown. 

“It’s where this program is supposed to be,” Hale said. “We have high expectations in Tucson, and we want to get back to Omaha. That’s where the program has always wanted to be every year.”

No. 8 Cincinnati vs. No. 1 West Virginia

Cincinnati (32-24) came into the second round as perhaps the most energetic team in the first round, if second only to Houston. The energy quickly died, however, when West Virginia (41-13) rolled into Arlington and dominated Cincinnati, ending their shot at a Big 12 title with a 10-3 victory.

West Virginia entered as the favorite to win the tournament, winning the regular season conference title with an impressive 19-9 conference record. Their win Thursday, their 41st of the season, broke the program record for wins in a single season. 

Griffen Kirn Sr. got the opening nod for the Mountaineers and the only nod. It may have taken 129 pitches, but Kirn got through all nine, holding Cincinnati to just three runs and recording the win. 

“I felt like I got better as the game went on, speed got better, command got better, and I was just ready to go. I wanted the ball for the whole game,” Kirn Sr. said. 

The decision to let Krin Sr. finish became much easier for West Virginia head coach Steve Sabins when the Mountaineers pushed their lead out to seven in the seventh.

“We just hadn’t had quality at-bats for the last two weeks,” Sabins said. “It felt like we had pressed, and we had pushed, and we had pressed, and there was a Big 12 regular season title on the Line. And no matter what you say and how you’re prepared when these kids pour this much into being great, they do feel that.”

One of, if not the best, hit so far this series came off the bat of West Virginia outfielder Kyle West, who hit a ball 113.2 MPH into the bleachers in the fourth inning. Because of the 20-degree launch angle, the ball only traveled 402 ft.  

West Virginia will play Arizona in tomorrow’s first game, currently slated to start at 4 p.m. The opportunity to play a program like Arizona “means a lot” to Sabins. 

When Sabins got to West Virginia, the team hadn’t been to a regional in over 25 years. Now, they are approaching their third regional in a row.

“It’s something that a lot of people have worked really hard for a long time,” Sabins said. 

No. 7 Oklahoma State vs. No. 2 Kansas

Oklahoma State (28-23) had everything going for them coming into their quarter-final game against the Kansas Jayhawks (43-14). Not only had they won 10 of their last 11 games and made the semifinal in the past five Big 12 tournaments, but they also had a 6-2 lead going into the bottom of the seventh inning. 

Then, with one swing of the bat, it was gone. A three-run home run off the bat of Kansas star first baseman Brady Ballinger finished a four-run inning, stunning the Oklahoma State faithful while sending the Jayhawk dugout and crowd into a frenzy.

“Anytime you’re playing a good ballclub, you gotta separate yourself when you get a chance. We didn’t quite pull away from them. They poke one out of there to tie it up, and they probably had the home team advantage from that point forward, with the opportunity to bat last,” Oklahoma State head coach Josh Holliday said. 

Things would remain quiet until the bottom of the ninth, where Mike Koszewski got a chance with the bases loaded and one out.

A hit a weak fly ball that found a gap down the line between the third baseman and left fielder. No throw was made as Tommy Barth scored, sending the Jayhawks into a mob in left-center field, and the Big 12 semi-finals with a 7-6 victory. 

“Just always try and stay ready,” Koszewski said. “You never know when your name is going to get called. So whenever my name does get called, I’m just trying to do my best to help the team win. So that’s my ultimate goal, just do what I can.”

Kansas’ bullpen played a huge role in the victory, keeping Oklahoma State at six runs for the final five innings of the game. 

Manning West and Alex Breckheimer combined to allow just five base runners over that span, punching out eight.

“Two drastically different styles,” Holliday said. “One guy who played for us, Manning West, we know him, he was in our program for a year. He pitched off his cutter breaking ball especially well, did a nice job, and good for him, he’s a great kid.”

Breckheimer leaned more on his fastball and was an “excellent competitor”. 

“Some of that’s them, some of it we got to do a better job on our end,” Holliday said. 

Kansas will now advance to play TCU, another team that has all but locked up its NCAA Tournament berth. Both teams sit in the top 25 in terms of RPI. Oklahoma State, with their loss, dropped to No. 42.

No. 11 Houston vs. No. 3 Texas Christian

The Horned Frogs (38-17) and Tommy LaPour cruised to a late-night victory against Houston (30-25), with the game not ending until after midnight, drawing the biggest crowd so far this week at the tournament. 

“The coaching and the development that I’ve received from other players has been unbelievable,” Lapour said. 

After not allowing a base runner until the fifth inning, LaPour finished the day after 6 ⅓ innings, punching out six and keeping Houston scoreless.

Big 12 Freshman of the Year Sawyer Strosnider broke the program record for triples in a single season with 10, also leading the entire country.

“He had a tough start for a freshman, and just since that day, really, after the first couple of weeks, he’s been a mainstay in our lineup at the beginning. He sees a lot of good pitches because Cole’s hitting right for us,” TCU head coach Kirk Saarloos said.

Cole Cramer was one of three TCU batters to get two hits. Star freshman Noah Franco was the other, who also hit a solo shot off of Big 12 Pitcher of the Year Antoine Jean in the fourth inning that traveled 391 ft. 

Jean was called on early for the Cougars as starter Chris Scinta could not survive the second inning, ultimately being responsible for the first three Kansas State runs. He pitched four innings, allowing two earned runs to cross while punching out six.

Jean Sr. was emotional leaving the mound as Houston’s assistant head coach Matt Reida, who came to Houston from Alabama with Jean Sr., was the one to pull him. 

“He became family and all these people here. When people do things for me, I never forget it,” Jean said. 

TCU will face off against Kansas in the night game Friday. Saarloos said he is excited to face off against the Jayhawks.

“Coach Fitzgerald has done a phenomenal job as the Coach of the Year in our conference. They have a lot of transfer players, and it's hard in this day and age in terms of getting a whole group of 40 individuals to play together as a team.”

The winner of that game will play the winner of West Virginia and Arizona for the Big 12 title. TCU won the title back in 2023, but Kansas would be playing for its first Big 12 championship since 2006.