KU baseball advances to championship game of Big 12 tourney by slugging OSU, 9-2
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- Kansas beat Oklahoma State 9-2 to advance to the Big 12 tournament final.
- Tyson LeBlanc hit a record-tying 21st home run and drove in five runs.
- Mason Cook allowed one run on three hits in 5 2/3 innings and struck out seven.
For the first time in 13 years and third time in school history, Kansas has reached the championship game of the Big 12 Conference postseason baseball tournament.
The No. 1 seed Jayhawks (41-16) followed Thursday’s 8-7 eight-inning victory over No. 8 seed Baylor with a 9-2 win over No. 5 seed Oklahoma State in Friday’s semifinals in Surprise, Arizona.
KU will meet either No. 2 seed West Virginia or No. 3 Arizona State in Saturday’s 6:30 p.m. title game. It will be shown on ESPN2.
KU in the 2013 title game fell to Oklahoma, 7-2, in Oklahoma City. The Jayhawks have won one league postseason tourney title, upending Nebraska, 9-7, back in 2006 in Oklahoma City.
“What an incredible opportunity and blessing to be competing for a second championship (to go with regular-season title). We’ll be more than prepared and more than ready,” said KU coach Dan Fitzgerald. “It’s another opportunity for us to compete together and the guys love doing that,” he added.
The No. 13-ranked Jayhawks, who received a strong pitching performance from starter Mason Cook (one run on three hits in 5 2/3 innings) busted open a close 3-2 game against the No. 19-ranked Cowboys by scoring six runs in the bottom of the eighth.
The big hit in the eighth inning was a record-tying grand slam home run by Tyson LeBlanc. The home run was his 21st, tying him for the all-time KU record in homers set by Tony Thompson in 2009. LeBlanc, a 6-0 junior from Maurice, Louisiana had 3 hits in 4 at-bats including a double with five RBIs. He also drew a walk.
“Cool accomplishment,” LeBlanc said, adding, “I kind of blacked out around the bases. It’s huge. My teammates around me are very proud too. That’s the best part, them supporting me.”
Starter Cook, a 6-2 sophomore from Keller, Texas and McLennan Community College, struck out seven and walked three. KU’s Toby Scheidt allowed no runs off no hits in 1 1/3 innings. He struck out three Cowboys. Riane Ritter allowed one run off one hit in pitching the final two innings and gaining his second save. Cook has allowed three earned runs or less in seven of his last eight appearances.
Augusto Mungarrieta had 2 hits in 4 at-bats with a double and two RBIs. The Jayhawks totaled 10 hits, including three doubles and a homer.
KU on Friday grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Mungarrieta rapped an RBI single to right center, scoring LeBlanc from third base. Jordan Bach followed with a double to left center, scoring Josh Dykhoff from second base. LeBlanc doubled in Daniel Osoria from first base to give KU a 3-0 lead in the second inning. Osoria had reached base on a one-out single.
OSU starting pitcher Ethan Lund allowed three runs on five hits in six innings. He struck out eight Jayhawks and walked three. Oklahoma State had entered the game having won 13 of its last 16 games.
The Jayhawks will learn on Monday if, as expected, they will be named a host site for the upcoming regional round of the NCAA Tournament. The selection show will begin at 11 a.m. on ESPN2. Regional games will be held Friday through Monday.
KU, the league’s regular-season champion, improved to 19th in RPI. In all, there will be 16 regional hosts for the NCAA Tournament.
“I would think so. I think our resume is deserving,” Fitzgerald said, asked about the prospects of hosting a regional. “I think that winning the regular season, the Big 12, is a really big deal, and then two wins here should wrap it up. But I let the experts stick to the metrics and get in the room and decide things. I certainly think we have a resume worthy, and we’ll have a fantastic regional. KU does things first class always, and it’ll be awesome in our park.”
