Kansas baseball team loses six-run lead in 10-9 Big 12 tournament loss

Nine outs from a victory, and holding onto a six-run lead, Kansas looked to be in perfect position to add to its NCAA Tournament credentials on the opening day of the Big 12 baseball tournament. Then it all came unraveled.

The Jayhawks coughed up the comfortable lead, falling 10-9 to West Virginia on Wednsday at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City, Okla.

Trailing 2-0 after the first inning, the third-seeded Jayhawks had plated four runs in the fifth inning before tacking on four more runs in the sixth. But after a solid outing from starter Jordan Piche, the Kansas bullpen imploded during West Virginia’s eight-run seventh inning. West Virginia’s Jackson Cramer capped the fireworks with a go-ahead homer that gave the Mountaineers a 10-8 lead.

Kansas, 34-23, faces No. 7 seed Baylor at 9 a.m. Thursday in an elimination game. TCU beat the Bears 8-5 on Wednesday.

This story was originally published May 21, 2014 at 1:04 PM with the headline "Kansas baseball team loses six-run lead in 10-9 Big 12 tournament loss."