SURPRISE, Ariz.— The Kansas Jayhawks won the Big 12 Conference regular season title, but the real prize is theirs for the taking at Saturday’s championship game at Surprise Stadium.
They blew out the Oklahoma State Cowboys 9-2 on a hot and steamy afternoon turned evening, backed by more than solid pitching performances from starter Mason Cook and bulk relievers Tony Scheidt and Riane Ritter.
“Our scouting part was good and just working the zone, I thought working the zone was great today,” said Kansas head coach Dan Fitzgerald after the victory. “It was just like that when we played them earlier in the season, if you get ahead it’s going to work out well.”
Jayhawks catcher Augusto Mungarrietta provided healthy cuts at the plate all day, starting with an RBI single in the bottom of the first inning and a perfectly placed double to the left-center field gap in the eighth to add an insurance run (at least it was at the time) to make it 4-2.
Oklahoma State’s starter, left-hander Ethan Lund, walked two and hit a batter in the first. He got lucky in the second, watching Tyson LeBlanc’s long fly ball to center field smack off a Hampton Inn and Suites advertisement. A run still scored on the play, but three is fewer than four. It was a credit to Lund, who bounced back to throw four consecutive scoreless frames from the third through the sixth to keep his team in the game. The Cowboys were on the board for the first time in the sixth on Avery Ortiz’s run-scoring double that fell short of a two-run homer.
That pulled Kansas starter Mason Cook, who similar to Thursday’s hurler Dominic Voegele, was cool, calm, and collected on the hill. Cook’s final line featured seven punch outs, three walks, and one earned run on three hits in 6 ⅓ innings.
Bulk relievers Toby Scheidt and Riane Ritter combined to throw 3 ⅓ frames of one-run ball, with Scheidt striking out the side in the seventh.
LeBlanc cleared the wall in the eighth as part of a six-run breakout for the Jayhawks. Four of those runs scored on the shortstop’s trot around the bases, as the grand slam turned what was a very competitive game into a laugher.
Oklahoma State head coach Josh Holliday gave credit where credit is due to Kansas.
“It was a hard-fought close game. They did a nice job late in the game of having a big inning to separate themselves from us,” Holliday said. “Which, obviously, in this tournament and all games late in the year proves to always be important.”
The top-seeded Jayhawks have punched their ticket to Saturday’s championship game at 4:30 p.m. MDT at Surprise Stadium. They will play the winner of tonight’s second semifinal matchup between No. 2 West Virginia and No. 3 Arizona State.
Where to Watch – The first two days of the tournament will be broadcast on ESPN+. The quarterfinals on Thursday, May 21, will air live on ESPNU. The semifinals will be available on ESPN+, and you can watch Saturday’s championship game on ESPN2.
Big 12 Tournament Schedule
All Games at Surprise Stadium, Surprise, Ariz.
All Times Mountain Daylight Time
Friday, May 22
4:30 p.m. – No. 5 Oklahoma State vs. No. 1 Kansas
8 p.m. – No. 2 West Virginia vs. No. 3 Arizona State
Saturday, May 23
4:30 p.m. – Championship Game
Photo: Kansas got a homer from Tyson Leblanc as they romped to a 9-2 win over Oklahoma State to get to the Big 12 Championship Game on Saturday. (Photo via Kansas Baseball on X)
