SURPRISE, Ariz. – The Kansas Jayhawks were crowned the Big 12 Conference Tournament champions on Saturday night at Surprise Stadium in Arizona, handily defeating the West Virginia Mountaineers 9-0.
Kansas is the first Big 12 program to win the regular season title and conference tournament championship game since Texas Christian in 2021. This is their first Big 12 Baseball Tournament victory in 20 years.
“Celebrate it, enjoy it, stay in the moment, and then straight back to work. We’ll be back at it tomorrow,” Kansas head coach Dan Fitzgerald said when asked how his team will prepare for the regionals. “Staff’s out recruiting tomorrow, so that never stops, and gotta do run downs at some point this next week, and baseball never stops. You never get baseball, you never grasp it. You just keep working at it.”
Fitzgerald’s offense used the long ball to get the job done, hitting four, including back-to-back-to-back home runs as part of a six-run bottom of the seventh inning.
Jayhawks shortstop Tyson LeBlanc, who finished 3-for-5 with an RBI single in Saturday’s victory, was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. Catcher Augusto Mungarrieta, who hit the second of three consecutive homers, was elected by the media as the tournament’s top catcher.
“Yeah, that’s cool. I’m more pumped up about winning the Big 12 Championship, the regular season, and the tournament. It’s pretty special. We have a special group,” LeBlanc said about winning Most Outstanding Player. “We can’t wait to get back to Lawrence and celebrate with them for a few days, and then get ready for a regional. Give our fans something that they’ve been waiting for for a long time.”
Other players from the championship game who received an All-Tournament Team nod for their position included second baseman Cade Baldridge, outfielder Savion Flowers, and starting pitcher Dominic Voegele from Kansas. First baseman Armani Guzman, designated hitter Sean Smith, and left-hander Maxx Yehl earned selections for the Mountaineers.
Leading just 1-0 heading into the fifth, the Jayhawks let their opponents hang around. The run came off Tyson Owens’ bat, opening the scoring in the first with a solo shot to right field against West Virginia’s Ian Korn.
Kansas reliever Toby Scheidt was thrown in the game for starter Mathis Nayral in the fifth with the bases loaded and one out. Right fielder Jordan Bach’s strong one-hop throw to home arrived in more than enough time to Mungarietta at home plate, who tagged out Brodie Kresser for an inning-ending double play.
As mentioned, the inning that put this game out of reach was the seventh for the Jayhawks, who led by eight after the frame. Just one pitch after pulling a foul ball homer, first baseman Josh Dykhoff teed off for a 449-foot two-run shot onto the right field lawn to make it 6-0 in favor of the Jayhawks. Mungarrieta and Bach followed with solo homers against West Virginia’s Reese Bassinger.
The Mountaineers were held to just six hits. Nayral, who lasted 4 1/3, allowed four of those hits, struck out two, and walked two for the Jayhawks.
“We need to take some time to rest and recover, but probably the priority is getting back from a timezone perspective and so having some structure when it comes to like eating meals at the right time and being in the field, that’s honestly probably the priority that needs to start happening tomorrow morning,” West Virginia head coach Steve Sabins said, emphasizing that his team needs a few days of rest before returning to the field.
“We’re going to hear our name called to be in a regional at a minimum. And so, just excited for the team to enjoy each other this time of year,” Sabins added. It’s the best time of year.”
Right-hander Boede Rahe was on the hill for the final six outs, punching out half the batters he faced while getting leadoff hitter Matt Ineich to fly out to center to secure the championship.
Up Next for Kansas – The Jayhawks have earned an automatic berth to the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship that begins next week. They will find out who they’re playing in the regionals on Monday during the NCAA Baseball Selection Show.
Up Next for West Virginia – The Mountaineers are likely to earn a berth in the NCAA Regionals despite the loss. Similar to the Jayhawks, they will wait in anticipation to learn who they will match up against.
Photo: The Kansas Jayhawks won the Big 12 tournament, earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. (Photo via Kansas Baseball on X)
