Cowboys fall in Big 12 Tournament finals after avenging earlier loss to Sooners

ARLINGTON, Texas — After losing to Bedlam rival Oklahoma to begin the Big 12 Tournament at Globe Life Field, the Oklahoma State Cowboys were able to not only avenge the loss with an 8-3 win over the Sooners on Friday night, but they made it to the tournament finals where they lost 12-5 to the Texas Christian University Horned Frogs on Sunday.

After falling to OU on Wednesday, the Pokes responded with a 3-2 victory over West Virginia on Thursday, then after beating the Sooners on Friday defeated the Texas Tech Red Raiders twice on Saturday by scores of 8-1 and 6-5 to make the finals.

On the other hand, the Sooners, after their victory over the Cowboys, then got beat in two straight games, losing 10-9 to Texas Tech on a ninth-inning, walk-off rally on Thursday before losing to OSU.

Championship TCU 12, OSU 5

TCU (37-22) scored four runs in both the second and third innings to take control. The big blow in the second came on a three-run home run by Luke Boyers, and the Horned Frogs rallied with six hits in the third frame to double their lead.

The Cowboys (41-18) trimmed their deficit in the bottom of the third. After loading the bases with no outs, Schubart drew an RBI walk before Wulfert brought home a run on a fielder’s choice. A double play ended the inning with OSU trailing 8-2.

TCU increased its lead to 10-2 before the Pokes cut into the lead again with their final runs of the game, which came on a three-run homer by Schubart. The blast was the freshman’s 16th of the season.

OSU placed three on the Big 12 Championship All-Tournament Team — first baseman David Mendham, shortstop Marcus Brown and pitcher Brennan Phillips.

Semifinal Game 1 OSU 8, Texas Tech 1

Brennan Phillips had a career day on the mound to lead the Cowboys. The freshman southpaw tossed a career-high six innings and allowed just one run on four hits while racking up a career-best seven strikeouts. With the win, he moved to 2-1 on the season.

Bayden Root followed Phillips and was also outstanding as he worked three shutout innings for his first-career save. The right-hander struck out three and allowed just one hit.

Tyler Wulfert led the OSU offense with a 2-for-4, three-RBI outing, while Nolan Schubart also had two hits and drove in a pair of runs.

Semifinal Game 2 OSU 6, Texas Tech 5

Aidan Meola’s walk-off home run with one out in the ninth inning lifted the 12th-ranked Pokes to the win.

Gabe Davis picked up the first win of his career by posting two huge strikeouts in the ninth inning as he moved to 1-2 on the season.

Offensively, David Mendham led the Pokes with a 4-for-4 day at the plate, while Beau Sylvester had a clutch two-run home run to get OSU on the scoreboard in the eighth inning.

Quarterfinals OSU 8, OU 3

Ben Abram picked up a win against his former team for the second time this season as the right-hander allowed just a run in six innings and struck out three. He improved to 8-2 on the year, with his eight wins leading the team.

David Mendham sparked the Cowboys at the plate, going 3-for-5 with a home run and tying a career high with five runs batted in, while Roc Riggio also drove in a pair of runs.

OU (31-26) pulled within 6-3 in the top of the seventh on a bases-loaded single by John Spikerman and an RBI groundout by Kendall Pettis. The Cowboys, however, scored two in the bottom of the inning on a two-run single by Mendham to reach the final margin.

OU starter Will Carsten (1-3) took the loss.

Second Round Texas Tech 10, OU 9 The Red Raiders scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth to complete the comeback as Texas Tech hit four straight singles with two outs in the game-winning rally. Tracer Lopez singled to right center to score a run. Nolan Hester singled up the middle to tie the game at 9. With the bases loaded following an infield hit, Kevin Bazzell singled to third to score the winning run.

In defeat, John Spikerman went 1-for-3 with two walks and scored twice and Kendall Pettis walked three times and scored twice. Bryce Madron and Anthony Mackenzie each drove in two runs. Mackenzie and Jackson Nicklaus, who also scored twice, each tallied a pair of hits.