Oklahoma City Hosts 2013 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship

OKLAHOMA CITY – The 2013 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship seemed like a small part of May 2013 in Oklahoma City.

On Monday, May 20 – just two days before the scheduled start of the event – tragedy struck. An EF5 tornado struck Moore, Okla., killing 24 or injuring more than 350 more.

After much deliberation on how to approach the situation, the championship was pushed back from a Wednesday to a Thursday start and the Big 12 Conference made a generous donation of $200,000 from the proceeds of the championship to benefit those affected by the disaster.

With one day less to play, the tournament was changed from the scheduled double-elimination bracket to a pool play format, meaning one team would advance to a championship final game from each pool of four teams.

After a morning rain delay, the first pitch of the 2013 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship was finally thrown early Thursday afternoon, and Oklahoma went on to defeat Baylor, 2-0.

The next game was a close one as regular-season Big 12 champion Kansas State held on for a 4-3 win over Texas Tech. Kansas beat West Virginia 7-2 in game three and the first day of the event came to an end after midnight with TCU earning an 8-4 win over Oklahoma State behind a late rally.

Friday held much closer to the tournament schedule, with sunny skies and great weather the rest of the way. OU moved to 2-0 at the event as they handled Texas Tech, 8-0, in the first game of the day. Kansas State stayed undefeated as well with a 13-9 win over Baylor, followed by West Virginia grabbing its first win, 10-3, over TCU. Kansas also moved to 2-0 with a late rally to pick up a 5-3 over OSU.

With one day of pool play remaining, OU and Kansas State shared a lead in one pool and were set to face each other for the spot in the final, while the other pool was led by Kansas at 2-0, who had to win over TCU or surrender its spot in the title game to West Virginia or TCU.

The first game of the day saw Texas Tech pick up its lone win of the week with an 8-2 triumph over Baylor.

The Oklahoma-Kansas State that followed, with the title spot on the line, was one of the most exciting games in Big 12 Championship history. With the Sooners holding a 5-1 lead in the bottom of the ninth, The Wildcats came alive and rallied for an incredible four runs to send the game to extra innings. Each team added another run in the 10th and took the game to the 11th. OU scored again in the 11th and set up the game for an exciting finish.

The Wildcats made every indication of adding to the scoreboard again as they loaded the bases with only an out in the bottom of the inning, but two swinging strikeouts ended the game and gave OU a 7-6 win and a spot in the championship.

The third game of the day was an exciting one as well with West Virginia scoring on a close play at the plate to end the game and defeat Oklahoma State, 6-5, in 10 innings. That meant the Mountaineers needed only a TCU win over Kansas to reach the final in their first Big 12 Championship appearance.

The Jayhawks had championship plans of their own, however, and got past TCU with a 4-0 win.

Sunday’s championship final between OU and KU didn’t have the same last minute drama as Saturday, but it did provide the biggest crowd of the tournament as the Sooners beat the Jayhawks for their first Big 12 baseball title since the conference’s inaugural season in 1997.

All-tournament honorees included Matt Oberste (Oklahoma), Hector Lorenzana (Oklahoma), Garrett Carey (Oklahoma), Kevin Kuntz (Kansas), Anthony Hermelyn (Oklahoma), Michael Suiter (Kansas), Max White (Oklahoma), Jacob Rice (West Virginia), Connor McKay (Kansas), Jordan Piche' (Kansas), Jonathan Gray (Oklahoma) and Trevor Seidenberger (TCU). Gray was named the Most Outstanding Player.

2013 marked the 15th time in the past 17 years that All Sports has hosted the event, with it returning to Oklahoma City for a 10th consecutive year in 2014.

Big 12 Baseball Championship Results

Thursday, May 23
G1          Oklahoma 2, Baylor 0
G2          Kansas State 4, Texas Tech 3
G3          Kansas 7, West Virginia 2
G4          TCU 8, Oklahoma State 4

Friday, May 24
G5          Oklahoma 8, Texas Tech 0
G6          Kansas State 13, Baylor 9
G7          West Virginia 10, TCU 3
G8          Kansas 5, Oklahoma State 3

Saturday, May 25
G9          Texas Tech 8, Baylor 2
G10        Oklahoma 7, Kansas State 6 (11 inns)
G11        West Virginia 6, Oklahoma State 5 (10 inns)
G12        Kansas 4, TCU 0

Sunday, May 26
G13        Oklahoma 7, Kansas 2

All-Tournament Team

1B - Matt Oberste, Oklahoma
2B - Hector Lorenzana, Oklahoma
3B - Garrett Carey, Oklahoma
SS - Kevin Kuntz, Kansas
C - Anthony Hermelyn, Oklahoma
OF - Michael Suiter, Kansas
OF - Max White, Oklahoma
OF - Jacob Rice, West Virginia
DH - Connor McKay, Kansas
P - Jordan Piche', Kansas, RP
P - Jonathan Gray, Oklahoma, SP (Most Outstanding Player)
P - Trevor Seidenberger, TCU, RP