Is there anything better than cold beer and baseball? It’s a combination that is hard to beat during the season. No matter what kind of beer you drink (or how many), let’s take a look at some of the best action on the Big 12 baseball diamond from the weekend with a nice six pack.
Best Game
Arizona at West Virginia (Friday’s Game)
I can probably count on one hand how many Big 12 baseball games that I can remember go over 15 innings and Friday’s game between Arizona and West Virginia was one of them.
As crazy as it sounds, Arizona actually jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in the third inning before West Virginia scored their first run of the game in the fourth thanks to Skylar King’s RBI single.
Logan Sauve added two more runs in this sixth with his big hit before King tied the game in the bottom of the ninth with another RBI single.
From there, the game turned into a complete pitching battle as both teams turned to their bullpens. For six straight innings, neither team could score. Then finally in the top of the sixteenth inning, Arizona’s Richie Morales came up with the big hit to give the Wildcats the lead and the win.
Best Win
Utah
I could have gone with Houston, TCU, or Arizona here but Utah taking two out of three from Oklahoma State was the most impressive series win of the weekend to me. The Utes’ pitching was outstanding all weekend long and they got enough from their bats to get the job done twice. This was a big bounce-back weekend for them after getting swept the weekend before to Kansas State. While I still have concerns about Utah’s consistency, there is no doubt that this was a big step in the right direction for Gary Henderson and his team.
Worst Loss
Oklahoma State
This may be a cop-out answer since I picked Utah getting the best series win, but I haven’t been too impressed with Oklahoma State the last few games. They lost to West Virginia last weekend, and they followed up with a series road loss to Utah, who isn’t expected to do much at all this season in the Big 12.
Their pitching has been subpar, and the offense went completely cold at times. I expect more from the team that was favored to win the conference. Next up is a trip to Lawrence, where they will take on a feisty Kansas team.
Weekend MVP
TCU RF Sawyer Strosnider
While he may not have finished with the most RBIs over the weekend, his performance in Sunday’s game alone put him as the weekend MVP for me. When TCU was down two late in the game, Sawyer hit a two-run bomb to tie the game.
Then in extra innings, he went deep once again to help secure a series win over Texas Tech.
Pitcher of the Weekend
Utah RHP Colter McAnelly
Against one of the best offenses in all of college baseball Colter threw an absolute gem on Friday night in Salt Lake City. McAnelly went eight innings and didn’t allow a single run against Oklahoma State. He also struck out 12 batters during his time on the mound. His performance in that game was one of the best by a Big 12 pitcher you will see all season long.
Best Home Run
Arizona State 3B Nu’u Contrades
We may be looking at the best home run of the Big 12 season so far with Nu’u Contrades two-run blast to walk off Kansas in Sunday’s rubber match.
Series Scoreboard
Arizona State over Kansas (2-1)
Arizona over West Virginia (2-1)
TCU over Texas Tech (2-1)
Utah over Oklahoma State (2-1)
Kansas State over Baylor (2-1)
Houston over UCF (2-1)
BYU over Cincinnati (2-1)
