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 Friday with a nice six pack.
Best Game
Utah at Kansas State
We have a couple of great games on Friday, but none were better than Utah taking on Kansas State in Manhattan. The Utes jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead, but the Wildcats scored two runs of their own to take the lead in the bottom of the first inning.
Both teams went scoreless for a few innings until Utah recaptured the lead in the sixth by scoring three runs highlighted by Kaden Carpenter’s RBI single.
The Utes extended their lead two innings later thanks to Austen Roellig’s two-run bomb.
Kansas State would score a run in the eight to make it a two-run game but then things got a little whacky. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shintaro Inoue hit a two-run blast to tie the game.
Then, Bear Madliak called game with his walk-off home run.
Best Win
TCU
Outside of the West Virginia/Oklahoma State series (which was postponed), the TCU/Arizona State series has my full attention. On Friday night, neither team could find much offense, but the pitching was elite. TCU’s Tommy LaPour and Braeden Sloan completely shut down Arizona State’s offense and helped the Frogs take game one of the series with a 2-3 win.
Worst Loss
Baylor
I really thought the Bears were going to be ready to go on Friday night in Lawrence but instead, Kansas pitcher Dominic Voegele absolutely dominated them. Baylor scored just one run in game one and it came off of a throwing error by Kansas. Meanwhile, the Jayhawks put nine runs up in this one to an easy victory. Now the Bears will have to win back to back games to take the series.
Friday MVP
BYU RF Keoni Painter
While Keoni wasn’t the late game hero for BYU against UCF, he played a crucial role in that game early on. In the second inning, he crushed a two-run homer to give his team the lead before his two RBI single in the third. Keoni finished the day with a team high four RBIs as BYU beat UCF in extras.
Pitcher of the Day
Kansas RHP Dominic Voegele
Coming into the weekend, Baylor was one of the hottest teams in the Big 12 and Dominic Voegele cooled them off on Friday night in Lawrence. Dom pitched seven innings and gave up just three hits. He also struck out six batters during his time on the mound.
Best Home Run
Kansas State C Bear Madliak
There is no better home run than a walk off home run and that is what Bear Madliak did for Kansas State on Friday night against Utah. His walk off bomb helped Kansas State take game one of the series.
Full Scoreboard
TCU: 3, Arizona State: 2
Kansas: 9, Baylor: 1
Kansas State: 7, Utah: 6
BYU: 8, UCF: 7
Arizona: 8, Cincinnati: 3
Texas Tech: 4, Houston: 1
