Cameron Rupp tallied four RBIs as Texas cruised to a 12-7 win in the Big 12 Tournament Championship. (Austin Chronicle Photo)
The Missouri Tigers and Texas Longhorns faced off in the Big 12 Tournament Championship at Bricktown Ballpark after both teams posted 2-1 records in pool play. Here is your Big 12 Tournament Championship recap for Sunday, May 24.
#6 Texas 12, Missouri 7
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — The No. 5 Texas Longhorns broke open a 1-1 tie with 11 runs in the home half of the fourth inning and coasted to a 12-7 win over the No. 24 Missouri Tigers in the title game of the 2009 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship at AT&T Bricktown Ballpark on Sunday afternoon.
The win gave Texas its second consecutive Big 12 Championship title and fourth overall, tying Nebraska for the most among league members. Prior to this season, the Longhorns won Big 12 tournament titles in 2002, 2003 and 2008. The 2009 Longhorns became the fourth team to win the league’s regular-season and tournament crowns in the same year, joining the Nebraska in 2001, Texas in 2002 and Nebraska in 2005.
With the score tied 1-1, Texas sent 15 batters to the plate in the fourth inning. Brandon Belt was hit by a pitch as the inning got off to an auspicious start. Michael Torres followed with a single through the right side to chase Missouri starter Scooter Hicks from the game with runners on the corners. Cameron Rupp drew a walk from reliever Ian Berger to fill the pasture with Longhorns. Loy busted the tie with a single through the left side of the infield to plate two. Kevin Keyes drew a walk and the bases were pushing maximum density again.
With bases loaded and Texas up 4-1 and still no outs in the fourth, Ryan Clubb took the mound for Missouri, but was unable to coagulate the bleeding. Preston Clark pounded a single to rightfield to drive in Rupp and Russell Moldenhauer logged a pinch-hit sacrifice fly to push the lead to 6-1. A balk moved both runners into scoring position and Connor Rowe drew a walk to reload the bases.
