The Big 12 kicks off their second week of conference play today with a five-series slate. Making their conference debuts, Missouri hosts #8 Oklahoma, while Nebraska travels to Lubbock, Texas to take on Texas Tech.
Week one didn’t go as expected. Texas jumped into first place after a sweep of a solid Kansas State team, while favorite Oklahoma scored only four runs in a series loss to Texas A&M in Norman. Texas Tech and Baylor put on quite a display of offense in Waco. Texas Tech overcame large deficits in the final two games, including a 10-6 victory to seal the series on Sunday. Kansas was the surprise, taking a pair of games from Oklahoma State in Stillwater.
Kansas State and Baylor will matchup in this weekend’s most intriguing matchup. The Bears and Wildcats both have losing records in conference, but neither should be considered subpar. #5 Texas will travel north to Oklahoma State where they will look to stay undefeated and at the top of the league. #8 Oklahoma will try to redeem themselves against Missouri after losing five of their last six contests. #12 Texas A&M will host a hearty Kansas team, looking to build momentum for their run at the title. The Cornhuskers kick off their final Big 12 season with a trip to face Texas Tech. The Red Raiders have made a habit lately of scoring late runs to overcome large deficits.
Baylor (14-7, 1-2) vs. Kansas State (12-7, 0-3)
Probable Starters:
Friday March 25
Kansas State: LHP Kyle Hunter (2-1, 2.12 ERA)
Baylor: RHP Logan Verrett (3-1, 3.03 ERA)
Saturday March 26
Kansas State: RHP Matt Applegate (3-1, 2.53)
Baylor: LHP Josh Turley (1-1, 4.26)
Sunday March 27
Kansas State: TBA
Baylor: RHP Trent Blank (1-1, 6.26)
Prediction: Baylor 2-1
Oklahoma State (16-5, 1-2) vs. #5 Texas (16-5, 3-0)
Probable Starters:
Friday March 25
Texas: RHP Taylor Jungmann (5-0, 0.63 ERA)
Oklahoma State: RHP Brad Propst (3-1, 1.65 ERA)
Saturday March 26
Texas: LHP Hoby Milner (2-0, 2.49 ERA)
Oklahoma State: LHP Andrew Heaney (3-1, 2.18 ERA)
Sunday March 27
Texas: RHP Cole Green (1-2, 3.81)
Oklahoma State: LHP Mike Strong (2-0, 1.56 ERA)
Prediction: Texas 2-1
Missouri (11-11, 0-0) vs. #8 Oklahoma (17-5, 1-2)
Probable Starters:
Friday March 25
Oklahoma: RHP Michael Rocha (5-0, 0.93 ERA)
Missouri: LHP Rob Zastryzny (2-1, 3.38 ERA)
Saturday March 26
Oklahoma: RHP Bobby Shore (2-1, 5.79 ERA)
Missouri: RHP Matt Stites (1-1, 4.50 ERA)
Sunday March 27
Oklahoma: RHP Burch Smith (2-2, 4.05 ERA)
Missouri: TBA
Prediction: Oklahoma 3-0
#9 Texas A&M (16-5, 2-1) vs. Kansas (10-10, 2-1)
Probable Starters:
Friday March 25
Kansas: RHP T.J. Walz (2-2, 5.18 ERA)
Texas A&M: RHP John Stilson (1-1, 1.30 ERA)
Saturday March 26
Kansas: RHP Tanner Poppe (1-2, 2.22 ERA)
Texas A&M: RHP Michael Wacha (3-1, 0.75 ERA)
Sunday March 27
Kansas: RHP Alex Cox (0-1, 4.15 ERA)
Texas A&M: RHP Ross Stripling (4-1, 0.96 ERA)
Prediction: Texas A&M 3-0
Nebraska (16-7, 0-0) vs. Texas Tech (15-7, 2-1)
Probable Starters
Friday March 25
Nebraska: RHP Matt Freeman (3-1, 0.63 ERA)
Texas Tech: RHP Jamen Parten (1-2, 3.80 ERA)
Saturday March 26
Nebraska: RHP Tom Lemke (2-0, 3.72 ERA)
Texas Tech: RHP Trey Masek (1-1, 3.68 ERA)
Sunday March 27
Nebraska: RHP Jon Keller (2-1, 2.16 ERA)
Texas Tech: LHP Robbie Kilcrease (2-0, 5.28 ERA)
Prediction: Texas Tech 2-1
