OSU Baseball: Cowboys Fall Short to TCU in Big 12 Title Game But Will Host Regional

Despite an impressive run at the Big 12 Championship, Oklahoma State won’t bring home any hardware. But the Cowboys are the only conference team that will host a regional next weekend.

The 2-Seed Oklahoma State fell to 4-seeded TCU 12-5 in the Big 12 Championship game. The Cowboys went on a run in Arlington, but they ran into a buzzsaw.

After rebounding from an early 9-5 loss to Oklahoma on Wednesday, the Cowboys went on a tear, edging out West Virginia 3-2 on Thursday and then paying back the Sooners with an 8-3 win Friday. OSU beat Texas Tech twice on Saturday, including a dramatic come-from-behind victory to punch their ticket to the title game.

But after five games in four days, the Cowboys ran out of steam while the Frogs kept scoring.

TCU set a record for a Big 12 Tournament. Four games, 48 runs. The Horned Frogs had won two games by run rule so far this weekend and looked intent on enacting it again (as if it wasn’t suspended for the title game), before the Cowboys sprang to life in the bottom of the seventh to at least make things entertaining.

TCU flexed its bats early, etching four runs into the scoreboard each in the second and third innings to take an early 8-0 lead. In the bottom of the third, Roc Riggio got the Cowboys on the board when a bases-loaded Schubart walk sent him trotting home. The Cowboys scored another run in the inning on a fielder’s choice.

The Horned Frogs scored a run each in the fifth and seventh to pad their lead to 10-2, just before the regional sites were announced via Twitter. The good news seemed to give the Cowboys life. Nolan Schubart rocked a three-run homer to make it 10-5 just moments later. The Frogs added two more runs in the eighth.

TCU has won four Big 12 Tournament trophies since joining the league 10 years ago, defeating OSU in three of those title games (2014, 2021 and 2023).

Ben Abram took the L, moving to 8-3 on the year having given up four hits for four runs. Five other OSU pitchers tossed a ball including a memorable debut.

Riley Taylor saw his first career appearance from the mound. The walk-on pitcher closed out the final two innings, allowing three hits for two runs and striking out two. It was his first career appearance after four seasons with the program and he got a nice welcome back to the dugout from his team.

Texas and West Virginia, which were both projected to host before the start of the tournament, each went 0-2 in Arlington. The Cowboys’ deep run solidified their case. The Cowboys are the only Big 12 team that will host a regional.

The Cowboys will find out who they will be hosting Monday morning. The NCAA Selection Show takes place on ESPN2 at 11 a.m. CST.