Kansas Athletics
ARLINGTON, Texas – Kansas baseball dropped its semifinal game of the Big 12 Championship 11-1 to No. 24 TCU on Friday night at Globe Life Field. Kansas will now await its fate for the NCAA Division I baseball tournament.
Cooper Moore started for Kansas and battled through six innings. He suffered the loss after allowing five runs in his outing. A four-run second inning for TCU put the Horned Frogs ahead and they never looked back.
Kansas moved to 43-15 on the season and has the most overall wins in the Big 12 and is tied for the most wins against Big 12 opponents this season with 21 victories.
"I think our best baseball is for sure in front of us," head coach Dan Fitzgerald said. "We've played really well for a really long time and the number of times we've stubbed our toe, you can count them, which is hard to say. We're one of a few teams in the country that has won as consistently as this – 43 wins, 20 in conference, 20 road wins. We've played really consistent baseball. Our best baseball is definitely in front of us and sky's the limit."
HOW IT HAPPENED
• For a second straight day, Kansas got out to a lead in the first inning. Dariel Osoria hit a two-out RBI single to score Derek Cerda and give the Jayhawks a 1-0 lead after one inning.
• TCU (39-17) took the lead in the second inning with a four-run frame. An RBI double by Chase Brunson, RBI single from Anthony Silva and a two-run double by Jack Bell gave the Horned Frogs a 4-1 lead midway through the second.
• The Jayhawks got the first two runners on base via a walk in the fourth inning but were unable to score.
• The Horned Frogs added another run in the fifth inning on a sacrifice fly by Cole Cramer. That made it a 5-1 game.
• In the bottom of the fifth, Kansas started the inning with runners on second and third and no outs but could not push any runs across.
• TCU added six more runs in the eighth inning to stretch its lead to 11-1.
PITCHERS OF RECORD
Win: Louis Rodriguez (5-1)
Final line: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 SO
Loss: Cooper Moore (7-2)
Final line: 6.0 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 5 SO