OKLAHOMA CITY – A five-run fifth inning propelled No. 2-seed TCU to its third Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship, as the Horned Frogs knocked off No. 4-seed Oklahoma State, 10-7, at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. TCU previously won Championship titles in 2014 and 2016.
In a 5-5 contest, TCU leadoff hitter Porter Brown’s double to left field drove in three runs to push the Horned Frogs ahead. Brown and catcher Zach Humphreys would then score to extend the lead to five. Brown ended the evening as the Most Outstanding Player of the Championship after posting two hits, a pair of stolen bases and five RBIs in three at bats.
The Horned Frogs (40-17) were aggressive on the bases with a Big 12 Championship record of eight stolen bases. In addition to Brown’s steals, Brayden Taylor and Phillip Sikes set career highs for stolen bases with three and two, respectively.
Oklahoma State (35-17-1) was led by senior outfielder Cade Cabbiness, who was 2-for-4 at the plate with a double, a home run and three RBIs. Cabbiness’ two-out home run in the third inning capped off a five-run inning for the Cowboys to give them a 5-2 lead over the Horned Frogs.
OSU added runs in the seventh and eighth innings with a Caeden Trenkle leadoff home run in the seventh inning and an RBI single from Matt Golda in the eighth, but could not overcome the pitching from TCU’s bullpen.
Garrett Wright (3-1) earned the win in relief giving up five runs, one earned, on three hits in 3.1 innings pitched.
Oklahoma State’s Colton Bowman (0-1) was credited with the loss giving up four runs on three hits.
The Horned Frogs are just the sixth team to win the Big 12 regular-season and postseason titles in the same year, and the first since 2011.
A crowd of 7,204 was on hand for the Championship final – a sellout at the stadium due to 50% capacity restrictions. A total of 71,866 attended the event, making it the largest attended Big 12 Championship since 2009.
Earlier on Sunday, three Big 12 teams were announced as regional hosts: TCU, Texas and Texas Tech. Big 12 teams will find out their postseason destinations at 11 a.m. CT on Monday, May 31, with the NCAA Championship Selection Show, televised on ESPN2.