Texas takes home Big 12 Tournament Championship

The Texas Longhorns entered the Big 12 Tournament as the five-seed and needing to win it all to play in the NCAA Tournament.

And in true Augie Garrido fashion, the Longhorns did just that to keep their season going.

It started with a tight, 2-1 win over 4-seed Texas Tech on Wednesday, as Parker French threw a complete game eight-hitter. French struck out six and walked one in his nine innings of one-run ball against the Red Raiders.

Next up for Texas was 8-seed Baylor, who were fresh off a big upset win of the regular season champion TCU Horned Frogs. The Bears proved to be a tough test for the Longhorns as well, but a Tres Barrera walk-off single to left in the ninth moved Texas to 2-0 in the tournament.

That win gave Texas Friday off, but would play Baylor again on Saturday after the Bears eliminated Texas Tech with a 5-4 victory Friday afternoon.

Texas would get another strong pitching performance to advance to the championship game. This time it was Connor Mayes who threw a complete game, tossing a two-hitter and allowing just one walk in just his fourth start and first complete game of the entire season.

Oklahoma State won the second Saturday game over in-state rival OU to set up an OSU/UT championship game on Sunday morning in Tulsa.

The rain tried to play a factor, as it looked like the game might get delayed in the fifth inning. But it held off just enough, and luckily for Texas, long enough to get the Longhorns in the postseason.

Trailing 2-1 entering the 8th inning, Texas exploded for five runs in the top half of the frame thanks to some atrocious defense by the Cowboys. Three errors in the inning, combined with just two hits by the Longhorns gave them the 6-2 lead.

OSU got three hits of their own in the home half, but only managed to score one run to make the score 6-3.

Each team had a two-out walk in the ninth, but no scoring on either side allowed Texas to sneak into the NCAA Tournament field.

The Longhorns finish the regular season with a record of just 30-25, but either way, they’ll be heading to yet another round of Regional play. Oklahoma State now waits to see if they will be hosting a regional, or if they will have to hit the road for the first weekend of the postseason.

Can’t get enough of Campus Sports? Follow us on TwitterFacebook and Instagram to stay updated with the latest news and exclusive giveaways!

*Featured Photo (above) credit to USA TODAY Sports

Michigan wins Big Ten Tournament
Michigan wins Big Ten Tournament