Aidan Meola blasts walk-off home run to send Oklahoma State to 2023 Big 12 Baseball Tournament Championship
When his team needed him the most on Saturday evening, Oklahoma State’s Aidan Meola delivered the goods against Texas Tech in their Big 12 Baseball Tournament matchup. With the game tied at 5-5 in the bottom of the ninth inning, Meola blasted a solo home run deep into the stands, propelling the Cowboys to a 6-5 walk-off victory. His teammates were there to greet him at home plate after he rounded the bases. With the clutch blast, Meola lifted Oklahoma State to the 2023 Big 12 Tournament Championship.
Check it out below and the celebration by the Oklahoma State players.
His teammates weren’t shy about celebrating at home plate and dousing the Oklahoma State players with the Gatorade shower.
With the win, the Cowboys will face the TCU Horned Frogs on Sunday in the Big 12 Championship.
Oklahoma State won their earlier matchup with Texas Tech on Saturday afternoon, 8-1. They never trailed in that one. Brennan Phillips allowed just one run and pitched a career-high seven strikeouts in the win. Saturday night’s win moved the Cowboys to 41-17 overall on the 2023 campaign and 16-9 in conference. Tyler Wulfert led the OSU offense in their first game against Texas Tech, going 2-for-4 from the plate, bringing in three RBIs. Nolan Schubart also tallied two hits and drove in two runs.
Since losing their first game in the Big 12 Tournament to the Oklahoma Sooners, 9-5, the Cowboys have rattled off four straight wins. They took care of business against West Virginia on May 25th with a 3-2 victory. Then they defeated Oklahoma 8-3 on Friday. And then on Saturday, they swept their doubleheader with the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
Oklahoma State has three batters with double digit home runs this year, Roc Riggio, Nolan Schubart, and David Mendham. All three players have also racked up over 60 RBIs. They’ve all three tallied over 130 total bases this season, too. Juaron Watts-Brown leads their pitching staff in strikeouts with 115.
The Horned Frogs punched their tickets to Sunday’s Big 12 Championship Game by defeating Kansas State twice and Kansas once. TCU is looking to capture their fourth Big 12 Tournament crown and their first since 2021. Brayden Taylor leads their team in home runs and by a very significant margin. The only other player on their roster with double digit home runs is Cole Fontenelle.
Sunday’s Big 12 Tournament Championship Game will be nationally televised on ESPNU.