Previewing the Big 12 baseball tournament

There’s not a lot of intrigue on Texas’ portion of the Big 12 Tournament bracket. Earning the one-seed does have its perks. Texas’ side of the bracket includes Texas, Oklahoma, Baylor, and Kansas.

In order for Kansas to make the NCAA tournament, they must win the Big 12 Tournament. Baylor and Oklahoma are projected to make the tournament by D1Baseball.com. A tournament win or two would help the respective cases, but both have solid resumes and figure to make the field of 64. According to D1Baseball.com, Texas is a “lock to host” following the Big 12 regular season crown.

Texas is matched up with eight-seed Kansas, who Texas swept in Austin during the season. Lots of things are going on in Lawrence including the newly initiated search for an athletic director. The Jayhawks went 8-15 in Big 12 play but are coming off of a series win at home against Oklahoma.

Danny Davis of the Statesman reported that Matteo Bocchi will get the start at 12:30 pm Wednesday in Oklahoma City. Texas struggled to find anyone who would fit the bill of fourth starter, but between Bocchi and the freshman duo of Bryce Elder and Nico O’Donnell, Bocchi has been pitching well lately. He started in the final Tuesday matchup of the season against Texas State and likely would have been able to deliver a five-inning outing if not for an extended rain delay.

The rationale behind throwing Bocchi over someone like Chase Shugart or Nolan Kingham is common across college baseball. Many teams don’t throw their ace in game one so they can either have him available for a must-win elimination game, or to advance to the next stage of a tournament against a more difficult opponent.

The Longhorns are the favorite to get past the Jayhawks. Though the matchup between the Bears and the Sooners aren’t part of desperate attempts to make the tournament, they pair two teams with very different trajectories. Since the Longhorns took two of three in Norman, the Sooners have stalled out with an 8-8 record. The Bears, on the other hand, found their stride after getting swept in Austin. Baylor went a scorching 18-3 after they went back north on I-35 and likely played their way into the NCAA Tournament.

Baylor was swept by the Sooners in Norman the week prior to the early April sweep at the hands of the Longhorns. Both Oklahoma and Baylor would prefer no conference tournament surprises happen around the country that could possibly take a spot away, specifically Baylor.

Texas has to feel good about its 8-1 record against opponents on its side of the bracket. Still, double-elimination tournament play is a different animal than this team has had to deal with for most of the year. Texas is a confident team, and they have a hosting spot all but locked up, but now is no time to get cocky and lose that steam.

The competitive games on the other side of the Big 12 bracket will have a lot riding on them. Two teams, West Virginia and TCU, need to win the conference tournament in order to make the field of 64. Both of those teams will have to deal with two of the top three in the conference.

Texas Tech is still squarely in the national seed conversation despite the third-place finish in the conference. Their impressive home record and hitting ability is worthy of top eight discussion, and makes the Longhorns’ series win in Lubbock that much more impressive.

Pitching has been the thorn in the side of the Red Raiders for most of the year, but TCU is still the same injury hampered team it was in Austin.

Similarly, West Virginia needs to get past Oklahoma State in order to have a chance. Oklahoma State is a reeling team after surrendering the Big 12 lead over the last three series of the season. The Cowboys have lost four in a row and are 2-8 in their last 10 games. That stretch had them go from host to two seed. However, the Mountaineers aren’t coming in hot either. Following their series win over Texas in late April, West Virginia lost three straight conference series to Kansas, TCU, and Baylor.

This is the most exciting time of the year for college baseball. A lot of Texas fans have the idea that since the regional is likely locked up and nothing could be gained from a tournament win, an early exit wouldn’t be the worst overall outcome. It would save pitching and have the team rested and motivated for the next and much more important step.

David Pierce doesn’t think that way, and neither do most college coaches. Pierce’s team lives with the goal of trying to win five championships a year. For him, this is No. 2.