Kansas to play No. 6 seed Texas in second round

 

Kansas upset No. 6 ranked and No. 2 seed TCU in the first round, 7-3. 

vs. TEXAS

Date May 25
Time 7:30 PM
Location Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Venue Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark
Watch Fox College Sports
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Stats Live Stats
Notes Game Notes
Stats Bracket
 OKLAHOMA CITY – On a day where the top three seeds of the 2017 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship fell, the Kansas baseball team will shift its focus to the No. 6 seeded Texas Longhorns for a round two matchup on Thursday, May 25, at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark.
 
Kansas (30-26) upset the No. 6-ranked and No. 2 seeded TCU Horned Frogs, 7-3, Wednesday afternoon in its first game of the tournament. Texas (35-20) followed suit and defeated No. 3 seed Oklahoma in the night cap, 8-4, to move on to the second round.
 
The Jayhawks and Longhorns have met three times in tournament play, with UT winning two of those contests. The last time these two squads played in the Big 12 Championship came in 2012, when KU took home the victory, 4-2.
 
First pitch is set for 7:30 p.m. at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. The game will be aired on Fox College Sports, Fox Sports Southwest plus, Fox Sports Midwest plus, and on the airwaves, on KLWN 1320 AM/101.7 FM.

QUICK HITS

  • Kansas won its first game of the 2017 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship – the first win for the program in the tournament since 2013.
  • The Jayhawks hold an overall record of 17-33 in conference tournament play and a mark of 9-15 in the Big 12 Baseball Championship.
  • KU won one conference tournament title in the history of the program, and that came in 2006 when the Jayhawks posted a perfect 4-0 record in the tournament, defeating then-No. 14 Nebraska, 9-7, in the championship game.
  • Kansas and Texas have met three times in conference tournament play with UT winning two of those contests.
  • The Jayhawks have played the 14th-toughest schedule in the NCAA that also ranks third toughest in the Big 12 behind Oklahoma State (2nd) and Baylor (12).
  • Kansas has played the most games (25) in the NCAA against top-25 RPI teams.
  • Fifteen of KU’s 26 losses came against NCAA top-25 RPI teams.
  • Kansas has won seven three-plus-game series on the season – four in Big 12 play – marking the most won in a season since 2014 when the Jayhawks claimed victories in eight series of three or more games.

SEVEN OF THE LEAGUE’S BEST
The Big 12 Conference announced Tuesday that seven Kansas baseball players garnered All-Big 12 honors. Senior closer Stephen Villines was named to the first team, freshman second baseman James Cosentino to the second team and All-Freshman Team, while sophomores Jackson Goddard and Rudy Karre, and juniors Matt McLaughlin, Taylor Turski and Blake Weiman earned honorable mention nods. 

ONE OF THE TOUGHEST
Kansas played the 14th-toughest regular-season schedule and the third toughest in the Big 12 Conference behind Oklahoma State (second) and Baylor (12th). Thirty-four of the Jayhawks’ 55 games were against top-100 RPI teams, with 24 of those contests taking place against top-25 RPI teams – the most in the NCAA. 

ONE SAVE AWAY
Senior closer Stephen Villines is one save away from tying the all-time Big 12 Conference record set by Major Leaguer Huston Street (Texas, 2002-04) at 41. Villines holds the No. 2 and No. 3 season marks in KU history at 13 (2015) and 14, respectively, and ranks tied for 17th all-time in the NCAA record books with 40 saves. Since April 2 when he became the all-time saves leader in Jayhawk history, Villines has made 16 appearances, recorded eight saves and struck out 21 batters in 19 and 1/3 innings pitched.

HE’S GOT TENURE
Kansas head coach Ritch Price is the most tenured skipper in the Big 12 Conference as he has coached in 381 league games – 23 more than any other current coach. He has also been in the league 15 seasons, one more than Kansas State’s Brad Hill and 10 more than the majority of the conference’s head coaches.

1. 381 – Ritch Price, Kansas (15 years)
2. 358 –Brad Hill, K-State (14 years)
3. 120 – Tim Tadlock, Texas Tech (Five years)
4. 117 – Jim Schlossnagle, TCU (Five years)
5. 116 – Randy Mazey, West Virginia (Five years)

ELEVEN ACADEMICS
Eleven players were recognized by the Big 12 Conference as the league office unveiled its 2017 Academic All-Big 12 Baseball Team. Five Jayhawks were named as repeat honorees in junior Matt McLaughlin (business administration), junior Blake Weiman (health & physical education), redshirt-junior Sean Rackoski (mechanical engineering), junior Owen Taylor (sport management) and senior Marcus Wheeler (sport management). McLaughlin, Rackoski, Taylor and Weiman racked up Academic All-Big 12 First Team honors, while Wheeler earned Academic All-Big 12 Second Team recognition. Joining the foursome on the first team were seniors MJ Farthing (human biology) and Jeremy Kravetz (journalism). Sophomores Devin Foyle (sport management), Jackson Goddard (sport management) and Blake Goldsberry (sport management), and junior Tanner Gragg (business management), along with Wheeler, were all tabbed with second-team recognition.

MR. TOUGH GUY
Sophomore centerfielder Rudy Karre set a new Kansas record for hit-by-pitches in a season when he was plunked four times against Texas Southern (May 5-7). The new season mark has been set at 26 and counting. He ranks second in the nation and first in the league in that category.

THE SECOND COMING
For the second time this season, the Big 12 Conference named freshman second baseman James Cosentino the league’s Newcomer of the Week on Monday, May 8. Cosentino paced Kansas to a 5-0 week that included a midweek win over then-No. 16 Missouri State and a four-game sweep of Texas Southern on the weekend. Cosentino had his hands involved in 18 of the Jayhawks’ runs on the week as he drove in a Big 12-best nine RBIs and touched home nine times – second in the league only to teammate Matt McLaughlin (10). If that wasn’t enough, he hit a home run in back-to-back games, drew a team-high six walks and was a perfect 3-for-3 in stolen bases. His two home runs pushed his season total to the team lead at four.

ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT
The College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) named Kansas junior shortstop Matt McLaughlin to the Academic All-District 7 team Thursday (May 4) morning. A three-year starter at shortstop, McLaughlin holds a 3.51 grade-point average (GPA) while majoring in business administration. He was named to the Academic All-Big 12 First Team in 2016, the All-Big 12 Honorable Mention Team in 2015 and 2016, the Big 12 All-Freshman Team in 2015 and the Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team in 2015. He is the 12th player to don this honor in Kansas history, and the first since 2011 when outfielder Casey Lytle earned the recognition.

CALL HIM THE STOPPER
For the second time in his career, senior closer Stephen Villines was named to the NCBWA Midseason Stopper of the Year Watch List, bestowed to the nation’s top relief pitcher. Villines has racked up 14 saves on the season and leads the Big 12 Conference in that category. In 2017, Villines has posted a 2.76 ERA in 42 and 1/3 innings pitched and struck out 52 of the batters he faced. In his last 18 appearances, Villines has earned 10 saves, and has converted on 10 of his last 11 save attempts.

ACTIVE CAREER SAVES LEADER
Senior closer Stephen Villines picked up his 13th and 14th  saves against K-State during Senior Weekend to push his career total to 40. That number ranks first in the Big 12 Conference and first in the NCAA for the most saves in a career by an active pitcher. Villines is one of two Power Five closers in the top-10 in active career saves (10th – Troy Montemayor, Baylor [26]).

THE ALL-TIME WINNER
Head coach Ritch Price became KU’s new all-time winningest coach at 439 wins after an 11-7 win over Northwestern State (March 4), surpassing legendary skipper Floyd Temple (438). It took Temple 28 seasons to set that standard, before Price eclipsed that mark in just his 15th year at the helm of the program. Price’s 465 wins account for 25 percent of the program’s 1,885 victories spanning 125 seasons.

UP NEXT
Barring the outcome of the second round of the 2017 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship, Kansas could play either Saturday, May 27, at 12:30 p.m., if it wins, or Friday, May 26, at 7 p.m., if it loses.
 
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