⚾️ Kansas Plays Texas to Begin the Big 12 Championship Wednesday

Kansas (24-30, 8-16 Big 12) vs. #13 Texas (38-18, 15-9 Big 12)
When	Wednesday, May 24 at 12:30 p.m. CT
Where	Arlington, Texas // Globe Life Field
Watch	Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Radio	101.7 FM/1320 AM + Jayhawk Sports Network
Live Stats	Stats
Notes	Kansas | Texas | Big 12
Social Media	@KUBaseball | @kubaseball | Facebook

ARLINGTON, Texas – The Kansas Jayhawks begin the Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship against No. 13 Texas on Wednesday afternoon at 12:30 p.m. CT at Globe Life Field. It’s the second year Globe Life Field is hosting the event, and it marks the first appearance for the Jayhawks at the home of the Texas Rangers. The game will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.

Kansas (24-30, 8-16 Big 12) received the No. 8 seed for the double-elimination tournament, while Texas (38-18, 15-9 Big 12) was awarded the No. 1 seed after sharing the regular season conference title with West Virginia and Oklahoma State. The Jayhawks do not have any players on their roster that have competed in the Big 12 Championship. Only five current players (Jake English, Stone Hewlett, Jake Baker, Sam Brady, Zac Cox) were on the roster the last time Kansas made the tournament in 2021.

This season, Kansas has seen improvement under first-year head coach Dan Fitzgerald by increasing the team’s win total by four games overall and doubling the team’s win total in conference play. The offense has already hit 16 more home runs this season than a year ago and the pitching staff has lowered its team ERA by nearly two runs.

The Jayhawks have three players with at least 10 home runs this season. The last time Kansas had three players with double-digit home runs in a single season was 2004. The 71 home runs by the Jayhawks this season are the most since 2006. Cole Elvis leads the team with 14 home runs this season, 10 of which came in conference play, which was tied for the most in the Big 12.

Kodey Shojinaga has been the most consistent hitter offensively and he is seventh in the nation amongst true freshman with a team-best .380 batting average this season. He ranks second in the conference in batting average. The Honolulu, Hawaii, native also posted a .418 average and 41 hits in conference games, which were both a league best.

Collin Baumgartner will get the ball for Kansas on Wednesday against Texas. Baumgartner went 2-0 with a 1.99 ERA in his final four starts, which included three consecutive quality starts at Oklahoma, vs. Texas and at Samford. He had 20 strikeouts compared to three walks in the four starts. Baumgartner beat Texas earlier this season and will be looking to help Kansas win its first game in the conference tournament since 2019.

Kansas and Texas have met in baseball on 90 occasions all-time. Texas leads the all-time series 60-30. Earlier this month, Texas won two out of three games against Kansas, despite Kansas nearly staging a late comeback in both defeats. The teams have played five times in the Big 12 Tournament, with Texas holding a 3-2 advantage. However, in the most recent tournament matchup on May 23, 2018, Kansas secured a 3-2 victory in the opening game of the tournament.

Texas has won eight of its last nine games and won a share of the Big 12 regular season title this weekend. The Longhorns received the No. 1 seed after having the best record between the three teams against each other. Texas is up to No. 13 in Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball Newspaper’s polls this week after being unranked last week. The Longhorns have six batters hitting over .300 this season and the Longhorns are hitting .302 as a team on the year. Meanwhile, the pitching staff leads the Big 12 and ranks 12th nationally with a 4.06 ERA.

TICKETS
Fans can purchase tickets for the 2023 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship by visiting GlobeLifeField.com/Big12.

HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
Wednesday’s game will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+, with Victor Rojas (play-by-play) and Greg Swindell (analyst) on the call. Fans can also listen to the game on KLWN (101.7 FM/1320 AM) and the Jayhawk Sports Network on KUAthletics.com and the Kansas Jayhawks app.

Live statistics can be found here, while live updates will also be provided on the team’s official Twitter page @KUBaseball.

UP NEXT
The winner of Wednesday’s contest moves on to play the winner of No. 4 TCU and No. 5 Kansas State on Thursday, May 25, at 4 p.m. CT, while the two losing teams will meet in an elimination game on Thursday at 9 a.m. CT.