No. 13 Kansas Defeats No. 19 Oklahoma State; Advances to Big 12 Championship Game

Friday, May 22

Surprise, Ariz.

6:30 p.m. CT

University of Kansas

41-16

Oklahoma State

37-20

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Oklahoma State	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	2	4	0
Kansas	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	6	X	9	10	0

No. 13 Kansas Defeats No. 19 Oklahoma State; Advances to Big 12 Championship Game

5/22/2026 9:44:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Season Statistics Postgame Press Conference Photo Gallery

SURPRISE, Ariz. – No. 13 Kansas Baseball is headed to the Big 12 Baseball Tournament championship game for the third time in program history, and first since 2013, after defeating No. 19 Oklahoma State 9-2 in the semifinals Friday night at Surprise Stadium.

Kansas improved to 41-16 overall this season and the 41 wins are the fourth most in school history. The Jayhawks now have tied their program record with 23 combined wins between road and neutral contests this season.

Tyson LeBlanc tied the single-season school record with his 21st home run of the season on a grand slam in the eighth inning. He matches Tony Thompson's record that was set in 2009. LeBlanc went 3-for-4 at the dish with two runs scored and a career-high-tying five RBIs.

Mason Cook started on Friday and gave the Jayhawks a strong start. Cook tossed 5.2 innings and allowed only one run on three hits. He finished with seven strikeouts and has allowed three earned runs or less in seven of his last eight appearances.

Kansas scored three runs in the first two innings to build a 3-0 lead. Oklahoma State responded with one run in the sixth and one run in the eighth inning to tighten it to 3-2. The Jayhawks pushed across six insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth to seal the game.

HOW IT HAPPENED
• Kansas wasted no time to get on the scoreboard. In the bottom of the first, the Jayhawks drew back-to-back walks to start the inning. With two outs and the two runners on, Augusto Mungarrieta delivered an RBI single and Jordan Bach hit an RBI double into the gap. The two runs gave Kansas a 2-0 lead.
• The Jayhawks added a run in the second inning on an RBI double from Tyson LeBlanc. That made it 3-0 Jayhawks.
• In the fifth inning, Oklahoma State loaded the bases but Cook was able to escape the jam with his sixth strikeout of the game.
• Oklahoma State (37-20) pushed its first run across in the sixth inning on a two-out RBI double by Avery Ortiz. The run brought the score to 3-1.
• The Cowboys trimmed the score to 3-2 with a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning.
• The Jayhawks answered back with a run in the bottom of the eighth. Mungarrieta hit a double into the gap and Josh Dykhoff scored from first base to bring the score to 4-2. Savion Flowers added an RBI single, scoring Mungarrieta from second, before Daniel Osoria walked to load the bases with two outs.
• LeBlanc stepped up and hammered his 21st home run of the season into the left field bullpen as Kansas extended the lead to 9-2 in the bottom of the eighth.

PITCHERS OF RECORD
Win: Mason Cook (5-1)
Final line: 5.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 7 SO
Loss: Ethan Lund (5-2)
Final line: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 8 SO
Save: Riane Ritter (2)
Final line: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 SO

SOCIAL POST OF THE GAME

TYSON TIES THE SCHOOL HOME RUN RECORD ??

A grand slam for No. 21 of the season for @_TysonLeBlanc!!!!!

BOT 8 | Kansas 9, Oklahoma State 2 pic.twitter.com/9TgfuPFqYv
— Kansas Baseball (@KUBaseball) May 23, 2026

QUOTABLES & NOTABLES
"Great win, really proud of the guys. It's just another great Big 12 game in an incredibly tough conference against an outstanding lineup from Oklahoma State. They're so dangerous. You look down their card and it's six, seven, eight guys with double-digit home runs, and obviously they have really good pitching. Lund was great. We were able to get some runs early, which was critical. Cookie was fantastic, Toby bridged it and Riane was great. Super proud of the guys, great team effort. Couldn't be more proud of these guys." - Head Coach Dan Fitzgerald

"Great job by Savion to get the two-out hit to begin the rally and everyone in front of me. I don't have that at-bat if my teammates don't get on. Dariel had a huge walk to set me up. We're going for as many runs in the late innings, trying to tack on as many as we can to help out our pitching staff and close the game." – Tyson LeBlanc

"The scouting report was good and the spin in the zone was great. It was just like that when we first played them this season. If you get ahead and you spin in the zone, it's going to work out well." – Mason Cook

"It's a cool accomplishment. I wasn't even thinking about it in the moment. I kind of blacked out rounding the bases. It's huge. My teammates around me are very proud too, so that's the best part is them supporting me." – Tyson LeBlanc

• Kansas has qualified for the Big 12 Tournament championship game for the first time since 2013 and the third time ever (2006, 2013, 2026).
• Kansas improved to 41-16 overall this season. The 41 wins are the fourth most in a season in program history.
• Kansas has at least 41 wins in back-to-back seasons for the first time in school history.
• Kansas has 23 wins that have either come on the road or at a neutral site which matches the program record (2014, 2025).
• Kansas is now 18-27 all-time in the Big 12 Tournament.
• Kansas is now 3-8 all-time at Surprise Stadium.
• LeBlanc tied the school record with his 21st home run of the season. The record has been held by Tony Thompson since 2009.
• LeBlanc matched his career high with five RBIs.
• Cook earned his fifth win of the season and has allowed three earned runs or less in seven of his last eight appearances.
• Ritter collected his second save of the year.

UP NEXT
Kansas will play the winner of West Virginia and Arizona State in the championship game of the Big 12 Baseball Tournament on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.