No. 5 Baylor baseball earned an 11-inning 6-5 win over No. 6 TCU to win the 2018 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship title on Sunday afternoon at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. The Bears (36-19) won on a walk-off single by Shea Langeliers, ending the Horned Frogs’ (33-23) season.
BU struck first after getting out of a jam in the top of the first as Davis Wendzel hit a three-run home run in the bottom half. The lead withstood a pair of TCU solo shots in the second and third innings.
Then TCU took the lead on a two-run homer in the eighth. The Bears missed on a good scoring chance in the eighth inning but didn’t miss in the ninth. With two outs, Nick Loftin hit a double on a fly ball that was lost in the sun and Richard Cunningham scored him on a double that was lost in the sun as well.
After missing a golden opportunity to end the game in the bottom of the 10th, the Horned Frogs scored on a two-out single in the top of the 11th.
However, the Bears weren’t done. In the bottom of the 11th, Josh Bissonette led off with a walk, Loftin walked with one out and then Cunningham singled to right but Bissonette was thrown out at the plate. Wendzel walked with two outs to keep the rally alive. Andy Thomas also walked to force in a run and Langliers capped it off with a full-count single up the middle to win the game.
BU reliever Troy Montemayor (2-1) earned the win, allowing one run on one hit and one walk with one strikeout in three innings. TCU reliever Austin Boyles (0-2) took the loss, giving up two runs on two hits and three walks with one strikeout in 0.2 innings.
NOTES
*Baylor won its first Big 12 Championship title in program history. BU had previously lost six times in the game (2010, 2007, 2005, 2003, 2000, 1999).
*Baylor won its first conference tournament title since 1993 (Southwest Conference) and its fourth overall (1977, 1978 (both SWC)).
*Baylor is the first No. 5 seed to win the title since Texas in 2015 and the fifth overall (Nebraska in 1999, Texas A&M in 2007, Texas in 2008). BU is 9-13 as a No. 5 seed in the Big 12 Championship and made it to the title game in 2003 as a No. 5 seed. Overall, No. 5 seeds are 32-38 in the event.
*Baylor played in the Big 12 Championship title game for the first time since 2010 (No. 6 Baylor lost to No. 4 Texas A&M 5-3 in 10 innings). BU is 1-6 all-time in Big 12 Championship title games and made it to the title game as a No. 5 seed in 2003 (lost to No. 3 Texas 10-8 in 10 innings). BU is the first No. 5 seed to play in the title game since Texas in 2015 (won).
*Baylor has won 22 of its last 25 games and five straight.
*The 11-inning game was the longest in the Big 12 Championship since Oklahoma and Kansas State did the same in 2013. Baylor is 2-1 in extra-inning games this season. The game was Baylor’s longest in the Big 12 Championship and the longest title game in the event since Oklahoma State and Missouri played 13 innings in 2004.
*Baylor is 48-47 all-time at conference championships, 36-37 in the Big 12. BU owns a 32-31 mark in Oklahoma City. The Bears are 18-12 in opening games (13-8 in Big 12), 4-6 in title games (1-6 in Big 12), 9-16 in elimination games (9-12 in Big 12) and 38-39 in tournament format.
*Baylor third-year head coach Steve Rodriguez won his sixth conference tournament title (five with Pepperdine in the West Coast Conference).
*Cody Bradford, Richard Cunningham, Shea Langeliers, Nick Loftin and Davis Wendzel were named to the 2018 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship All-Tournament Team. BU’s five selections were its most since having a program-record six in 2003.
*Cody Bradford and Shea Langeliers were named Co-Most Outstanding Players of the 2018 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship, marking Baylor’s first MOP winners in program history.
*Baylor is 2-3 vs. TCU in the Big 12 Championship and went 4-0 this season against TCU.
*Baylor and Oklahoma are the only two teams to qualify for all 22 Big 12 Championships.
*Baylor has won 34 or more (36) games in a season for the second straight year (34 in 2017), giving the program back-to-back 34-win seasons for the first time since 2006 (37) and 2007 (35).
*Baylor has scored 151 runs in its last 129 innings.
*Baylor has hit 136 home runs in 164 games under Rodriguez. BU hit 51 in 2017 for its most homers since 2010 (57) and has 52 in 2018. The Bears have hit 50 or more homers in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2009 (73) and 2010 (57).
*Richard Cunningham has a 12-game on-base streak and seven-game hitting streak as he had his 19th multi-hit game (3).
*Shea Langeliers has a 10-game on-base streak and four-game hitting streak as he had his 13th multi-hit game (2).
*Andy Thomas has a five-game on-base streak and three-game hitting streak as he notched his 19th multi-hit game (2).
*Freshman Nick Loftin has a four-game on-base streak and three-game hitting streak.
*Josh Bissonette has a four-game on-base streak.
*Davis Wendzel has a four-game on-base streak while posting his team-high 21st multi-hit game (2) and 11th multi-RBI game (3). He tied a career high with his eighth home run of season and 16th of his career.
*Jimmy Winston had a career-high three strikeouts.
STAT OF THE GAME
9 – The amount of hits by Baylor’s No. 2-5 hitters: Richard Cunningham (3), Davis Wendzel (2) Andy Thomas (2) and Shea Langeliers (2). The group also drove in all six runs and scored three.
QUOTE OF THE GAME
“That was not exactly how you draw it up by any stretch. It was just really impressive to watch these guys fight and I have said this a couple times today during interviews, there was something about it that made me think that we were going to win.” – Baylor Head Coach Steve Rodriguez
