Postseason Begins at Big 12 Championship

Wednesday, May 22

Oklahoma City

10:00 a.m.

West Virginia University

Kansas

Buy Tickets

Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks

May 21, 2019 07:13 PM | Baseball

Big 12 Championship Report Game Notes Championship Headquarters

By: Charlie Healy

OKLAHOMA CITY – The No. 17-ranked and fourth-seeded West Virginia University baseball team begins postseason play at the 2019 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship against fifth-seeded Kansas on Wednesday, May 22, at 10 a.m. ET/9 a.m. CT, in Oklahoma City.

The only team to win six Big 12 series this season, the Mountaineers (34-18, 13-11 Big 12) return to Oklahoma City after advancing to the Big 12 Championship semifinals each of the past three seasons. WVU's 13-11 mark is tied for its best league record since joining the conference prior to the 2013 season, and the fourth-place finish is tied for its second-highest.

The winner of Wednesday's WVU-KU game will play the winner between No. 7-ranked and top-seeded Texas Tech and No. 8 Kansas State on Thursday, May 23, at 5 p.m. ET. In the double-elimination tournament, the losers of the two games on Wednesday will face off on Thursday at 10 a.m. ET.

On the other side of the bracket on Wednesday, No. 2 Baylor faces No. 7 Oklahoma at 5 p.m. ET, while No. 3 Oklahoma State meets No. 6 TCU in the nightcap, at 8:30 p.m. ET. The winner of each bracket will meet in the championship game on Sunday, May 26, at 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT.

The Jayhawks (31-24, 12-12 Big 12) enter the postseason on a four-game win streak after a sweep of in-state rival Kansas State. WVU won the series against KU, from April 20-21 in Morgantown, thanks to a pair of walk-off wins in a doubleheader on April 20.

The Red Raiders (36-15, 16-8) claimed their third Big 12 regular-season title in four years and have won seven of their last eight games. The Mountaineers won the season series in Morgantown against then-No. 11 TTU, from April 12-14, with a 4-3, walk-off win on April 13. TTU is ranked in the top-12 nationally in each major poll and comes in as high as No. 7 in the NCBWA rankings.

The Wildcats (25-31, 8-16 Big 12) lost five of their final six regular-season contests, including two defeats to then-No. 20 WVU. Two weeks ago, from May 10-12 in Manhattan, Kansas, West Virginia won two-of-three in its final Big 12 series.

Complete information about the Big 12 Championship, including the bracket, details about tickets, Oklahoma City and Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark can be found at Big12Sports.com. Tickets can be purchased at Big12Sports.com/BuyTickets, OKCDodgers.com or through Ticketmaster. Tickets also are available by visiting the Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark box office or calling (405) 218-2180.

FOLLOWING ALONG
There are a number of ways to follow along with this week's action from Oklahoma City.

Every game will be broadcast on FOX College Sports, with the exception of Sunday's championship game, which will be televised on FOX Sports Networks. All games also will be available on FOX Sports GO to subscribers.
Fans can listen to the games on the Mountaineer Sports Network from Learfield IMG College on various affiliates throughout the state, while fans across the country can tune into the broadcast online at WVUsports.com/Watch and on the WVU Gameday and TuneIn Radio Apps.
Live stats can be found at Big12Sports.com.
Direct links to video and radio streams and live stats are available on the baseball schedule page on WVUsports.com.
Additional behind-the-scenes updates, news and notes can be found on social media by following and connecting with the team on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @WVUBaseball.

MANOAH, MAZEY HEADLINE BIG 12 HONORS
Coach Randy Mazey was \ named the Big 12 Coach of the Year and junior right-handed pitcher Alek Manoah was recognized as the unanimous Big 12 Pitcher of the Year to highlight the conference's postseason awards.

Mazey is the first coach in program history selected as the Big 12 Coach of the Year, while Manoah joins left-hander Harrison Musgrave in 2013 as WVU's Big 12 Pitcher of the Year award winners.
Manoah also was named to the All-Big 12 First Team for the first time in his career. On the All-Big 12 Second Team is senior catcher Ivan Gonzalez, senior right fielder Darius Hill, junior first baseman Marques Inman, junior right-handed reliever Sam Kessler and sophomore designated hitter Paul McIntosh. WVU's honorable mention selections are junior left-handed starter Nick Snyder, junior center fielder Brandon White and sophomore second baseman Tyler Doanes.
WVU's 11 total Big 12 accolades are its second-most since joining the league, and the five Second Team honors are West Virginia's most.

MOUNTAINEERS IN THE RANKINGS

For the sixth consecutive week, WVU is in the national rankings and appears in all six major polls. The Mountaineers check in as high as No. 17 in this week's Perfect Game poll, and the No. 17 ranking, which they have had for four weeks this season, is WVU's highest since 1982.
In the national statistical rankings, the Mountaineers are No. 6 nationally in hits allowed per nine innings (7.28), No. 9 in strikeouts per nine innings (10.1), No. 18 in ERA (3.54) and WHIP (1.26), No. 19 in shutouts (5) and No. 37 in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.50). Additionally, WVU's 87 stolen bases, which is fourth-most in a single season in program history, leads the Big 12 and is No. 34 in the NCAA, while West Virginia's 103 doubles ranks No. 3 in the conference.

Individually, Manoah's 125 strikeouts, a school record, ranks No. 8 in the country. He is No. 11 in WHIP (0.90), No. 17 in ERA (1.91), No. 24 in hits allowed per nine innings (6.01), No. 28 in strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.68), No. 31 in strikeouts per nine innings (11.93) and No. 35 in complete games (2).
Snyder is No. 4 in the NCAA in hits allowed per nine innings (4.88), No. 6 in strikeouts per nine innings (13.99), No. 21 in ERA (1.95) and No. 38 in WHIP (0.99). Snyder and Manoah also are No. 33 nationally with eight wins.
White has 23 stolen bases, sixth-most in a single season in WVU history and second-most in the Big 12 this season, while Kessler has eight saves, which ranks No. 2 in program history and is third in the conference. Additionally, Doanes is third in the Big 12 with 19 doubles and freshman shortstop Tevin Tucker ranks third in both sacrifice bunts (8) and stolen bases (19).

WEST VIRGINIA AT THE BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP
West Virginia has had plenty of success at the Big 12 Championship, and has qualified for the postseason tournament in each of its seven years in the conference. WVU has made back-to-back-to-back Big 12 Championship semifinal appearances, with a trip to the title game in 2016.

As the No. 3 seed in 2013, the Mountaineers came up just shy of the championship game in their first year in the league. With a pool play format, WVU went 2-1. West Virginia's lone loss was to Kansas, which won the pool and reached the championship game.
WVU advanced to its first Big 12 championship game in 2016. West Virginia beat Oklahoma, 6-0, before a 9-4 upset win over No. 5-ranked and top-seeded Texas Tech. The Mountaineers advanced to the title game with an 11-1, seven-inning win over Oklahoma. In its first three games, all wins, WVU outscored its opponents, 20-5, and out-hit them, 22-12. In a roller-coaster championship game, No. 11 TCU won, 11-10, in 10 innings. The Horned Frogs jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the third inning before WVU stormed back to lead it 10-9 after five. TCU came back with a run in the ninth to tie it and won it in the 10th.
The Mountaineers went 2-2 in 2017 as the No. 4 seed. WVU beat Baylor, 11-1, in eight innings, and No. 3-ranked and top-seeded Texas Tech, 12-7 in 10 innings. However, West Virginia's two losses came to eight-seeded Oklahoma State, which went undefeated and won the event.
In 2018, WVU returned to the Big 12 semifinals as the No. 7 seed. West Virginia notched victories over No. 20-ranked and two-seeded Oklahoma State, 8-5, and No. 6-ranked and third-seeded Texas Tech, 12-4. However, No. 6 TCU went 3-0 to reach the title game, with 8-1 and 7-3 wins against the Mountaineers.
West Virginia owns a 10-10 record in six years at the Big 12 Championship. WVU is 2-0 against the No. 1 seed and 3-0 vs. the No. 5 seed. The Mountaineers have at least two All-Tournament Team honorees each of the last three years after earning one in 2013.

LAST TIME OUT: MEMORABLE FINAL REGULAR-SEASON WEEKEND
The Mountaineers concluded the regular season with a record-breaking win and a memorable Senior Day in a two-game weekend sweep of George Washington.

As three records were broken, WVU opened the weekend with a 10-1 victory on May 16. Manoah broke the single-season strikeout record, with 125, while Hill set the career doubles record, with his 74th, and the record for career at-bats, with 910. The win was powered by a seven-run third inning, as Manoah and four relievers held the Colonials to a run on eight hits. Hill paced the squad with three hits and two runs scored and added an RBI, as 10 Mountaineers had at least one hit, nine scored a run and eight had one or more RBIs in the victory.
On Senior Day, West Virginia earned a 13-2 win on May 18, with the help of a four-run first inning. All four seniors contributed to the win, as Hill had a career-high-tying four hits and five RBIs with a pair of doubles and a home run, third baseman Andrew Zitel homered in the eighth inning, Gonzalez drove in a run with a first-inning single and scored a run in the sixth inning, and left-handed reliever Zach Reid pitched a scoreless eighth inning. Nine Mountaineers had at least one hit, eight had one or more RBIs and seven scored a run in the regular-season finale.

ON DECK: NCAA SELECTION SHOW
The 2019 NCAA Championship Selection Show is set for Monday, May 27, at noon ET, and broadcast live on ESPNU. The Mountaineers are expected to earn their 13th NCAA berth and first since 2017.

For more information on the Mountaineers, follow WVU Baseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.