Big 12 Baseball Championship, Game 4: TCU 8, Oklahoma State 4

It lasted three and a half hours, and that's only because two whole innings blew by in the middle of the game with only one runner reaching base. TCU left 12 runners on base, and their only extra base hit was a harmless double in the first inning; Oklahoma State stranded seven. And heading into the ninth, it looked for all the world like the Cowboys were set to face Kansas tomorrow with a chance to clinch a spot in the championship game already in hand.

Funny how things happen.

TCU stranded two men in the top of the first. Oklahoma State did likewise in the bottom. TCU, apparently enthralled with the idea, did it again in the second. In the bottom of the second, the Cowboys loaded the bases with two out... and finally someone produced when Donnie Walton singled to left to plate two runners. Tanner Krietemeier followed with a double into the gap in left-center which cleared the sacks.

The Frogs got one back in the top of the third when Jantzen Witte singled, moved to third on a pickoff which sailed into right field, and then scored on an Derek Odell sacrifice fly. That made it OSU 4, TCU 1, LOB 8.

And then a miracle happened: Preston Morrison retired the Cowboys in order.

After that, the LOB party got back into full swing. Morrison was finally chased with two outs in the fourth; Jason Hursh departed after the fifth, replaced by Jon Perrin for the top of the sixth. Perrin didn't last an inning. TCU got runners on first and second with two outs for Boomer White, who ripped a single up the middle to score Kyle Bacak, which resulted in Josh Holliday summoning Vince Wheeland from the pen to get out of the inning.

The bullpens settled for a couple of innings, Walton's leadoff single for the Cowboys in the seventh marking the only baserunner in either the seventh or eighth innings. But in the ninth, the Frogs cobbled together a major threat. White singled with one out, moving to third when Witte followed with a shot down the right field line. Paul Hendrix drew a walk to load the bases, leading Holliday to call for closer Brendan McCurry.

Odell blooped a single into shallow center, and White and Witte raced around to score, tying the ballgame. After a wild pitch, Kevin Cron was walked intentionally, and then disaster struck. Keaton Jones was hit by a pitch, forcing in the go-ahead run. After McCurry sat Bacak down swinging on a 2-2 pitch, Brett Johnson laced a single to drive in two, then Cody Jones hit a grounder to deep short which the Cowboys couldn't make a play on, scoring yet another run. By the time McCurry got White to ground out to second, TCU had scored six times, taking an 8-4 lead.

Trevor Seidenberger, who came in with two out in the fourth to replace Morrison, obliterated the Cowboys in the ninth, and the Frogs had pulled off a miracle win. Seidenberger slung 5.1 innings, striking out nine Cowboys and only giving up a hit. Star of the game material right there.

With that, day one is in the books. Oklahoma, Kansas State, Kansas, and TCU are 1-0; Baylor, Texas Tech, West Virginia, and Oklahoma State are 0-1. Tomorrow, the winners all get to play teams which lost tonight, so we could effectively be down to a four-team tournament come Sunday.

We'll see you in the morning.