KU Jayhawks fall in Big 12 baseball championship semis. Will they host in NCAAs?
Kansas coach Dan Fitzgerald exchanges words with umpires before being ejected from the game in sixth inning of a game against Texas on Thursday, May 16, 2024, at UFCU Disch-Falk Field in Austin.
No. 3 seed TCU, a team that swept a three-game series against Kansas from April 11-13 in Fort Worth, Texas, slugged the No. 2 seed Jayhawks 11-1 in the semifinals of the Big 12 baseball championship Friday night at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
The game was called after eight innings because of the run rule.
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The Horned Frogs (39-17), who have won three games in a row and seven of nine, advanced into Saturday's 6 p.m. final against No. 4 seed Arizona (38-18).
Meanwhile the Jayhawks (43-15), who had their six-game winning streak snapped by the Horned Frogs, will now have to wait until Monday to learn their upcoming assignment in the 64-team NCAA Tournament.
KU had been hoping to win three games at the Big 12 tourney and convince the NCAA Tournament committee the Jayhawks were worthy of hosting a four-team NCAA regional. The announcers working Friday's game on ESPN+ speculated the Jayhawks were locks to make the tournament, but not as hosts.
TCU, which erased a 1-0 deficit by scoring four runs in the second inning Friday, will face the No. 4 seed Arizona Wildcats, who defeated No. 1 seed West Virginia 12-1 in another semifinal Friday.
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KU reached the semifinals by rallying from a four-run deficit to defeat No. 7 seed Oklahoma State, 7-6, on Thursday.
On Saturday, Derek Cerda had two hits for the Jayhawks, who mustered just five hits off a pair of TCU pitchers. TCU's Jack Bell went 3-for-5 with five RBIs. The Horned Frogs slugged 16 hits off five KU pitchers. KU's Cooper Moore (7-2) was the losing pitcher. Louis Rodriguez (5-1) earned the win.
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