Bears top Horned Frogs for Big 12 title
Shea Langelier hit a walk-off single in the 11th inning as Baylor beat TCU 6-5 Sunday afternoon in the Big 12 Tournament finals.
Shea Langeliers raced around the infield as his Baylor teammates rushed out of Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark’s thirdbase dugout to join him. Two innings before, few of them believed the moment could happen.
Langeliers’ walk-off single capped the Bears’ second comeback in a 6-5 triumph over TCU after 11 innings of mayhem in the Big 12 championship baseball game on Sunday. With it, Baylor earned its first Big 12 Tournament crown in seven title game appearances and secured the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
“It started as being one of the coolest moments of my life,” Langeliers said. “I’d never felt better, and then I turned around and saw the rest of the team running to tackle me, so I was pretty terrified.”
The sun high in the clear Oklahoma sky, TCU (3323) sat one out from a surprising run to the Big 12 title as the tournament’s sixth seed. But center fielder Johnny Rizer was playing deep and couldn’t race in to catch Nick Loftin’s pop-up.
Right fielder A.J. Balta, who homered twice Sunday and led the tournament with 13 RBI, lost Richard Cunningham’s fly ball in the sun, allowing Baylor (36-19) to score the tying run.
“It’s like a punch in the stomach,” TCU designated Michael Landestoy said.
“I can’t believe that happened,” Baylor closer Troy Montemayor said.
“It’s a stupid sport,” TCU coach Jim Schlossnagle said. “I don’t ever see a basketball player lose one in the lights.”
“The fact that it happened twice, back to back, was unbelievable,” Baylor coach Steve Rodriguez said.
Montemayor had pitched the top of the ninth and made quick work of the Bears in the 10th. In the 11th, a leadoff walk became a 5-4 TCU lead thanks to Conner Sheperd’s RBI single with two outs.
Again with a late lead, the Frogs’ bullpen folded. Trey Morris, who pitched out of a jam in the 10th, issued a leadoff walk in the 11th and fell behind 2-0 on the next batter. Schlossnagle called on his 10th pitcher, Austin Boyles, who struck out the first man he faced but then allowed a walk.
Cunningham seemed to provide another tying hit to right, but Balta delivered a perfect throw home to hold TCU’s lead.
From there, Boyles lost command. He threw eight consecutive balls, backto-back walks loading the bases then bringing in the tying run. Behind 3-0 on Langeliers, Boyles was forced to come into the zone. Langeliers, who shared the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player honors with Baylor pitcher Cody Bradford, rocketed a full-count pitch into the center to end the game. TCU had been 27-0 when leading after eight innings.
“That’s as tough of a loss as I’ve ever had,” Schlossnagle said.
The Bears have won 22 of their past 25 games entering the NCAA Tournament, the hot stretch a result of players-only meeting midway through Big 12 play.
“Not exactly how you draw it up by any stretch,” Rodriguez said. “It was just really impressive just watching these guys fight.”