Baylor Wins Big 12 Championship Off an Extra Inning Miracle Against Rival TCU

#5 seed Baylor wins the Big 12 Tournament championship against #6 seed TCU after multiple late game miracles.

Baylor started off the scoring for the day with a three run homer in the bottom of the first by Davis Wendzel to make the score 3-0:

The Bears stayed at 3 runs for a majority of the rest of the game. TCU hit a solo homer in the second to make it 3-1. The Horned Frogs hit another solo homer in the third to make it 3-2. The game remained 3-2 thanks to strong pitching by both teams until TCU hit a two run homer in the top of the 8th to make it 4-3.

Baylor was on the ropes then and were unable to score in the eighth inning. Baylor held TCU at 4 and went into the bottom of the ninth down one run with 8, 9, and 1 up to bat. Nick Loftin hit a two out single and Richard Cunningham skyed a ball on two strikes into the outfield that the TCU right-fielder lost in the sun, driving in Loftin for the tying run. Extra innings.

In the top of the tenth, Troy Montemayor came up with some clutch pitching, putting together a 1-2-3 inning to give the Bears a chance to win it in the bottom of the tenth with 3, 4, and 5 due up. Davis Wendzel opened with a leadoff single, and a sacrifice bunt turned error moved Wendzel into scoring position with no outs. Shea Langeliers hit into a double play but moved the winning runner to third base with two outs. Baylor got another runner on before a full count strikeout ended the inning still tied 4-4, leaving the potential winning runner stranded at third.

Montemayor opened the eleventh inning with four straight balls to walk the first TCU batter, giving them the potential leading runner on first. A fielder’s choice out moved that TCU runner to scoring position. Montemayor struck out another batter to get it to two outs. Then TCU’s 9th hitter got a base hit with RBI on a full count to give the Horned Frogs a one run lead. TCU’s next hitter grounded out to first to end the inning with TCU up 5-4.

Baylor’s Josh Bissonette led off the bottom of the eleventh with a walk to get the tying run on first. T.J. Raguse tried to get a bunt off for the Bears but was unable to do it, striking out for Baylor’s first out. The first pitch against #1 hitter Nick Loftin was wild and Bissonette stole second to get into scoring position. Loftin walked and put the tying and winning runners at first and second. Cunningham got a base hit and Bissonette tried to get home but was thrown out to put Baylor at its last out with runners at first and second. Davis Wendzel, the hitter who launched the 3 run homer in the first, was up to bat next. The count moved to full. And Wendzel walked after fouling off to keep the at bat alive. The Bears then had the bases loaded with the 4th hitter Andy Thomas up. TCU’s Boyles threw four wild pitches in a row to walk Thomas and tie the game on a loaded bases walk:

Shea Langeliers, the 5th batter, moved up to the plate with the bases still loaded. Boyles opened with another 3 straight balls before throwing two strikes to make it 3-2. Langeliers came up clutch and ripped a base hit up the middle to drive in the winning run in the bottom of the 11th, giving the Bears their first Big 12 Tournament championship ever:

SIC ‘EM BIG 12 CHAMPION BAYLOR BEARS!