Associated Press
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Justin Bloxom homered and drove in three runs and A.J. Morris added to his sterling record as Kansas State beat Baylor 9-4 Thursday night to set up a showdown with Texas for a spot in championship game of the Big 12 tournament.
Sixth-seeded Texas A&M (34-22) had Thursday off and will face second-seeded Oklahoma (41-16) at 7:30 p.m. Friday. The Aggies lost 5-2 to Missouri in their tournament opener Wednesday.
The fourth-seeded Wildcats (41-15-1) will face No. 1 seed Texas on Saturday, with the winner advancing to the title game on Sunday. The Longhorns beat Kansas 9-3 earlier in the day.
Morris, the conference's pitcher of the year, struck out seven in 6 2/3 innings to get his 13th win in 14 decisions this year.
He left after giving up three runs in the seventh inning, including two that scored on wild pitches. That only allowed the Bears (28-24) to get within 7-4, and Evan Marshall came on to strike out Don Lambert to end the threat.
Bloxom had a two-run single off Willie Kempf (4-5) in the top of the first and added a solo home run in the ninth inning.
Dustin Dickerson had three singles to lead Baylor.
*
Texas 9, Kansas 3: OKLAHOMA CITY -- Brandon Belt and Cameron Rupp homered and Chance Ruffin threw a four-hitter as top-seeded Texas bounced back from a surprising loss.
A day after the Longhorns (39-13-1) opened tournament play with a loss to eighth-seeded Baylor, Belt provided a 2-0 lead with his eighth home run of the season. Rupp added a three-run shot off Kansas starter T.J. Walz (8-2) as the lead grew to 6-0 in the fourth inning.
Ruffin (9-2) cruised from there, striking out six in the third complete game of his freshman season.
David Narodowski hit a solo home run, and Nick Faunce had an RBI triple and scored in the eighth inning for fifth-seeded Kansas.
The Jayhawks (37-21), who will face Baylor on Saturday, were eliminated from contention for the conference title after losing their first two games at the tournament.
Notice about comments:
TheEagle.com is pleased to offer readers the ability to comment on stories. We expect our readers to engage in lively, yet civil discourse. TheEagle.com does not edit user submitted statements and we cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted in the comments area. Responsibility for the statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not theeagle.com. If you find a comment that is objectionable, please click "report abuse" and we will review it for possible removal. Please be reminded, however, that in accordance with our Terms of Use and federal law, we are under no obligation to remove any third party comments posted on our website.
Full terms and conditions can be read here.
CU fans not excited about A&M; Remember that bad CU team in 2000? McFerrin thoughts
