Previewing Kansas baseball’s first round matchup in the Big 12 Tournament

Kansas baseball secured their spot in the Big 12 Tournament for the first time since 2019. What will they need to do to take down the No. 1 seed Texas?

The Kansas Jayhawks certainly have a hefty task on their hands when they play Texas baseball in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament. It will be played at 12:30 PM CT at Globe Life Field, the home of MLB’s Texas Rangers.

KU narrowly snuck into the tournament but will have to play the top seed in the conference in its opener. The game will be played before the other three occur today.

UT’s 15-9 record in the Big 12 was the best in the conference, guiding them to a regular season title. They are projected to host a Regional in the NCAA Tournament for their outstanding play. However, manager Dan Fitzgerald and his squad can crush those dreams today with a win.

Let’s take a look at the Longhorns’ hitting.

How good are Texas’ bats?

Five qualified Longhorn batters finished the regular season with an OPS above 1.000. Eric Kennedy slugged .617 with a team-high 16 home runs, and Garret Guillemette drove in 58 runs. Their bottom half of the lineup is nothing to gush over, but the top six guys pose massive risks to the Jayhawks’ pitching staff.

Their team’s batting average for the season was .302, although they also are selective with their pitches. Four players have an on-base percentage of .421 or higher.

Texas averages 7.5 runs scored per game, while Kansas held them to 5.7 runs scored in their three-game set earlier in May. Because it is an inter-conference matchup, more scouting reports should be available on where and what pitches KU will throw.

How good is Texas’ pitching?

Unfortunately, this is where it begins to get dicey, as their pitching is about as good as it gets. Texas’ 4.06 ERA ranked No. 12 in Division I baseball this season.

We don’t know who UT head coach David Pierce is going to throw out to start the game, but it likely won’t be one of their top guys considering Kansas is one of the weaker schools in the tournament. Their best starter is junior Lucas Gordon, who hurled a 2.48 ERA in 14 starts this year.

Starting pitching is not the only aspect Texas excels in, as four relievers threw for a sub-2.50 ERA during the regular season. Statistically speaking, UT had the best all-around pitching staff in the conference.

How can Kansas baseball upset Texas?

One thing is for sure — it won’t be easy to do. KU has had its ups and downs this year, but they finished the season on a 15-1 loss to Texas Tech and suffered a disheartening series loss to Samford (who had previously not won a game against a Power Five school).

The best chance for Kansas to overcome the Longhorns’ terrific pitching staff is for them to underestimate the Jayhawks and put one of their lower-end guys on the mound. They must jump on the Texas pitcher early and score runs within the first few innings to have them go to their bullpen early. Even then, KU’s 6.15 season ERA does not offer much hope for them to stay in the game long.

Kansas did take one of three games against Texas in their first meeting of the season. Freshman phenom Kodey Shojinaga will have to lead the way with Kansas playing impeccable defense. Baseball games do not carry over from one to the other, so even if the Jayhawks are big-time underdogs in this one, who knows what the outcome might be?

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