Ehlers’ home run puts Tigers in Big 12 championship game for first time
ARLINGTON, Texas — Cody Ehlers hit a tie-breaking two-run home run in the seventh inning, sending Missouri to its first Big 12 Conference Tournament championship game with a 10-7 victory against Baylor on Saturday at Ameriquest Field.
With the game tied at 7, Lee Laskowski led off the seventh with a double against Zane Carlson (0-4). Paul Woody was brought in to pitch to Ehlers, who hit his second home run of the tournament and 17th of the season.
Jeremy Hernandez added a sacrifice fly to stretch Missouri’s lead to 10-7.
Mark Alexander (4-0) allowed one hit in 2 2-3 shutout innings for the victory.
Missouri (37-20-1) is 3-0 in the tournament and has won seven straight. The Tigers, seeded seventh, meet No. 4 seed Oklahoma State in the title game at 1 p.m. today. The game will be broadcast on Fox Sports Net. Missouri swept the Cowboys in a three-game series at Taylor Stadium that ended a week ago.
This is the Tigers’ first title game since they lost to Oklahoma State in the 1989 Big Eight final. Missouri is the lowest-seeded team to reach the Big 12 Tournament finals.
Baylor (29-31) was eliminated with its second tournament defeat.
The Bears were trying to force a second game against the Tigers in the double-elimination tournament, and they carried a 4-3 lead into the fourth.
Missouri came back with three runs in the fourth to take a 6-4 lead, with James Boone’s two-run blast the key hit of the inning.
The Tigers had a three-run first inning against Baylor starter Jared Theodorakos. Laskowski had an RBI double, Ehlers drove in the second run with a single, and Hernandez made it 3-0 with a sacrifice fly.
The Bears came back with four runs in the fourth inning, highlighted by Josh Ford’s two-run double, Mike Pankratz’s RBI double, and Kevin Sevigny’s run-scoring single to go ahead, 4-3.
Gary Arndt’s RBI single in the sixth extended Missouri’s lead to 7-4.
Kyle Reynolds’ two-run single in Baylor’s three-run seventh tied it at 7.
In the other semifinal, Josh Fields hit a two-run home run that tied the game, and Thomas Incaviglia broke the tie with a two-run single during an eight-run sixth-inning as Oklahoma State beat top-seeded Texas 8-2.