OKLAHOMA CITY — Brandon Belt and Cameron Rupp hit home runs and Chance Ruffin threw a four-hitter as top-seeded Texas bounced back from a surprising loss to beat Kansas 9-3 on Thursday at the Big 12 tournament.
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) were eliminated from contention for the conference title after losing their first two games at the tournament.