Two of the Big 12’s top-three seeds will play each other Thursday afternoon, not in the title game, but in the loser’s bracket of the conference tournament. No. 3 seed West Virginia will act as the visitors against No. 2 seed Oklahoma State in an elimination game in Arlington, Texas.

No. 21 WVU baseball vs. No. 18 Oklahoma State second-round information 

  • Location: Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas
  • All-time series: Oklahoma State leads 20-15.
  • Last meeting: OSU hosted WVU in mid-April, dropping the first two games before securing a win in game three. The Mountaineers narrowly outscored OSU 21-19.
  • West Virginia record: 39-17
  • Oklahoma (State) record: 37-17

Round Two

Matchup preview 

With both teams losing their first-round matchups, West Virginia and Oklahoma State will meet in the loser’s bracket of the Big 12 Tournament.

Oklahoma State was the second victim of three upsets in Wednesday’s first round. The Cowboys faced a 7-0 deficit before clawing back within three runs, but the comeback fell short in a 9-4 loss.

Prior to the tournament, they went 7-3 in its last 10 games to secure the No. 2-seed in the Big 12 Tournament. They hosted WVU in mid-April, dropping the first two games before securing a win in game three. The Mountaineers narrowly outscored OSU 21-19. OSU won 13 of its last 16 games after dropping the series to the Mountaineers.

Like WVU, the Cowboys produced three First-Team All-Big 12 players this season: outfielder Nolan Schubart, infielder Roc Riggio and two-way player Carson Benge. Benge and Schubart were named to the Big 12 All-Freshman Team. Schubart also won Co-Freshman of the Year.

Cowboy utility man Tyler Wulfert won Big 12 Newcomer of the Year.

West Virginia is coming off a two-run, six-hit performance in the first-round loss to No. 6 seed Texas Tech. The Mountaineers are averaging under-three runs per game in the last week after being in the top-half of offensive statistical categories all year.

Starting pitchers Ben Hampton (5-3, 4.50 ERA) and Blaine Traxel (7-5, 3.79 ERA) are both available to start Thursday.