WVU will not have to dig very far for relevant information on its upcoming first round opponent.
The Mountaineers will take on the TCU Horned Frogs in their first game of the 2024 Big 12 Championship. West Virginia played its final regular season series against TCU, completing the 2-1 series victory on Saturday.
Of the 10 teams qualifying for the conference tournament, West Virginia is seeded fourth overall with a 19-11 conference record this season, and TCU sits in ninth at 14-16. WVU fell one win short of the third seeded Texas Longhorns and two short of earning a first round bye, which went to the 23-7 Oklahoma Sooners and the 19-9 Oklahoma State Cowboys.
2024’s Big 12 Championship will be West Virginia’s 11th straight. The Mountaineers have not missed the tournament since joining the conference for the 2013 season.
TCU’s most valuable weapon proved to be junior pitcher Payton Tolle in the recent regular season series. Tolle pitched 11 strikeouts and three walks, allowing five hits and two runs in the first seven innings of TCU’s Thursday night win over WVU. He was named a Dick Howser Trophy semifinalist this season alongside WVU shortstop JJ Wetherholt.
In both games that followed, West Virginia came out on top, winning 7-2 on Friday and 6-5 on Saturday. WVU hit a combined 20 hits in the series compared to TCU’s 27. Five WVU hits were home runs, including four hit on Friday alone. West Virginia started Hayden Cooper, Derek Clark, and Tyler Switalski at the mound in the series.
The first round of the 2024 Big 12 Baseball Championship kicks off on Tuesday, May 21 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. WVU will take on TCU at 1:30 p.m. ET, and the game will be available on Big 12 Now with ESPN+.
Photo by Aaron Parker, Blue Gold Sports
