ARLINGTON, Texas – Fourth-seeded TCU (34-22) defeated No. 5 seed Kansas State (33-23) 16-3 in the opener of the 2023 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship at Globe Life Field. Brayden Taylor’s career-high six RBIs helped lead the Horned Frogs past the Wildcats in seven innings.
 
The Horned Frogs started scoring early with two home runs in the first inning. Elijah Nunez and Karson Bowen crossed home plate after a three-run home run by Taylor. Four batters later, Kurtis Byrne homered to left center, making it 5-0.
 
In the second inning, a pair of doubles by Bowen and Taylor and an RBI groundout by Anthony Silva extended the lead to 8-0 for TCU. Kansas State’s Cole Johnson ended TCU’s threat with a nice grab in left field to end the inning.
 
The Horned Frogs plated two more runs in the third inning after an RBI double by Nunez and a sacrifice fly by Bowen, making it a 10-0 game.
 
Kansas State got on the board in the fourth inning after a bases-loaded hit by pitch and a sacrifice fly by Raphael Pelletier. TCU answered in the bottom of the fourth with six more runs, holding a 16-2 lead going into the fifth inning.
 
The Wildcats added a run in the fifth off an RBI single by Cole Johnson.
 
Senior Owen Boerema (L, 7-2) threw one inning and struck out one for Kansas State. He gave up eight runs, six hits and three walks.
 
Junior Cam Brown pitched 3.1 innings for the Horned Frogs, giving up one hit and two runs while tossing four strikeouts before Jax Traeger entered. Traeger (W, 2-0) pitched 2.2 innings giving up one hit and one run with four strikeouts. Chase Hoover closed out the game for TCU.
 
TCU will face the winner of game two between top-seeded Texas and eighth-seeded Kansas on Thursday, May 25 at 4 p.m. CT on ESPNU while Kansas State will face the loser on Thursday, May 25 at 9 a.m. CT on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
 

2023 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship Schedule
Wednesday, May 24
Game 1 – No. 4 TCU 16, No. 5 Kansas State 3, (7 inn.) – 9 a.m. – ESPNU
Game 2 – No. 1 Texas vs. No. 8 Kansas – 12:30 p.m. – Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Game 3 – No. 2 Oklahoma State vs. No. 7 Oklahoma – 4 p.m. – Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Game 4 – No. 3 West Virginia vs. No. 6 Texas Tech – 7:30 p.m. – Big 12 Now on ESPN+

Thursday, May 25
Game 5 – No. 5 Kansas State vs. Game 2 Loser – 9 a.m. – Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Game 6 – Game 3 Loser vs. Game 4 Loser – 12:30 p.m. – Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Game 7 – No. 4 TCU vs. Game 2 Winner – 4 p.m. – ESPNU
Game 8 – Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner – 7:30 p.m. – ESPNU

Friday, May 26
Game 9 – Game 7 Loser vs. Game 5 Winner – 3 p.m. – Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Game 10 – Game 8 Loser vs. Game 6 Winner – 6:30 p.m. – Big 12 Now on ESPN+

Saturday, May 27
Game 11 – Game 9 Winner vs. Game 7 Winner – 9 a.m. – Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Game 12 – Game 8 Winner vs. Game 10 Winner – 12:30 p.m. – Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Game 13 – Game 11 Loser vs. Game 11 Winner (if necessary) – 4 p.m. – Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Game 14 – Game 12 Loser vs. Game 12 Winner (if necessary) – 4 p.m. or 7:30 p.m. – Big 12 Now on ESPN+

Sunday, May 28
Game 15 – Championship Game – 5 p.m. – ESPNU