ARLINGTON, Texas – No. 1 Oklahoma (37-18) rallied for an 8-6 win against No. 7 Kansas (31-23) that was highlighted by a walk-off home run by Jackson Nicklaus. The Sooners will advance to the 2024 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship final Saturday at 6 p.m. CT.
 
OU will look to capture their fourth postseason Big 12 title, last winning the event in 2022. A win in the final would mark the seventh time a team has swept both the regular season and postseason league titles. 
 
Kansas came out of the gate swinging, taking a four-run lead in the top of the first inning. A double from Jake English and a sacrifice fly from Lenny Ashby led three Jayhawks to score. Collier Cranford would single to left field, driving in English. 
 
The Jayhawks continued their scoring streak with another two runs in the second inning. English reached on a fielder’s choice, increasing his RBI count to two as he sent Mike Koszewski home. Following the play, Ben Hartl scored off a single by Ashby.

The Sooners came alive in the fifth inning when Jaxon Willits hit a two-run homer increasing the score to 6-2. It marked the second time this season the freshman has gone back-to-back games with a home run. 
 
Oklahoma added two more to the board after the Jayhawks had a pitching switch late in the fifth inning. With the bases loaded, Nicklaus hit a two-run single, closing the gap 6-4. Another pitching switch by Kansas led to Kendall Pettis knocking a run in, making it a one-run game. 
 
The Sooners added one more off Willits’ double in the bottom of the sixth inning to tie the score at 6-6. 
 
OU took over in the ninth inning as three Jayhawks struck out in the top half, allowing Oklahoma to score one last time. After a single from Anthony Mackenzie, Nicklaus ended the game with his walk-off home run. 
 
Junior Ryan Lambert (W, 4-0) got the win for the Sooners after throwing the last 0.2 inning. 
 
Freshman Cooper Moore took the loss (L, 1-4), throwing one inning for the Jayhawks, surrendering three hits and two runs. 
 
Oklahoma will now play in the 2024 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship Final on Saturday, May 25 at 6 p.m. CT on ESPNU.

Tickets are available here. 

Championship Central