Texas baseball on the ropes after convincing loss to OK State

What once looked to be a great opportunity for the five-seed Texas baseball and head coach David Pierce to make it through the top portion of the bracket in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship unscathed has turned sour. Texas had the chance to move on to face either the Kansas State Wildcats or Oklahoma Sooners in the final game of the Big 12 Tournament, but they had to knock off the streaking four-seed Oklahoma State Cowboys on the morning of May 28 to do so.

Instead, Pierce and the Longhorns wound up falling short in a rematch of the first game of the Big 12 Tournament between Texas and Oklahoma State to start off the day in Arlington, TX, on May 28.

In this game, Texas was looking to advance to the final game of the Big 12 Tournament by knocking off the Pokes for the second straight matchup this week. Yet, a loss for Oklahoma State would eliminate them officially from the Big 12 Tournament.

And Oklahoma State evidently played with that level of desperation as they easily cruised to a comfortable 8-1 win over Texas in this one. Texas got poor pitching in this game and was unable to capitalize on their opportunities when they did have runners on base.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma State took full advantage of most of the opportunities they had when they could get runners home.

Texas baseball and David Pierce at odds in the Big 12 Tournament after a poor outing from Zane Morehouse

This was a tough outing for Zane Morehouse, who claimed his first loss of the season. Morehouse gave up a whopping six earned runs in just two innings of work on the mound. He also allowed seven hits and had four strikeouts on the day.

Texas will need better pitching in the second leg of this phase of the Big 12 Tournament between the Longhorns and Pokes. But the starter remains to be determined at this point for Pierce and the Longhorns for the second game of the day.

This loss to the Pokes on the morning of May 28 means that there will be the third matchup of the Big 12 Tournament between Texas and Oklahoma State this afternoon. A win for either team means that will move on to the final game of the Big 12 Tournament to either face Oklahoma or Kansas State.

There is also a lot on the line in this one as it could play a major factor in determining whether Texas and/or Oklahoma State will be able to host a Regional. Both teams have good cases to be made right now to host a Regional, but neither is a sure thing either.

In this third meeting between Texas and Oklahoma State in the Big 12 Tournament, the first pitch time is set for 4 p.m. CT at Globe Life Field in Arlington, TX.