Texas Longhorns baseball faces Oklahoma in Big 12 tournament opener

Six-seeded Texas Longhorns baseball (34-20, 11-12 Big 12) kicks off its Big 12 tournament Wednesday night against the three-seeded Oklahoma Sooners (34-20, 12-11 Big 12). The first pitch is set for 7:30 pm CST at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City.

Due to Texas’ clutch series victory against West Virginia last weekend, the Longhorns could feasibly go 0-2 in the Big 12 tournament and still likely make the NCAA tournament.

Still, a solid showing in Oklahoma City would be another feather in David Pierce’s cap in his successful first season as head coach. More importantly, Texas could potentially improve its seed in the NCAA tournament from a three to a two.

Here is the Big 12 bracket in its entirety:

If the Longhorns win tonight, they will play the winner of TCU vs. Kansas Thursday at 7:30 pm CST. If Texas loses, the ‘Horns will play the loser of TCU/Kansas at 12:30 pm CST Thursday.

Texas took this season’s series with Oklahoma in April by winning the opening two games 5-3 and 9-3, respectively. The series’ closer, however, was a 2-1 Sooner victory.

Historically, the Longhorns’ pitching depth makes Texas a serious contender for Big 12 tournament runs.

Last season, a bad ‘Horns squad was one win away from going to the championship game before falling to TCU in a semi-final elimination game. In 2015, a desperate ‘Horns unit clinched an NCAA tournament berth they otherwise wouldn’t have gotten by winning the Big 12 tournament altogether.

This year, the ‘Horns can either get eliminated early and get some needed rest before hearing their names called in the NCAA tourney, or they could make a deep run. Sounds like a win-win to me.

You can catch tonight’s game on FOX College Sports or listen in on 104.5 the Horn. This is your game thread.

Hook ‘em!