IRVING, Texas — Regular season co-champion Texas will be the top seed at the 2011 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship scheduled for May 25-29 at RedHawks Field at Bricktown in Oklahoma City. It marks the 13th time the Championship has been played at the venue.
While UT and TAMU share the regular-season conference crown, the Longhorns (40-13) concluded 2011 with a series win over the Aggies to secure the No. 1 seed in the Championship for the seventh time. Since the two teams finished with identical 19-8 records in league play, head-to-head competition determined the top seed for the Championship, which went to Texas after UT took 2-of-3 from TAMU this weekend.
The Longhorns will face eighth-seeded Missouri (24-30) at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, while defending-champion Texas A&M (38-18) earned the No. 2 seed and will face seventh-seeded Texas Tech (33-23) at 4:00 p.m.
The Sooners (40-15), the preseason pick to win the Big 12 title, garnered the No. 3 seed and will face sixth-seeded Kansas State (34-21) in the nightcap slated for 7:30 p.m. Oklahoma State (34-21) returns to the Championship field for the first time since 2009, with a No. 4 seed. The Cowboys, who finished league play just one win behind OU at 14-12, will face-off with fifth-seeded Baylor (29-24) to open play at 9 a.m.
The Championship will be played under a two-division, double-elimination format. The eight teams with the best league records (based on winning percentage) in regular season competition qualify for the event and are divided into two divisions with seeds 1, 4, 5 and 8 in division one and seeds 2, 3, 6 and 7 in division two. There will be no cross-divison play until two teams reach the Championship game.
Past postseason championship winners include Kansas (2006), Nebraska (1999-2001, ‘05), Oklahoma (1997), Oklahoma State (2004), Texas (2002, ‘03, ‘08-‘09), Texas A&M (2007, ‘10) and Texas Tech (1998).
Live action from the Championship will be video streamed free on the Big 12 Conference’s official website, Big12Sports.com, for the fifth year in a row. Audio from the webcast will also be broadcast on Sirius XM Radio, a Big 12 corporate partner.
Single-session tickets for the Championship go on sale Monday, May 23 at 9 a.m. Single-session ticket prices range from: $37 for club-level, $22 for field box, $17 for terrace reserved, $16 for field bleacher and $13 for general admission. All-session tickets are still available from: $202 for club-level, $117 for field box and $87 for terrace reserved.
The winner of the Big 12 Baseball Championship will earn the league’s automatic bid to the 2011 NCAA Tournament. The NCAA Baseball Tournament Selection Show will be shown live on ESPN, Monday, May 30 at 11:30 a.m CT.
2011 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship Schedule
WEDNESDAY, MAY 25
Game 1: No. 4 Oklahoma State vs. No. 5 Baylor 9:00 a.m.
Game 2: No. 1 Texas vs. No. 8 Missouri 12:30 p.m.
Game 3: No. 2 Texas A&M vs. No. 7 Texas Tech 4:00 p.m.
Game 4: No. 3 Oklahoma vs. No. 6 Kansas State 7:30 p.m.
THURSDAY, MAY 26
Game 5: Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser 9:00 a.m.
Game 6: Game 3 Loser vs. Game 4 Loser 12:30 p.m.
Game 7: Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner 4:00 p.m.
Game 8: Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner 7:30 p.m.
FRIDAY, MAY 27
Game 9: Game 7 Loser vs. Game 5 Winner 3:15 p.m.
Game 10: Game 8 Loser vs. Game 6 Winner 7:30 p.m.
SATURDAY, MAY 28
Game 11: Game 7 Winner vs. Game 9 Winner 9:00 a.m.
Game 12: Game 8 Winner vs. Game 10 Winner 12:30 p.m.
Game 13: If necessary* 4:00 p.m.
Game 14: If necessary** 7:30 p.m.***
SUNDAY, MAY 29
Game 15: Championship Game {FSN} 1:00 p.m.