Baylor
Kansas State
Baseball Trips in Series Finale at K-State 4-2
5/2/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 2, 2004
MANHATTAN, Kan. - Nick Ponomarenko's RBI single in the bottom of the fifth completed a two-run Kansas State rally as the Wildcats erased a 2-0 Baylor lead to salvage the final game of the series with a 4-2 victory Sunday at Tointon Family Stadium.
The loss snapped a six-game winning streak for Baylor (22-23, 10-9), while Kansas State (23-22, 3-15) ended a 13-game losing streak in conference play.
Drew Sutton led off the game with a Texas Leaguer single to shallow right. Griffin followed with a towering home run to right field, his eighth round-tripper of the season. However, that was all the Bears got off Kansas State starter Jim Ripley (4-5), who went the distance scattering six more hits with two walks and a career-best 13 strikeouts.
Kansas State sliced the Bears' lead in half with a run on two hits in the bottom of the fourth. Josh Dent led off with an infield single to the hole at short, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and then scored on a Brian Patty single to center.
Josh Heinrich led off the fifth with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. After a walk by Terry Blunt, Ryan Saltzgaber laced a double down the line in right to score Heinrich. Two batters later, Nick Ponomarenko singled home Saltzgaber with the game-winning run.
Baylor starter Andy Pape (2-2) pitched well but took the loss, allowing three runs on seven hits and a walk with two strikeouts in 4.2 innings.
Sutton and Reid Brees tallied two hits each as the Bears were held under nine hits for just the second time in their last 18 games.
Baylor returns to action Tuesday, hosting Dallas Baptist for a 7 p.m. CDT contest at Baylor Ballpark. This is the Bears' final game before a week-long break for finals.
