Final Stats

TTU grabbed a quick four-run lead in the second inning as a bases-loaded, two-out screaming line drive by Tyler Floyd snuck just by Josh Bissonette's glove at short for a three-run triple. Then a single by Stephen Smith made it a 4-0 lead.

Baylor scratched back in the third, starting with a Richard Cunningham leadoff double and Steven McLean HBP. Kameron Esthay then singled in a run and Darryn Sheppard hit a sacrifice fly. Following a single by Aaron Dodson and pitching change, T.J. Raguse had a fielder's choice RBI to cut the deficit to 4-3.

The Red Raiders countered to create all the separation they needed in the fifth. Smith led off with a solo homer and TTU cashed in a two-out triple from Tanner Gardner with a single by Eric Gutierrez.

The Bears rallied in the eighth but came up one run short, unfortunately. Joe Sabatini began the rally with a pinch-hit, one-out double. After a Levi Gilcrease sharp single and shallow fly out, Matt Menard delivered a pinch-hit, RBI single and Cunningham reached on an error by the pitcher that let another run score. With BU down just 6-5 and two runners on, TTU went to the bullpen and induced a pop out by McLean to end the Bears' last good scoring chance.

TTU reliever Hayden Howard (4-1) earned the win, allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits with three strikeouts in 5.1 innings. Robert Dugger picked up his third save with a perfect 1.1 innings of relief. BU starter Nick Lewis (0-3) was handed the loss, giving up six runs on 10 hits and one walk with three strikeouts in five innings.

NOTES
*Baylor is 391-175 all-time at Baylor Ballpark and 6-9 under Steve Rodriguez.

*Baylor went 2-6 on its season-long eight-game home stand.

*In Big 12 opening series, Baylor is 13-7 and had won three of its last four.

*In Big 12 home opening series, the Bears are 15-4 and had won three straight.

*Baylor trails the all-time series against Texas Tech 83-79 but leads 50-30 in Waco.

*Kameron Esthay has a career-high eight-game hitting streak.

*Aaron Dodson has a career-high-tying five-game on-base streak.

*Steven McLean has a five-game on-base streak and career-high-tying four-game hitting streak.

*Josh Bissonette has four-game on-base streak.

*Justin Arrington has a career-high seven-game hitting streak.

*Matt Menard has a career-high-tying four-game hitting streak.

*Richard Cunningham has a three-game on-base streak.

*Levi Gilcrease had his team-high-tying fifth multi-hit game this season.

STAT OF THE GAME
4 -- The amount of innings of scoreless relief provided by Kyle Hill (1), Kody Hessemer (2) and Troy Montemayor (1) to let Baylor rally back within a run.

QUOTE OF THE GAME
"I thought we did a good job this weekend. The problem was that we just keep digging these four-run holes or three-run holes, and then we're forced to kind of keep coming back. But I have to tip it to our offense, they did a great job competing, getting guys on base, scratching out hits, and finding a way to be one swing away from tying it up there at the end, and then possibly even taking the lead. So I was very proud of how our guys handled it, but we just have to eliminate those holes from now on." -- Baylor Head Coach Steve Rodriguez

WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor heads to Arlington, Texas, for a Tuesday midweek game against UT Arlington at 6:30 p.m. CT.

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation

Even in Sunday's 6-5 loss to Texas Tech in the rubber match of the three-game series, Baylor baseball sent a message to the rest of the league: Don't get too comfortable.

After rallying from a three-run deficit to beat the Red Raiders, 4-3, on Saturday, the Bears (8-11, 1-2) nearly pulled it off again, battling back from 4-0 and 6-3 deficits. But this time, Tech closer Robert Dugger shut the door, retiring the only four batters he faced to preserve the 6-5 victory in the series finale at Baylor Ballpark.

"The problem was, we keep digging these four-run holes, three-run holes, and we're forced to keep coming back," said Baylor coach Steve Rodriguez. "You tip it to our offense. They did a great job of competing, getting guys on base, scratching out hits, finding a way to be one swing away from tying it up there at the end and possibly taking a lead. I was very proud of how our guys handled it. We've just got to eliminate those holes from now on."

Tech (12-7, 2-1) wasted no time in digging that hole for the Bears, plating four runs off starter Nick Lewis (0-3) in the top of the second inning.

Lewis worked around a leadoff single in the first, inducing a double-play grounder, and then retired the first two batters in the second. But a two-out walk to Ryan Long opened the door for the Red Raiders' uprising, highlighted by a bases-clearing triple from 9-hole hitter Tyler Floyd.

Settling in, the junior right-hander worked through the next two innings unscathed, giving the offense time to catch up.

"He, obviously, wasn't at his best, but he continued to fight and kept us in the game for a while," Rodriguez said of Lewis. "That was one of the things that was really great - when you don't have your best stuff but you're able to continue to compete and keep your team in the game. That way, you saved your bullpen a little bit. We definitely have some stuff to work on with him, and he knows it."

As they did on Saturday, Baylor's batters didn't let the early deficit deter them. Richard Cunningham led off the third with a double to the right and came around to score on Kameron Esthay's RBI single to right.

Darryn Sheppard brought in another run with a sacrifice fly to right, and Esthay made it 4-3 when T.J. Raguse beat out a potential inning-ending double play grounder to short. Reliever Hayden Howard (4-1), who finished off the third with a comebacker to the mound, put up four straight zeroes before running into trouble in the eighth.

Tech got some insurance runs off Lewis in the fifth, when Stephen Smith led off with a homer to left and Tanner Gardner tripled to right. The Baylor bullpen worked out of some jams, with Kyle Hill and Kody Hessemer leaving the bases loaded in the sixth and seventh, respectively.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Bears made things interesting when pinch-hitter Joe Sabatini doubled just inside the third-base bag and Levi Gilcrease followed with a first-pitch single to left. Josh Bissonette's fly to right was too shallow to score Sabatini from third, but pinch-hitter Matt Menard came through with an RBI single to the gap in right-center field.

Cunningham hit a chopper to the right side that first baseman Eric Gutierrez fielded cleanly, but Howard missed the bag, allowing Gilcrease to score from third and make it a one-run game, 6-5. Coming out of the bullpen, Dugger threw three straight balls before getting Steven McLean on a foul pop-up to third on a 3-1 count.

"We definitely were ready for it, and we had a lot of energy in the dugout" said Gilcrease, who went 2-for-4 to lead Baylor's 11-hit attack. "We did well battling back. It's just frustrating not quite getting there."

Dugger, picking up his third save of the year, worked a 1-2-3 ninth, with leftfielder Cody Farhat making a diving catch on Aaron Dodson's bid for a two-out double to end the game.

"The biggest thing is putting the best guys out there who you think are going to win, and then you put them in the lineup where they're going to be best-suited to be able to contribute to the game," said Rodriguez, who shuffled the lineup this weekend, trying to find the right combination. "I think we're doing a pretty good job of that, and hopefully we'll continue to as guys get hotter."

Baylor gets a reprieve from Big 12 play this week, playing a road game at UT-Arlington Tuesday and then playing a split series with Dallas Baptist. The Bears will host Thursday's 6:35 p.m. game, then play at DBU for a 6:30 p.m. game Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday.