Final Stats

OSU took command of the game early with a pair of second-inning runs on three walks and a two-run single by J.R. Davis.

BU countered with a run in the third, but it was the last run the Bears were able to grab. Richard Cunningham led off with an HBP, moved to second on an out and third on a wild pitch, then scored on an infield single by Kameron Esthay.

The Cowboys added an insurance run in the fifth as Donnie Walton single home a leadoff double for a 3-1 edge. The Bears had chances late in the game but were unable to get the clutch hit.

OSU starter Jensen Elliott (4-2) earned the win, allowing one run on two hits and one walk with one strikeout in seven innings. Tyler Buffett picked up the save, giving up just a hit in 1.1 innings with one strikeout. BU starter Kyle Hill (1-2) took the loss, surrendering three runs on five hits and four walks with two strikeouts in four innings.

NOTES
*Baylor is 398-179 all-time at Baylor Ballpark and 13-13 under Steve Rodriguez.

*Baylor is 1-3 on its current five-game home stand.

*Baylor trails the all-time series vs. Oklahoma State 44-38 but leads 20-16 in Waco and has gone 10-6-4 in 19 all-time series vs. OSU in Big 12 play -- the Bears are 0-3 in the series under Steve Rodriguez.

*Steven McLean has a career-high 22-game on-base streak but his career-high 15-game hitting streak ended (both streaks are the longest of any Baylor player this year).

*Matt Menard's career-high 13-game on-base 10-game hitting streaks ended.

*Aaron Dodson's career-high six-game hitting streak ended.

*Josh Bissonette has a five-game on-base streak.

*T.J. Raguse has a four-game hitting streak.

*Nick Lewis tossed a season-high 3.1 innings in relief.

*Troy Montemayor has a career-high seven straight scoreless relief appearances.

STAT OF THE GAME
3 -- The amount of hits Baylor had and the amount of runs Oklahoma State scored in the game.

QUOTE OF THE GAME
"Nick [Lewis] did an unbelievable job. I went out there and I told him, `I don't want to leave you out here to wait for something bad to happen. You've done an unbelievable job. You kept us in the game, and I want to bring a fresh arm in.' He got us out of a bases-loaded situation with nobody out, and came in and did an unbelievable job. You could see that mechanically he was working on some things, and it was really a joy to see, because he got to reap the benefits of it with the way he pitched." -- Baylor head coach Steve Rodriguez

WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor finishes its five-game home stand with a 6:35 p.m. CT game against Sam Houston State on Tuesday.

Hitting in clutch situations has been the biggest bugaboo for a Baylor baseball team that ranks in the middle of the pack in the Big 12 with a .274 batting average.

That was true again in Saturday's doubleheader sweep by Oklahoma State (22-13, 7-5) at Baylor Ballpark, with the Bears (17-19, 4-8) going just 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position in a 10-7 loss in the opener and managing just three hits total in dropping the series finale, 3-1.

After losing five of their last six conference games, including two in extra innings, the Bears dropped to a tie for sixth in the Big 12 standings with Oklahoma and just one game ahead of last-place Kansas State (16-20, 3-9). Baylor travels to Manhattan, Kan., next weekend for a three-game series with the Wildcats.

"(The losses) are tough," said junior pitcher Nick Lewis. "We bounced back last week. We lost two tough ones last weekend and bounced back (with a 6-3 win over Lamar). We've just got to come out Monday, get ready for practice and work on some things we need to work on. Get ready to go Tuesday (against Sam Houston State), and hopefully that carries into next week against K-State."

OSU, last in the Big 12 with a .243 batting average, came out swinging in Saturday's opener. After leadoff singles by J.R. Davis and Corey Hassel, Baylor starter Drew Tolson (4-2) walked Donnie Walton and gave up a two-run single to Garrett Benge.

Four batters into the game, it was already 2-0.

To his credit, Tolson settled in to retire the next 12 batters in a row and took a 3-2 lead into the sixth. But then things unraveled. Four hits, a walk and two wild pitches did him in, with the Cowboys striking for six runs in the sixth.

Colin Simpson added a two-run homer off reliever Theron Kay in the seventh, extending the lead to 10-3. The Bears did rally in the ninth, with Kameron Esthay driving in one run with a fielder's choice grounder and Darryn Sheppard following that up with a three-run bomb to left-center, his team-high sixth homer of the year.

But it wasn't enough.

"We didn't execute," Baylor coach Steve Rodriguez said. "They got the big hits when they needed it, and we didn't do it."

The Cowboys came charging out of the gates again in the second game, opening up a 2-0 lead in the top of the second. After freshman starter Kyle Hill (1-2) walked the bases loaded, Davis delivered a two-out, two-run single to left.

Baylor answered with a run in the third, when Richard Cunningham was hit by a pitch, moved up to second on a groundout, over to third on a wild pitch and scored on Esthay's infield single.

A pivotal moment came in the fifth. Hill gave up another run and loaded the bases with nobody out before Lewis was summoned from the pen.

Replaced in the weekend rotation by Hill three weeks ago, Lewis masterfully worked out of the inherited jam by getting Simpson to pop up, Dustin Williams swinging and Ryan Sluder on a fielder's choice grounder to third. In fact, he retired nine batters in a row before hitting Simpson with a pitch leading off the eighth.

"Nick did an unbelievable job," Rodriguez said. "I went out there and told him, `I don't want to leave you out here to wait for something bad to happen. You've done an unbelievable job. You kept us in the game, and I want to bring in a fresh arm.' He came in and did an unbelievable job. You could see that mechanically he was working on some things, and it was really a joy to see, because he got to reap the benefits of it by the way he pitched."

Lewis kept them in it, but the Bears could never break through against freshman starter Jensen Elliott (4-2) or relievers Remey Reed and Tyler Buffett.

Baylor had a chance in the eighth with a pair of walks and a hit batter. But Steven McLean was picked off first after a one-out walk, and then Dodson grounded out to pitcher to end the threat.

"All three of their guys - first of all, they're high-velocity guys, they're going to be 92 to 94 (mph)," Rodriguez said, "and their ball is sinking, so there's going to be a lot of ground balls. The biggest thing is their second baseman (Davis) made about four plays that really saved them. There were some big plays in there that really stopped us from getting guys on base and starting to do something offensively. . . . You just tip your hat and move on."

The Bears move on to host Sam Houston State (21-16) at 6:35 p.m. Tuesday before traveling to Manhattan to face K-State for a three-game series.