Final Stats

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation

There will come a time when Baylor freshman left-hander Tyler Thomas will "trust his stuff in regard to how good he is."

Sunday wasn't that day.

Unable to hold an early lead, Thomas (0-1) gave up four runs on just two hits, five walks and a hit batter in three-plus innings as Baylor baseball couldn't complete a series sweep of eighth-ranked Texas Tech, losing Sunday's series finale, 11-4, at Baylor Ballpark.

"He has a low-90s fastball, a drop-off-the-table breaking ball and a really good changeup," said Baylor coach Steve Rodriguez, whose team fell to 10-7 overall and 2-1 in the Big 12. "When those three pitches, or at least two of them are on, he's really good. We have enough confidence in him to throw him out there against Texas Tech on a Sunday. I don't know if he understands the value of that, and that we think that much of his stuff."

Silenced the first two days, Tech's bats came alive on Sunday as the Red Raiders (17-5, 1-2) collected 13 hits and also took advantage of eight free passes off Baylor pitchers, who walked six and hit two others.

"Today, we just gave them too many free passes and allowed that offense to get going," Rodriguez said. "They're a big momentum team, and once they start feeling good about themselves, like most offenses, they start swinging a little freer. Giving them eight extra bases is tough, but we have to find a way to overcome it and press on."

Held to two runs over the first two games, Tech matched that total with two in the first off Thomas. After two of the first four batters walked, Grant Little drilled a double to the gap in right-center to give the Red Raiders the early 2-0 lead.

Baylor answered with a two-run homer by Shea Langeliers in the bottom of the first and then went up 3-2 in the second on Josh Bissonette's second home run of the season.

"We did a lot of good things today, but we also did some bad things," said sophomore first baseman Andy Thomas, who went 3-for-3 to raise his batting average to .421. "I thought we hit the baseball well. I think we had nine hits and four runs. Sunday, that may get you wins, sometimes. Pitching just needs to step it up on Sunday, that's all. We get it."

Back-to-back walks leading off the third led to the Red Raiders tying it up on a Josh Jung RBI single through the left side. Thomas retired the next three batters to get out of the inning before walking the leadoff batter in the fourth.

Luke Boyd gave up an RBI single to Gabe Holt and a two-run double by Michael Davis before Zayne Willems greeted reliever Ryan Keckich with a two-run blast that made it 8-3.

The Bears answered with an RBI single by Tucker Cascadden in the bottom of the fourth, but managed just three hits the rest of the way off relievers Ty Harpeneau, Caleb Freeman and Kurt Wilson.

"I think the big thing for our guys is to realize that we have what it takes," Rodriguez said. "I told them, if we play defense, we pitch and we execute offensively, I really like our team. We'll go up against anybody in the country. But, when we're walking guys and stuff like that, it makes it difficult."

After a 5-2 home stand, the Bears play Dallas Baptist (11-7) at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in Dallas before returning home to host Kansas (12-7, 0-3) in a three-game series next weekend.

Down 2-0 in the first, BU answered with a two-run home run by Shea Langeliers and then took a 3-2 lead after second-inning solo shot by Josh Bissonette. However, TTU tied the game in the fifth on two walks and a single, and broke it open in the fourth with five runs.

Baylor grabbed a run back in the fourth on a Tucker Cascadden RBI single, but the Red Raiders scored two in the fifth and another in the eighth to put the game away.

TTU reliever Ty Harpenau (2-1) earned the win, giving up a run on five hits in four innings. BU starter Tyler Thomas (0-1) took the loss, allowing four runs on two hits and five walks with three strikeouts in three-plus innings.

NOTES
*Baylor is 7-9 under third-year head coach Steve Rodriguez and 95-156 all-time against Baseball America top 10 opponents. Prior to this series, BU's last win against a top 10 team was April 22, 2017 at No. 7 TCU (16-5) and last series win was vs. No. 10 TCU (May 13-15, 2016).

*Baylor went 5-2 on its season-long, seven-game home stand.

*Baylor has won seven of its last nine games.

*Baylor has finished its home schedule with a .500 record or better (7-3 in 2018) in all 19 seasons at Baylor Ballpark (since 1999) and is 423-196 all-time at the park.

*Baylor is 15-23 against ranked opponents under Rodriguez (3-5, in 2018, 7-10 in 2017, 5-8 in 2016) and is 4-6 in three-game series against ranked foes. Prior to this series, BU's last win over a ranked opponent was Feb. 24 at No. 11 UCLA (8-6) and last series win over a ranked opponent was vs. No. 23 Houston on March 10-12, 2017.

*Baylor is 13-18 under Rodriguez against Baseball America ranked opponents (3-4 in 2018, 7-9 in 2017, 3-4 in 2016) and is 3-5 in three-game series against ranked foes. Prior to this series, BU's last win over a Baseball America ranked opponent was Feb. 24 at No. 11 UCLA (8-6) and last series win over a Baseball America ranked opponent was vs. No. 23 Houston on March 10-12, 2017.

*Baylor is 207-306-1 all-time against Baseball America ranked opponents and 175-259-1 in regular season play.

*Baylor has 26 multi-home run games under Rodriguez (nine in 2016, 14 in 2017, three in 2018).

*Baylor has hit 95 home runs in 127 games under Rodriguez. BU hit 51 in 2017 for its most homers since 2010 (57). BU has 10 in 2018.

*Davis Wendzel has reached base in six straight games and has a four-game hitting streak.

*Shea Langeliers has reached base in four straight games and has a three-game hitting streak as he registered his team-high sixth multi-RBI game of the season (2). He hit his third home run of the season and 13th of his career.

*Andy Thomas tied a career high with three hits for the second straight game for his team-high sixth multi-hit game of the season.

*Cole Haring has a four-game on-base streak.

*Josh Bissonette hit his second home run of the season and fifth of his career.

*Richard Cunningham registered his fourth multi-hit game of the season (2).

STAT OF THE GAME
7 -- The amount of hit batsmen in the series by both teams.

QUOTE OF THE GAME
"I think the biggest thing for our guys after this series is to realize we have what it takes, they know they do. I told them if we play defense, we pitch, and we execute offensively I really like our team. You know can go up against anybody in the country." -- Baylor Head Coach Steve Rodriguez

WHAT'S NEXT
The Bears face Dallas Baptist on the road Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. CT. For tickets to home games, visit: http://www.baylorbears.com/tickets/. For updates on the program follow @baylorbaseball on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat.