Baylor
25-17, 8-9
Kansas State
18-25, 3-14
Baseball Wins Series, Tops KSU 16-3
4/28/2018 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation
€‹Prince once sang that he was "gonna party like it's Nineteen Ninety-Nine." Baylor baseball (25-17, 8-9) is hitting like it's 1999.
The Bears slugged their way to a 16-3 series-clinching victory over Kansas State (18-25, 3-14) in Saturday's game at Tointon Family Field in Manhattan, Kan. Coupled with Friday's 18-0 win in the series opener and Tuesday's 17-5 win at Texas State, Baylor has scored 15 or more runs in three straight games for the first time since April 20-23, 1999.
While Davis Wendzel led the way with five RBI, and Nick Loftin and Richard Cunningham had three hits apiece, even pinch-hitters Tucker Cascadden and Levi Gilcreased joined the hit parade as the Bears beat up three K-State pitchers for 17 hits.
"You can see even during batting practice, guys are feeling really good, really confident," said Baylor coach Steve Rodriguez, whose team won its ninth in a row and 11th in its last 12 games. "It's really good to see. And I'm happy that some of the guys who may not get an opportunity to play that much be able to come in and get some quality at-bats and do what they're supposed to do well."
Wasting no time, Baylor plated three runs in the top of the first inning off K-State starter Hudson Treu (1-1), who gave up nine runs (three earned) on nine hits and three walks in 3.2 innings. Wendzel drove in two with a double into the left-field corner and scored on Shea Langeliers' sac fly.
Wendzel said the Bears have "worked as a team to try to find a good approach that works for all of us, and we've really found our stride with it."
Baylor starter Hayden Kettler (6-3) gave up an unearned run in the bottom of the first, but the Bears broke it open with a five-run fourth inning that included RBI singles by Loftin, Andy Thomas and Davion Downey and a run-scoring double by Langeliers.
"We've always had a great lineup, top to bottom," said junior leftfielder T.J. Raguse, who's reached safely in 13 consecutive games. "You can't be hot the whole year, but we've just tried to stick with our plan and have confidence. Go up there and be aggressive and see happens. And it's been working out for us lately."
The Wildcats did cut into the lead in the bottom of the fourth on Kyle Barfield's two-RBI single, but Kettler retired the next six batters and then turned it over to the bullpen. Kyle Hill, Joe Heineman and Drew Robertson strung together four shutout innings, giving up two hits and a walk with seven strikeouts.
"They've learned really quickly that the score of the game is irrelevant," Rodriguez said of his relievers. "Just go out there and do your job and focus on strikes and make sure you're doing what you're supposed to do. That's one thing I'm very proud of them on. They've really matured in that way."
Getting to the K-State bullpen, the Bears tacked on seven insurance runs over the last two innings. Cunningham had a two-run triple and Wendzel a two-run homer in the eighth, then Cascadden, Wendzel and Thomas had RBIs in the ninth.
Baylor goes for the series sweep with Sunday's 1 p.m. game, with freshman left-hander Tyler Thomas (1-2, 2.91 ERA) scheduled to start for the Bears.
"It's huge, we have to do it tomorrow," Wendzel said. "We're going to come out ready to play and just give it our all."
THE RUNDOWN
MANHATTAN, Kan. -- Baylor baseball notched a 16-3 win over Kansas State on Saturday afternoon at Tointon Family Stadium to secure the series. The Bears (25-17, 8-9) again used a big day offensively to take down the Wildcats (18-25, 3-14).
BU began the game with three runs in the first on a Davis Wendzel two-run double and Shea Langeliers sacrifice fly.
After KSU scored a run in the bottom of the first, Baylor separated again with a third-inning sac fly by Davion Downey and Nick Loftin RBI single, Wendzel run-scoring double play, Andy Thomas RBI single, Langeliers RBI double and Downey RBI single, all in the fourth.
The Wildcats got two runs back in the fourth, however, it would be the last time they scored as the Bears kept the runs coming. In the eighth, Richard Cunningham had a two-run triple and Wendzel launched a two-run home run. In the ninth, Tucker Cascadden had an RBI single, Wendzel a fielder's choice RBI and Thomas another RBI single.
BU starter Hayden Kettler (6-3) earned the win, allowing three runs (one earned) on three hits and three walks in five innings. KSU starter Hudson Treu (1-1) took the loss, giving up nine runs (three earned) on nine hits and three walks with one strikeout in 3.2 innings.
NOTES
*Baylor has won 11 of its last 12 games and nine straight.
*Baylor is 6-4 in three-game series this season (2-3 on road, 4-1 at home) and has a combined record of 15-12.
*Baylor has scored 45 runs in its last 19 innings.
*Baylor has scored 15 or more runs in three straight games for the first time since April 20-23, 1999.
*Baylor has scored 10 or more runs in three straight games for the first time since a four-game stretch on April 14-18, 2012.
*Baylor has hit 122 home runs in 152 games under third-year head coach Steve Rodriguez. BU hit 51 in 2017 for its most homers since 2010 (57). BU has 37 in 2018.
*Hayden Kettler increased his career-high win total to six.
*Davis Wendzel has reached base in a career-high 31 straight games, marking Baylor's longest since a 35-game streak in 2013 by Lawton Langford. He also has an 11-game hitting streak. He notched his team-high 14th multi-hit game (2) and seventh multi-RBI game (5, tied career high). He also hit his sixth home run of the season and 14th of his career. He now has a career-high 33 RBI on the season.
*Andy Thomas has a 13-game on-base streak and four-game hitting streak. He totaled his fifth multi-RBI game (2).
*T.J. Raguse has a 13-game on-base streak and six-game hitting streak.
*Freshman Nick Loftin has reached base in 12 straight games and four-game hitting streak. He had his 12th multi-hit game (3).
*Richard Cunningham has an 11-game hitting streak. He registered his 12th multi-hit game (3) and eighth multi-RBI game (2).
*Freshman Davion Downey has reached base in eight straight games and has a three-game hitting streak. He had his 10th multi-hit game (2) and ninth multi-RBI game (2).
*Shea Langeliers has reached base in seven straight games and has a six-game hitting streak. He posted his team-high 10th multi-RBI game (2).
*Josh Bissonette had his ninth multi-hit game (2).
*Tucker Cascadden has reached base in four straight games and has a three-game hitting streak.
*Drew Robertson extended his career-high streak to 11 straight scoreless relief appearances.
STAT OF THE GAME
7 -- The amount of hits apiece by freshmen Nick Loftin and Davion Downey through two games in the series.
QUOTE OF THE GAME
"Everybody feels good, you can see it during batting practice. We are getting quality at-bats and executing really well. It's fun to see. Our veteran bullpen members have learned really quick to come in, throw strikes and get outs, no matter what the situation is." -- Baylor Head Coach Steve Rodriguez
WHAT'S NEXT
The Bears finish their series at Kansas State on Sunday at 1 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.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Kettler, Hayden (6-3)
L: Treu, Hudson (1-1)
Batting:
2B: Wendzel, Davis 1 ; Langeliers, Shea 1 ; Downey, Davion 1
3B: Cunningham, Richard 1
HR: Wendzel, Davis 1
RBI: Loftin, Nick 1 ; Cunningham, Richard 2 ; Cascadden, Tucker 1 ; Wendzel, Davis 5 ; Thomas, Andy 2 ; Langeliers, Shea 2 ; Downey, Davion 2
SF: Langeliers, Shea 1 ; Downey, Davion 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Loftin, Nick 4 ; Cunningham, Richard 2 ; Cascadden, Tucker 1 ; Wendzel, Davis 2 ; Thomas, Andy 2 ; Langeliers, Shea 1 ; Bissonette, Josh 1 ; Raguse, T.J. 1 ; Gilcrease, Levi 2
SB: Loftin, Nick 1
Batting:
2B: Mount, Drew 1
RBI: Thompson, Cameron 1 ; Barfield, Kyle 2
SF: Thompson, Cameron 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Brennan, Will 1 ; Mount, Drew 1 ; McMaster, Trent 1
