Baseball Sweeps Series at Kansas State

Sunday, April 29

Manhattan, Kan.

1:00 PM

Baylor

26-17, 9-9

Kansas State

18-26, 3-15

Baylor

Kansas State

Baseball Sweeps Series at Kansas State

4/29/2018 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

April 29, 2018

Final Stats

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation

Nine days ago, Baylor baseball was just fighting to stay out of the Big 12 cellar and trying to keep its head above water.

Now, after completing their second straight series sweep with Sunday's 8-5 win over Kansas State in Manhattan, the Bears (26-17, 9-9) have moved up to fifth in the conference standings and own the nation's longest winning streak at 10 in a row.

After dominating the first two games of the series - 18-0 and 16-3 - Baylor had to work for this one.

The Wildcats (18-26, 3-15) took a 1-0 lead in the first inning, trailed by just one run after five and brought the tying run to the plate in both the eighth and ninth before Troy Montemayor closed it out for his 10th save of the year and 36th of his career, one shy of Zane Carlson's school record.

"Sweeping is hard, it's not easy by any stretch," Baylor coach Steve Rodriguez said. "I thought our guys did a pretty good job, but there were a couple moments where we had an opportunity to kind of expand the lead and we didn't take advantage of that. But, considering what we've done this weekend and what we've done these past couple weeks, I'm really proud of our guys."

Freshman Tyler Thomas had control issues in the first, walking three of the first five batters. But, it was a throwing error by second baseman Josh Bissonette that led to an unearned run, Will Brennan scoring on Drew Mount's sacrifice fly.

Baylor took advantage of Kansas State's miscues to score a pair of runs in the second. Andy Thomas led off with a double to the gap in left-center and scored on a two-base throwing error by Brennan off the bat of Shea Langeliers. The second run came across on a wild pitch after Cole Haring walked and Bissonette was hit by a pitch.

Thomas (3-for-5) had three of Baylor's nine hits and upped his batting average to .348.

"We talk about making sure you hit what's given to you," Rodriguez said. "That's one thing he does is he's not always trying to pull the ball, he's not trying to get the ball elevated. . . . He has the ability to hit to all parts of the field, and that's what makes him a great hitter. He's a great hitter in regards to just taking what he's given to hit."

K-State knocked out Thomas in the third, scoring single runs in the first three frames, but Baylor answered with a Davis Wendzel homer in the third and took the lead for good in the fourth on a Bissonette double and Levi Gilcrease's RBI single.

Alex Phillips (5-1) settled things down for the Bears, giving up just one run on two hits and one walk with two strikeouts in 3.2 innings. K-State's only other run came on a solo homer by Hanz Harker off Drew Robertson in the eighth.

Baylor added a run in the fifth and created separation with Nick Loftin's three-run homer in the sixth to go up 8-4.

"It's great to see the offense finally start to get rolling and catch some steam," Thomas said. "It takes some relief off the bullpen, takes relief off (Montemayor) and our starting pitching as well. It's fun to see when we get rolling."

The Bears had a chance to extend the lead in the seventh, loading the bases with nobody out on a leadoff single by Thomas and two walks. But, Haring struck out and Bissonette grounded into a double play.

Montemayor got the final out in the eighth after Robertson gave up a pair of two-out singles, then struck out Harker to close the game with a pair of runners in scoring position.

Joking that he would have to buy Robertson a steak dinner for giving up the homer that made it a save situation, Montemayor said the "ball unfortunately went out, but it doesn't matter. This sweep is huge, and that's all we care about."

Baylor, which has won 12 of its last 13 games, will take the week off for semester final exams before a five-game home stand with midweek games against Prairie View (May 8-9) and back to conference play for a series against 17th-ranked and league-leading Oklahoma State (27-14-1, 15-3).

"We're in a really good place right now as a team," Rodriguez said. "Now, they get a chance to recuperate. If they're sore or whatever it is, they have eight days to go ahead and start relaxing and get some recovery in. And at the same time, be ready to come back for a really hard push at the end."

THE RUNDOWN
MANHATTAN, Kan. -- Baylor baseball posted an 8-5 win over Kansas State on Sunday afternoon at Tointon Family Stadium. The Bears (26-17, 9-9) took a back and forth game over the Wildcats (18-26, 3-15) to complete a series sweep for the second straight weekend.

Down 1-0 after one inning, the Bears took advantage of some KSU miscues in the second. Andy Thomas led off with a double and scored on a two-base error off the bat of Shea Langeliers. Cole Haring continued the inning with a walk, Josh Bissonette was hit by a pitch and then a wild pitch scored another run.

K-State responded with a run in the second to tie the game. But again, BU jumped in front with a solo home run by Davis Wendzel in the third.

The Wildcats came back to tie the game a second time in the third with another run. However, Baylor took over from there. In the fourth, a Bissonette double and Levi Gilcrease RBI single put BU in front once again. In the fifth, Wendzel led off with a walk, moved over on a wild pitch, stole third and scored on a groundout by Langeliers.

After absorbing a KSU run in the fifth, Nick Loftin launched a three-run homer in the sixth to give the Bears an 8-4 lead.

KSU hit a solo homer in the eighth but couldn't muster anything else.

BU reliever Alex Phillips (5-1) earned the win, giving up a run on two hits and a walk with two strikeouts in 3.2 innings. Troy Montemayor earned his 10th save of the season with a scoreless 1.1 frames. KSU starter Will Brennan (2-1) took the loss, allowing five runs (three earned) on five hits and two walks with four strikeouts in five innings.

NOTES
*Baylor has swept back-to-back Big 12 series for the first time since 2012 (April 13-15 at Kansas State and April 20-22 vs. Texas A&M). It is also the last time the Bears won six straight games in Big 12 play.

*Baylor's 10-game winning streak matches its longest run in 2017 (Feb. 17-March 3) and gives BU 10-game winning streaks in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1998 (14) and 1999 (14). The Bears' longest winning streak in program history was a 24-game run in 2012 (March 16-April 22).

*Baylor has won 12 of its last 13 games.

*Baylor is 6-4 in three-game series this season (2-3 on road, 4-1 at home) and has a combined record of 16-12.

*Baylor has scored 53 runs in its last 28 innings.

*Baylor has hit 124 home runs in 153 games under third-year head coach Steve Rodriguez. BU hit 51 in 2017 for its most homers since 2010 (57). BU has 39 in 2018.

*Baylor has 34 multi-home run games under Rodriguez (nine 2016, 14 in 2017, 11 in 2018).

*Troy Montemayor has 36 career saves (10 this season). He is within two of topping Baylor's all-time career saves leader Zane Carlson (37, 2000-04). He converted his first eight career save attempts in 2016, and after blowing his ninth try, converted 12 straight before blowing his 22nd attempt. He has converted 27 of his last 28 save tries and 16 straight. He is 36-for-38 in career save chances. He is now the only player in program history to have three 10-save seasons.

*Davis Wendzel has reached base in a career-high 32 straight games, marking Baylor's longest since a 35-game streak in 2013 by Lawton Langford. He also has a 12-game hitting streak. He notched his team-high 15th multi-hit game (2). He also hit his seventh home run of the season and 15th of his career. He now has a career-high 34 RBI on the season.

*Andy Thomas has a 14-game on-base streak and five-game hitting streak. He totaled his 14th multi-hit game (3, tied career high).

*Freshman Nick Loftin has reached base in 13 straight games and has a five-game hitting streak. He had his seventh multi-RBI game (3) and his fifth home run of the season.

*Freshman Davion Downey has reached base in nine straight games.

*Shea Langeliers has reached base in eight straight games.

*Josh Bissonette has a three-game hitting streak.

*Levi Gilcrease has a three-game hitting streak as he posted his second multi-hit game (2).

*Drew Robertson's career-high streak of 11 straight scoreless relief appearances ended.

*Alex Phillips record his career-high fifth win on the mound.

STAT OF THE GAME
42 -- The amount of runs Baylor scored in the series.

QUOTE OF THE GAME
"First of all, sweeping is hard, especially on days like today when the wind is a factor and being on the road. I'm really proud of these guys. Now is a critical time for us because it goes both ways. We are in a really good place as a team right now and now we have to go through quite a few days without playing and lifting. We, as coaches, have to do the best we can do to keep them active. But they get a chance to rest and focus on school work." -- Baylor Head Coach Steve Rodriguez

WHAT'S NEXT
The Bears have a week of for final exams before facing Prairie View A&M on May 8 at 6:35 p.m. CT at Baylor Ballpark. For tickets to home games, visit: http://www.baylorbears.com/tickets/. For updates on the program follow @baylorbaseball on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat.

-BU-