Baseball Loses Tough Game at Texas, 9-5

Friday, April 6

Austin, Texas

6:30 PM

Baylor

14-14, 3-7

Texas

20-12, 7-3

Baylor

Texas

Baseball Loses Tough Game at Texas, 9-5

4/6/2018 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

April 6, 2018

Final Stats

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation

AUSTIN, Texas - With the bases loaded and a chance to break the game open, Baylor junior T.J. Raguse ripped a shot up the middle that looked like it would get through to score two runs and extend the Bears' 4-0 lead on the Texas Longhorns.

Instead, shortstop David Hamilton tracked down the high-chopper behind the second-base bag and flipped it to second baseman Kody Clemens to start an inning-ending double play.

Buoyed by that defensive play, the Longhorns (20-12, 7-3) scored six unanswered runs and outscored the Bears, 9-1, the rest of the way to win Friday's series opener at UFCU Disch-Falk Field, 9-5.

"We let one situation get away from us when we had the bases loaded and weren't able to score a run," said Baylor coach Steve Rodriguez, whose team fell to 14-14 overall and 3-7 in the Big 12, "because we had a chance to bury them a little bit more and we just didn't get the opportunity."

Hayden Kettler (3-3) had a near-perfect first two innings, working around a one-out walk in the first. But, after that rally-killing double play in the top of the third, the Longhorns got on the board with an infield single by Duke Ellis and a two-run homer by 9-hole hitter DJ Petrinsky that just barely cleared the wall in left field.

"The home run that guy hit in the third inning, I wasn't positive that ball was getting out," Kettler said. "I was upset that that ball made its way out, but I was able to bounce back and get the next three guys out on three pitches."

With a one-out walk by Hamilton erased on a laser-throw to second base by catcher Shea Langeliers for a caught stealing, the Bears still lead 4-2 through the first four frames.

But, that changed in a hurry when Jake McKenzie reached on a throwing error by freshman shortstop Nick Loftin to lead off the fifth. When Ellis followed with a perfectly placed bunt single, that opened the door for Texas to plate four runs on three hits, the big blow coming on Tate Shaw's two-run double to center that tied it at 4-4.

"That's the one I wish I could have back," said Kettler who gave up six runs (three earned) on five hits and three walks with two strikeouts in 4.2 innings. "Other than that, I didn't think I did anything I really regret. I think the pitches I made were good, they just made some good hits."

Baylor got the bats going early, tattooing UT starter Nolan Kingham for four runs (two earned) on seven hits and a walk in two-plus innings of work.

Richard Cunningham had a career night with his first four-hit game, going 4-for-5 with two home runs and three RBI and coming up a triple shy of the cycle. He got the scoring started with a two-run blast over the right-field wall in the first inning following a leadoff single by Loftin.

"It was just one of those nights where you feel so good in the box that regardless of what's coming, you know you can get the barrel to it," Cunningham said. "Just grateful to lift a couple and grateful that they stayed fair, good Lord. But, it felt really good."

The Bears tacked on two more in the second inning on singles by Davion Downey (3-for-5) and Loftin and an RBI groundout to short by Raguse. They could have added more after Langeliers walked to load the bases, but cleanup hitter Andy Thomas grounded out to third.

"I was really happy that our guys got one of the best pitchers in the conference out in the third inning," Rodriguez said. "I was really happy to see guys going up there being aggressive and taking really good swings on balls, being able to find some holes and get some hits. And I was really happy for Richie Cunningham, who has been dealing with a bunch of issues and had a monster day for us offensively."

Baylor got the first three runners on base in the top of the third on a leadoff single by Davis Wendzel, a double just inside the first-base bag by Downey and a four-pitch walk to Cole Haring off reliever Matt Whelan.

Jake Bissonette hit one up the middle that Whelan snagged, turning to throw to second base for a potential double play. But, he wheeled and threw home to get Wendzel out at the plate, then induced the double-play grounder by Raguse to get out of the inning unscathed.

"(Raguse) crushed that ball, and that's unfortunate," Cunningham said. "David (Hamilton) made a great play, and so did Kody (Clemens). That's baseball. They took advantage of our mistakes, and we didn't take advantage of the moment the game gave us. But, that's baseball. We'll be back tomorrow."

Cunningham added a solo homer in the sixth, but that was the only run the UT bullpen allowed in seven innings of work.

Texas put the game away in the eighth, scoring three runs on five hits off relievers Troy Montemayor and Ryan Lekich.

The Bears will try to even up the series in Saturday's 4 p.m. game, with sophomore lefty Cody Bradford (3-2, 2.95) expected to go against UT right-hander Chase Shugart (2-2, 5.72).

"It was really good to see that competitive nature," Cunningham said. "You come to Austin, and that's what you want to bring is your best. And I thought we did. We'll be back tomorrow, and we'll take better advantage of the way we swung it tonight."

THE RUNDOWN
AUSTIN -- Baylor baseball fell 9-5 in a tough series opener vs. Texas on Friday night at Disch-Falk Field. The Bears (14-14, 3-7) jumped out to a 4-0 lead but the Longhorns (20-12, 7-3) overcame it.

BU jumped all over UT starter Nolan Kingham to begin the game. After a Nick Loftin leadoff single, Richard Cunningham hit a two-run home run in the first. Then in the second, Davion Downey led off with a single, Cole Haring reached on a sacrifice bunt error that moved both runners up an extra base. T.J. Raguse grounded out to short to bring home Downey. Loftin followed with an RBI single to give the Bears the 4-0 edge.

However, after Loftin's single, Cunningham singled and Shea Langeliers walked to loaded the bases but no runs came of it. The Bears did the same with no outs in the third, too.

Both bases loaded missed chances ended up being costly and changed the momentum. Texas fought back with a two-run homer in the third, and took control in the fifth with four runs on three hits, an error and sacrifice fly.

Baylor got a run back in the sixth on another Cunningham homer, but it was the last run the Bears were able to score. UT then put the game away in the eighth with three runs on five hits and an error.

UT reliever Joe Parker Robinson (2-0) earned the win, giving up a run on two hits in two innings. Bryce Elder picked up his first save with two scoreless innings. BU starter Hayden Kettler took the loss, allowing six runs (three earned) on five hits and three walks with two strikeouts in 4.2 innings.

NOTES
*Baylor is 4-4 against Texas with two series wins in as many tries under third-year head coach Steve Rodriguez.

*Baylor is 3-3 in three-game series this season (0-2 on road, 3-1 at home) and has a combined record of 8-9.

*Baylor has hit 106 home runs in 138 games under Rodriguez. BU hit 51 in 2017 for its most homers since 2010 (57). BU has 21 in 2018.

*Baylor has 30 multi-home run games under Rodriguez (nine 2016, 14 in 2017, seven in 2018).

*Baylor is 2-6 on the road overall and 0-4 in Big 12 play this season.

*Richard Cunningham hit his second and third home runs of the season for his first multi-homer game of his career. His 12th and 13th career homers were part of a career-high four-hit day as he now has seven multi-hit and three multi-RBI (3) games this season.

*Davis Wendzel has reached base in 17 straight games as he posted his team-high-tying eighth multi-hit game of the season (2).

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

*Andy Thomas has a three-game on-base streak.

*Davion Downey has reached base in three straight games as he had a career-high three hits for his sixth multi-hit game.

*Nick Loftin had two hits for his sixth multi-hit game.

*Joe Heineman extended his career-long scoreless appearance streak to six with 1.1 innings of work.

STAT OF THE GAME
5 -- The amount of consecutive innings in which Baylor's leadoff hit reached base safely to being the game.

QUOTE OF THE GAME
"I was really happy with how our guys attacked offensively and got one of the best pitchers in the league out of the game early. It was nice to see guys going up there being aggressive. I was really happy with Richard Cunningham's monster day, especially with some of the stuff he's been through this season. We had one situation that got away from us and we didn't score. We made some mistakes and Texas was able to capitalize on them and this was a learning experience for a lot of our guys." -- Baylor Head Coach Steve Rodriguez

WHAT'S NEXT
The Bears continue their series at Texas on Saturday at 4 p.m. CT and Sunday at 1:30 p.m. 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-