No. 2 Baseball Sees Run in OKC End with 5-2 Loss to No. 6 TCU

Friday, May 24

9:00 a.m.

Baylor

34-17

TCU

31-25

TCU

Baylor

No. 2 Baseball Sees Run in OKC End with 5-2 Loss to No. 6 TCU

5/25/2019 11:54:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score Baylor 2, TCU 5

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – There was no ninth-inning magic this time.
            A year ago, Baylor baseball rallied to tie it in the ninth and beat TCU, 6-5, in 11 innings to win the program's first-ever Big 12 Championship title.
            Already trailing 5-2 through seven innings when the game was suspended Friday night because of lightning and heavy rain, the Bears couldn't muster enough offense in the last two innings and fell to TCU by that same score Saturday morning in an elimination game at Bricktown Ballpark.
            "I'm proud of our guys. They came out with a lot of energy," said pitching coach Jon Strauss, who filled in for Saturday's resumption of play so head coach Steve Rodriguez could make it back to Waco to watch his son, Nolan, graduate from Midway High School. "It just didn't go our way. Hat's off to them. (Brandon) Williamson was great. They executed, we didn't. Bottom line. But, we're also excited to go home and look forward to the next chapter."
            At 25^th in the latest RPI rankings, Baylor (34-17) is a lock to make its third consecutive NCAA regional appearance.
            "It's baseball, you fail a lot, so we're used to it," said junior third baseman Davis Wendzel, who was 2-for-4 against TCU. "(We are) 100 percent confident. All we've got to do is win one game at a time. We know with the bats we have and the arms we have, we can beat anyone."
            Williamson (4-5), who gave up six runs (three earned) in a 12-1 loss to Baylor four weeks ago in Fort Worth, looked like a completely different pitcher in Friday night's portion of the game. Going the seven innings before the delay, he gave up just two runs on seven hits with one walk and nine strikeouts.
            "He spotted his fastball, changed speeds, a great outing. He's good," Strauss said. "You're going to see him go the first day of the draft. That's what this conference is. A team like TCU, you're facing (Nick) Lodolo, (Charles) King and Williamson. All those guys may pitch in the big leagues. . . . We didn't swing the bat as well as we can, but look at what we're facing."
            Scoreless through two innings, the Horned Frogs (31-25) got on the board when Adam Oviedo led off the third with a single off Josh Ashkinos (2-4) and scored on Hunter Wolfe's triple down the left-field line that eluded a diving Cole Haring.
            RBI singles by Josh Watson and Austin Henry pushed the TCU lead to 3-0 before Haring doubled up Henry at first after catching a sharp liner from Conner Shepherd in right.
            Baylor answered with a run in the bottom half of the third, when Nick Loftin tripled and scored on a Shea Langeliers' sacrifice fly to center. That was sandwiched around a pair of strikeouts by Williamson, with the Bears going 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and just 1-for-13 with runners on base.
            "The best thing is we've got an old group of guys, and they know how to win," Strauss said. "So, I don't think this will be a problem. If we had a young group, we might be worried about their psyche. But, these guys can flush it."
            TCU added a run in the fourth on a triple and wild pitch, then made it 5-1 in the seventh when Luke Boyd paid for a two-out walk and wild pitch with another RBI single by Watson.
            "It's hurt us all year," Strauss said of the walks. "That's kind of where we've gone wrong. We've pitched well, but the times where we've struggled is when we've walked guys. You're just kind of going through growing pains here and there. But, they know the name of the game – throw strikes."
            Just before the delay, Josh Bissonette smashed his third home run of the season, a no-doubter blast to left field that made it a 5-2 game.
            "Felt good. Kind of wish it had happened a little earlier to set the tone and kind of carry the momentum," said Bissonette, who had a two-hit day along with Wendzel and Richard Cunningham. "Just glad that I was able to contribute."
            Returning to the field right at 12 hours later, Baylor relievers Daniel Caruso and Kyle Hill retired six TCU batters in a row to give the Bears a chance. But, they weren't able to capitalize on singles by Wendzel in the eighth and Bissonette in the ninth.
            "I thought we put some good swings on the ball," Bissonette said, "but baseball is crazy, sometimes. It just doesn't work out. Like Davis said, you've got to put it behind you and just keep moving forward to next week."
            The 16 host sites for the NCAA Tournament will be announced at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, with the field of released at 11 a.m. Monday on ESPNU.

THE RUNDOWN
OKLAHOMA CITY – The No. 2-seeded Bears were eliminated from the 2019 Big 12 Championship with a 5-2 loss to No. 6 TCU in a suspended game that was completed on Saturday morning at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark.

The Bears' pitching staff of Jacob Ashkinos, Logan Freeman, Ryan Leckich, Luke Boyd, Daniel Caruso and Kyle Hill only allowed one walk on the day and struck out 10, but the Horned Frogs (31-25) got some big, timely hits, putting up three in the third as the Bears (34-17) struggled to get going against TCU's Brandon Williamson.

The Bears were led by Richard Cunningham, Davis Wendzel and Josh Bissonette, who each had two hits on the day. Cunningham is in the midst of a 23-game hitting streak, tied for the third-longest in college baseball this season, while Bissonette launched his third home run of the year.

The Horned Frogs got on the board with three runs on four hits in the third inning to take a 3-0 lead. The Bears answered right back with one of their own, as Nick Loftin led off the inning with a triple and Shea Langeliers delivered a one-out sac fly to make it 3-1.

The Horned Frogs added one more in the fourth and one in the seventh to push their lead to 5-1.

Bissonette connected on his third home run of the year, a solo shot to left field to cut the Horned Frogs' lead to three.

With the top of the eighth inning about to begin at 9:21 p.m., the game entered a weather delay. It was later decided that due to unplayable field conditions that the game would be suspended until Saturday morning.

The game resumed at 9 a.m. on Saturday in the top of the eighth inning and reliever Caruso made quick work of the Horned Frogs, setting them down in order with two strikeouts.

The Bears had a base runner in the bottom half of the eighth as they looked to cut into the lead, but were unable to get anything going.

Closer Hill entered to set the Horned Frogs down in order in the ninth, keeping the Bears within three as they entered the last frame, but the offense was unable to get anything going.

Baylor starter Ashkinos took the loss to fall to 2-4 on the year, while TCU starter Williamson, who kept the Bears off-balance for 7.0 innings earned the win, improving to 4-5.

The Bears will now wait to find out where they are heading for NCAA Regionals. The selection show is set for 11 a.m. CT on Monday, 27 and we be televised live on ESPNU.

NOTES
*Baylor is 49-49 all-time at conference championships, 37-39 in the Big 12. BU owns a 33-33 mark in Oklahoma City.
*Baylor is 2-4 vs. TCU in the Big 12 Championship and went 4-1 this season against TCU.
*Baylor and Oklahoma are the only two teams to qualify for all 23 Big 12 Championships.
*Richard Cunningham extended his hit streak to 23 games, a career high.

*Starter Jacob Ashkinos made his 19^thappearance of the year, sixth start, allowing three runs on six hits in 3.0 innings, striking out three.

*The Bears' pitching staff walked just one batter, the ninth time this year the Bears allowed just one walk. The Bears are now 7-2 in games where they walk just one batter.

*Nick Loftin has a 10-game hit streak.

*Cunningham, Wendzel and Bissonette each had two hits on the day.

*Bissonette launched his third home run of the year.

*Logan Freeman made his eighth appearance of the year out of the bullpen, tossing 1.2 innings, allowing one run on one hit with one strikeout.

*Daniel Caruso made is 24^thappearance on the year, throwing a 1-2-3 eighth inning with two strikeouts.

*Luke Boyd made his 23^rdappearance of the year, tossing 1.0 inning and allowing one run on one hit with one walk and two strikeouts.

*For the second-straight game the Bears' pitching staff had double-digit strikeouts, finishing with 10 after having 15 against Oklahoma State.

*Ryan Leckich made his team-leading 28^thappearance out of the pen, allowing one hit and striking out one.

*Closer Kyle Hill made his 22^ndappearance of the year, tossing a flawless ninth inning with one strikeout.

STAT OF THE DAY
23 – Richard Cunningham is in the midst of a 23-game hitting streak, the longest of his career, tied for the third-longest hitting streak in college baseball this season.

QUOTE OF THE DAY
On tonight's game…
"I am proud of our guys. They came out with a lot of energy. We prepared for this. We played at 9 a.m. every game last year, so we were really excited about this because we have done it. It just didn't go our way. Hats off to TCU. Williamson was great. They executed and we didn't, bottom line. We are also excited to go home, regroup and look forward to the next chapter.
- Baylor assistant coach Jon Strauss

WHAT'S NEXT
The Bears will wait to hear their name called for the 2019 NCAA Regionals. The field will be announced on Monday, May 27 at 11 a.m. CT. The selection show will be televised live on ESPNU.

For tickets to home games, visit: https://baylorbears.com/sports/2018/9/11/tickets.aspx. For updates on the program follow @baylorbaseball on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

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