Thursday, April 14
Waco, Texas
6:30 PM
Baylor
16-17, 0
2
vs
3
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Kansas
14-18, 0
1
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4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Kansas
0
1
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
3
8
0
Baylor
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
2
7
0
BSB Held in Check by Kansas, 3-2
4/14/2022 10:19:00 PM | Baseball
Pineda homers, Rigney strikes out six as Bears fall in series opener
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Desperately needing a win, Baylor baseball had Kansas starter Daniel Hegarty on the ropes in Thursday's series opener at Baylor Ballpark, loading the bases twice in the first three innings and getting five hits out of the first 12 batters.
But, the senior left-hander worked out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the third with a strikeout and double play and gave up just two hits the rest of the way in a complete-game 3-2 win over the Bears.
"Tip your hat to Hegarty (4-3). He did a great job of moving the ball in and out, up and down and kind of keeping our guys off-balanced," said Baylor coach Steve Rodriguez, whose team dropped its sixth-straight in falling to 16-17 overall and 2-8 in the Big 12.
"That's why guys like Jamie Moyer find a way to have a long career, because they understand who they are and they don't try to be more than who they are. He just let the ball do the movement for him, and he had a lot of success tonight."
Baylor sophomore Will Rigney (2-1) matched his career-high, going six innings, but Kansas (14-18, 2-5) got a solo homer by Todd Lichty in the top of the second and took the lead with two runs in the fifth on singles by Jack Hammond, Caleb Upshaw and Chase Jans.
"I felt good tonight. My stuff just wasn't very sharp," said Rigney, who allowed three runs on five hits and two hit batters with six strikeouts and no walks. "Coach (Jon) Strauss called a great game, I just wasn't throwing it where he wanted it, honestly. That was kind of the tale of the night."
After a 1-2-3 inning by Rigney, the Bears took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when three of the first four batters reached base on a pair of singles and a hit batter. Chase Wehsener drove in Tre Richardson with the first run of the game on a fielder's choice grounder to third.
Initially, home-plate umpire Michael Banks called Richardson out, but he didn't see Kansas third baseman Dylan Ditzenberger step on third base before throwing home, taking away the force.
"It was absolutely weird," Rodriguez said of the play. "Bases loaded, you hit a ball to the third baseman, he steps on third, and we're thinking he's going to first base. He goes home, and the catcher doesn't realize that he's already stepped on third. Tre slid in, and he was safe, because (the catcher) didn't tag him. Even the umpire didn't see him touch third base.. . . . He goes, 'OK, we've got to review it, I didn't see it.'''
Hegarty avoided further damage by retiring designated hitter Ian Groves on a fly to right, setting the tone for Baylor's missed chances.
The Jayhawks tied it up in the top of the second, when Lichty deposited a 1-1 Rigney pitch over the high wall in center field, a homer measured at 472 feet.
Baylor threatened again in the third, loading the bases with three-straight singles by Richardson, Jack Pineda and Nevin. But, Hegarty won an eight-pitch battle to strike out Jared McKenzie, then wiggled out of it when Wehsener hit into a 6-4-3 double play.
"The biggest thing was execution," Rodriguez said. "We had guys in scoring position and bases loaded with nobody out, but got a strikeout and double play that sucked the energy from that point on. We just weren't able to get the ball in the gap when we needed to."
Still tied at 1-1 through four innings, the Jayhawks took their first lead in the fifth, when Hammond and Upshaw singled and Jans delivered a bloop RBI single to left-center field. The bottom four spots in Kansas' order had five of the Jayhawks' eight hits, while Baylor's 6 through 9 batters went a combined 0-for-14.
"I thought the top part of our order did a great job, having a plan, using the middle of the field, using the opposite side, which we did a really good job of," Rodriguez said.
"This is my feeling. We need someone to step up. We need someone to take a leadership role and start forcing guys to do their job. As a coach, I can yell and scream all I want, but sometimes it's more of an internal thing with them just kind of taking responsibility for what's going on on the field."
In the bottom of the fifth, Pineda hit his third homer of the season to cut the deficit in half, followed by a triple to center by Nevin, who went 3-for-4. But, Hegarty left the tying run stranded on third when Wehsener grounded out to first.
Over the last four innings, Hegarty faced one batter over the minimum, threw just 33 pitches and forced six-straight flyouts.
He did get some help in the eighth. After hitting Pineda with the first pitch of the inning, Hegarty got Nevin on a grounder to third that turned into a 5-4-3 double play when Kansas asked for a review and the umpires ruled that Pineda "went outside the baseline" on the slide into second.
"I actually questioned if (second baseman Tavian Josenberger) was off the base. If he was off, now we get a guy on second base," Rodriguez said. "They reviewed it, so I'm assuming they knew what they saw, so I'm going to have to go back and take a look."
After a leadoff walk by Wehsener, the Bears got the tying run to third on a sac bunt by pinch-hitter Beau Wimpee and Harrison Caley's groundout to first. Esteban Cardoza-Oquendo hit a sharp grounder up the middle, but Hegarty fielded the ball cleanly and flipped to first for the final out.
"We always seem to lose these close games," Rigney said. "We have to get in the mindset that it's win-at-all-cost now. The coaches are doing their part. I just think we need to start executing better and we need to start winning, just plain and simple."
Game 2 of the series is scheduled for 5 p.m. Friday, with the series finale at noon Saturday.
"Our guys are tough and resilient and they battle through a lot of stuff," Rodriguez said. "I'll go to war with each one of these guys. But, sometimes you need someone in the trenches who's going to force you to do some things."
THE RUNDOWN
WACO, Texas – Baylor baseball (16-17, 2-8) was held in check by Kansas (14-18, 2-5) Thursday night at Baylor Ballpark, dropping a 3-2 contest in the series opener.
The top third of the BU lineup combined for all seven of the team's hits, including a Jack Pineda home run, and Will Rigney struck out six in a career high-tying six innings of work, but KU's Daniel Hegarty was able to shut down the Bears' offense in his complete game outing.
Baylor got the scoring going in the bottom of the first as hits from Tre Richardson and Kyle Nevin, plus a Jared McKenzie hit-by-pitch loaded the bases. Chase Wehsener drove home the game's first run by reaching on a fielder's choice to give Baylor the early 1-0 lead.
However, KU answered right back in the top of the second via a solo home run that knotted the score at 1-1, then added the next two tallies in the fifth to move ahead 3-1.
Pineda's solo blast in the bottom of the fifth cut the deficit to 3-2, but that would be all on the scoreboard as Hegarty continued to escape further trouble.
Matt Voelker gave the Bears two scoreless innings of relief and picked up three strikeouts, then Adam Muirhead worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the ninth to keep the Bears within a run. BU got the tying run to third base in the bottom of the ninth, but was unable to cash in.
NOTES
• Baylor still holds a 59-23 advantage in the all-time series with Kansas, including an 11-6 mark against the Jayhawks under seventh-year head coach Steve Rodriguez.
• Baylor's pitching staff notched 10 strikeouts for the ninth time this season and second time in Big 12 play.
• With two extra-base hits on the night, BU has now recorded at least one XBH in each of its last 12 games.
• Tre Richardson extended his on-base streak to a career-high 24 games.
• Richardson collected his 10th multi-hit game of the year.
• Jared McKenzie extended his on-base streak to 20 games, also a career high.
• Jack Pineda extended his on-base streak to 16 games.
• Pineda hit his third home run of the season and tallied his team-leading 13th multi-hit effort of 2022.
• Kyle Nevin extended his on-base streaks to 13 games.
• Nevin tallied his ninth multi-hit game of the year, fourth three-hit performance of the season and second such game in a row.
• Will Rigney matched his career high with six innings pitched.
• Matt Voelker tied his season high with three strikeouts in relief.
• Adam Muirhead pitched his fifth scoreless outing of the season and second in a row.
STAT OF THE GAME
7 – Baylor's first three hitters (Tre Richardson, Jack Pineda, Kyle Nevin) combined to record all seven of the team's hits.
TOP QUOTES
Head coach Steve Rodriguez
On tonight's game…
"I thought the top part of our order did a great job, having a plan, using the middle of the field, using the opposite side which we did a really good job of. The biggest thing was the execution. We had guys in scoring position and bases loaded with nobody out, but we had a strikeout and double play that saw some energy decrease from that point on. We just weren't able to get the ball in the gap when we needed to. We need someone to step up, someone to take the leadership role. Our guys are tough, they are resilient, they battle through a lot of stuff and I will go to war with each one of these guys. But sometimes you need someone in the trenches who is going to force you to do some things."
WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor (16-17, 2-8) and Kansas (14-18, 2-5) meet again in Friday's game two of the series with first pitch set for 5 p.m. CT at Baylor Ballpark.
For the latest news on the Baylor baseball team all season long, follow its official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts: @BaylorBaseball.
-BaylorBears.com-
Baylor Bear Insider
Desperately needing a win, Baylor baseball had Kansas starter Daniel Hegarty on the ropes in Thursday's series opener at Baylor Ballpark, loading the bases twice in the first three innings and getting five hits out of the first 12 batters.
But, the senior left-hander worked out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the third with a strikeout and double play and gave up just two hits the rest of the way in a complete-game 3-2 win over the Bears.
"Tip your hat to Hegarty (4-3). He did a great job of moving the ball in and out, up and down and kind of keeping our guys off-balanced," said Baylor coach Steve Rodriguez, whose team dropped its sixth-straight in falling to 16-17 overall and 2-8 in the Big 12.
"That's why guys like Jamie Moyer find a way to have a long career, because they understand who they are and they don't try to be more than who they are. He just let the ball do the movement for him, and he had a lot of success tonight."
Baylor sophomore Will Rigney (2-1) matched his career-high, going six innings, but Kansas (14-18, 2-5) got a solo homer by Todd Lichty in the top of the second and took the lead with two runs in the fifth on singles by Jack Hammond, Caleb Upshaw and Chase Jans.
"I felt good tonight. My stuff just wasn't very sharp," said Rigney, who allowed three runs on five hits and two hit batters with six strikeouts and no walks. "Coach (Jon) Strauss called a great game, I just wasn't throwing it where he wanted it, honestly. That was kind of the tale of the night."
After a 1-2-3 inning by Rigney, the Bears took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when three of the first four batters reached base on a pair of singles and a hit batter. Chase Wehsener drove in Tre Richardson with the first run of the game on a fielder's choice grounder to third.
Initially, home-plate umpire Michael Banks called Richardson out, but he didn't see Kansas third baseman Dylan Ditzenberger step on third base before throwing home, taking away the force.
"It was absolutely weird," Rodriguez said of the play. "Bases loaded, you hit a ball to the third baseman, he steps on third, and we're thinking he's going to first base. He goes home, and the catcher doesn't realize that he's already stepped on third. Tre slid in, and he was safe, because (the catcher) didn't tag him. Even the umpire didn't see him touch third base.. . . . He goes, 'OK, we've got to review it, I didn't see it.'''
Hegarty avoided further damage by retiring designated hitter Ian Groves on a fly to right, setting the tone for Baylor's missed chances.
The Jayhawks tied it up in the top of the second, when Lichty deposited a 1-1 Rigney pitch over the high wall in center field, a homer measured at 472 feet.
Baylor threatened again in the third, loading the bases with three-straight singles by Richardson, Jack Pineda and Nevin. But, Hegarty won an eight-pitch battle to strike out Jared McKenzie, then wiggled out of it when Wehsener hit into a 6-4-3 double play.
"The biggest thing was execution," Rodriguez said. "We had guys in scoring position and bases loaded with nobody out, but got a strikeout and double play that sucked the energy from that point on. We just weren't able to get the ball in the gap when we needed to."
Still tied at 1-1 through four innings, the Jayhawks took their first lead in the fifth, when Hammond and Upshaw singled and Jans delivered a bloop RBI single to left-center field. The bottom four spots in Kansas' order had five of the Jayhawks' eight hits, while Baylor's 6 through 9 batters went a combined 0-for-14.
"I thought the top part of our order did a great job, having a plan, using the middle of the field, using the opposite side, which we did a really good job of," Rodriguez said.
"This is my feeling. We need someone to step up. We need someone to take a leadership role and start forcing guys to do their job. As a coach, I can yell and scream all I want, but sometimes it's more of an internal thing with them just kind of taking responsibility for what's going on on the field."
In the bottom of the fifth, Pineda hit his third homer of the season to cut the deficit in half, followed by a triple to center by Nevin, who went 3-for-4. But, Hegarty left the tying run stranded on third when Wehsener grounded out to first.
Over the last four innings, Hegarty faced one batter over the minimum, threw just 33 pitches and forced six-straight flyouts.
He did get some help in the eighth. After hitting Pineda with the first pitch of the inning, Hegarty got Nevin on a grounder to third that turned into a 5-4-3 double play when Kansas asked for a review and the umpires ruled that Pineda "went outside the baseline" on the slide into second.
"I actually questioned if (second baseman Tavian Josenberger) was off the base. If he was off, now we get a guy on second base," Rodriguez said. "They reviewed it, so I'm assuming they knew what they saw, so I'm going to have to go back and take a look."
After a leadoff walk by Wehsener, the Bears got the tying run to third on a sac bunt by pinch-hitter Beau Wimpee and Harrison Caley's groundout to first. Esteban Cardoza-Oquendo hit a sharp grounder up the middle, but Hegarty fielded the ball cleanly and flipped to first for the final out.
"We always seem to lose these close games," Rigney said. "We have to get in the mindset that it's win-at-all-cost now. The coaches are doing their part. I just think we need to start executing better and we need to start winning, just plain and simple."
Game 2 of the series is scheduled for 5 p.m. Friday, with the series finale at noon Saturday.
"Our guys are tough and resilient and they battle through a lot of stuff," Rodriguez said. "I'll go to war with each one of these guys. But, sometimes you need someone in the trenches who's going to force you to do some things."
THE RUNDOWN
WACO, Texas – Baylor baseball (16-17, 2-8) was held in check by Kansas (14-18, 2-5) Thursday night at Baylor Ballpark, dropping a 3-2 contest in the series opener.
The top third of the BU lineup combined for all seven of the team's hits, including a Jack Pineda home run, and Will Rigney struck out six in a career high-tying six innings of work, but KU's Daniel Hegarty was able to shut down the Bears' offense in his complete game outing.
Baylor got the scoring going in the bottom of the first as hits from Tre Richardson and Kyle Nevin, plus a Jared McKenzie hit-by-pitch loaded the bases. Chase Wehsener drove home the game's first run by reaching on a fielder's choice to give Baylor the early 1-0 lead.
However, KU answered right back in the top of the second via a solo home run that knotted the score at 1-1, then added the next two tallies in the fifth to move ahead 3-1.
Pineda's solo blast in the bottom of the fifth cut the deficit to 3-2, but that would be all on the scoreboard as Hegarty continued to escape further trouble.
Matt Voelker gave the Bears two scoreless innings of relief and picked up three strikeouts, then Adam Muirhead worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the ninth to keep the Bears within a run. BU got the tying run to third base in the bottom of the ninth, but was unable to cash in.
NOTES
• Baylor still holds a 59-23 advantage in the all-time series with Kansas, including an 11-6 mark against the Jayhawks under seventh-year head coach Steve Rodriguez.
• Baylor's pitching staff notched 10 strikeouts for the ninth time this season and second time in Big 12 play.
• With two extra-base hits on the night, BU has now recorded at least one XBH in each of its last 12 games.
• Tre Richardson extended his on-base streak to a career-high 24 games.
• Richardson collected his 10th multi-hit game of the year.
• Jared McKenzie extended his on-base streak to 20 games, also a career high.
• Jack Pineda extended his on-base streak to 16 games.
• Pineda hit his third home run of the season and tallied his team-leading 13th multi-hit effort of 2022.
• Kyle Nevin extended his on-base streaks to 13 games.
• Nevin tallied his ninth multi-hit game of the year, fourth three-hit performance of the season and second such game in a row.
• Will Rigney matched his career high with six innings pitched.
• Matt Voelker tied his season high with three strikeouts in relief.
• Adam Muirhead pitched his fifth scoreless outing of the season and second in a row.
STAT OF THE GAME
7 – Baylor's first three hitters (Tre Richardson, Jack Pineda, Kyle Nevin) combined to record all seven of the team's hits.
TOP QUOTES
Head coach Steve Rodriguez
On tonight's game…
"I thought the top part of our order did a great job, having a plan, using the middle of the field, using the opposite side which we did a really good job of. The biggest thing was the execution. We had guys in scoring position and bases loaded with nobody out, but we had a strikeout and double play that saw some energy decrease from that point on. We just weren't able to get the ball in the gap when we needed to. We need someone to step up, someone to take the leadership role. Our guys are tough, they are resilient, they battle through a lot of stuff and I will go to war with each one of these guys. But sometimes you need someone in the trenches who is going to force you to do some things."
WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor (16-17, 2-8) and Kansas (14-18, 2-5) meet again in Friday's game two of the series with first pitch set for 5 p.m. CT at Baylor Ballpark.
For the latest news on the Baylor baseball team all season long, follow its official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts: @BaylorBaseball.
-BaylorBears.com-
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Hegarty, Daniel (4-3)
L: Rigney, Will (2-1)
.png&width=32&height=32&type=webp)
Batting:
2B: Josenberger, Tavian 1
HR: Lichty, Tom 1
RBI: Josenberger, Tavian 1 ; Lichty, Tom 1 ; Jans, Chase 1
SH: McMurray, Cooper 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Lichty, Tom 1 ; Hammond, Jack 1 ; Upshaw, Caleb 1
HBP: Ditzenberger, Dylan 1 ; Upshaw, Caleb 1 ; McMurray, Cooper 1
Batting:
3B: Nevin, Kyle 1
HR: Pineda, Jack 1
RBI: Pineda, Jack 1 ; Wehsener, Chase 1
SH: Wimpee, Beau 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Richardson, Tre 1 ; Pineda, Jack 1
HBP: Pineda, Jack 1 ; McKenzie, Jared 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
0
H
3
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
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/ Baseball
C
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RHP
/ BaseballINF/OF
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
1B
/ Baseball
INF
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