By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider 
            Taking out all the frustration of a six-game losing skid, Baylor baseball exploded for a season-high 19 runs and 22 hits and got a complete-game performance from sophomore Kobe Andrade in blowing out Kansas, 19-2, Friday night at Baylor Ballpark to even the series. 
            "It was nice to get those first couple innings out of the way and let guys relax and play with a little bit of joy and less stress," said Baylor coach Steve Rodriguez, whose team improved to 17-17 overall and 3-8 in the Big 12. "It was like a big sigh of relief, like, 'OK, here we go.' And you kind of had that feeling throughout the game."
            After getting just seven hits in Thursday's 3-2 series-opening loss to the Jayhawks (14-19, 2-6), the Bears put seven runs on the board in the first two innings and scored in all but one of the first seven innings. 
            Every Baylor starter had a hit and scored a run, with Jack Pineda, Tre Richardson, Jared McKenzie, Casen Neumann and Harrison Caley collecting three hits apiece. 
            "To pitch with a lead like that gives me all the confidence in the world, knowing my team is behind my back. And that's what they did today," said Andrade (3-1), who gave up two runs on four hits and no walks with four strikeouts in his first complete game. "The offense puts up 22 hits, that's unbelievable. A great team win today."
            The Bears took a lead just three batters into its half of the first inning and never looked back. 
            Pineda led off with a double to the gap in left-center field and scored on a McKenzie home run to right that was measured at a mind-boggling 489 feet. 
            After getting a first-pitch fastball, McKenzie was sitting on a 1-0 changeup from Kansas starter Cole Larsen (1-6), "and sure enough, I got it. I destroyed it," he said of the two-run blast that ended up in the Brazos River. 
            Batting around the next inning, Baylor knocked out Larsen with five runs on six hits, highlighted by Kyle Nevin's three-run homer that easily cleared the wall in left-center field. 
            "Everybody asks, 'What's changed?''' Rodriguez said. "Nothing's changed. Our guys have been doing an unbelievable job in practice, focusing on the things they think are going to be able to help them, and they stick with it. They have a plan, they go up there and execute the plan. Sometimes, you're going to get hits, and sometimes you're not. The biggest thing is, find balls in the kill zone and don't misfire, and you're good."
            The Jayhawks got a run back in the top of the third, when Caleb Upshaw led off with a no-doubt home run to right. But, Baylor answered right back with another two runs, Pineda driving in Caley with a triple to center and scoring on a Richardson groundout to the right side. 
            Continuing their torrid hitting, the Bears added two runs apiece in the third and fourth and then blew it open with another five-spot in the sixth when they batted around for the second time. 
            Stringing four-straight hits together, Richardson drove in two runs with a single through the right side, followed by a two-run double by McKenzie and a Nevin double that brought home another run and made it 16-1. 
            "You look at some of the guys, especially Nevin, he started slow. To see him keep hitting the ball the way he is, it's really cool to see and have him carry on that momentum moving forward," McKenzie said. "Some new guys got opportunities late in the game, and that's really good for them."
            Rodriguez went to the bench in the late innings, using six different pinch-hitters and giving all but three of the starters the rest of the night off. 
            "It's big, because you don't know when someone's going to go down and we're going to have to make some switches," Rodriguez said. "I do a lot of switches late in the game to try to get some momentum going. As long as everybody gets out there, it gives them an opportunity to get that nervous anxiousness out of their stomachs where they know, 'Hey, I can go out there and play with anybody.'''
            While Baylor kept the bats going the whole game, Andrade had five 1-2-3 innings and threw just 88 pitches, working around a leadoff double in the sixth. The Jayhawks added a run in the eighth on a walk, a hit batter and a two-out RBI single by Tavian Ditzenberger. 
            "That's a testament to him. He throws good pitches, the guys swing and we get outs," Rodriguez said. "Our defense did a great job behind him. That was really a key thing for us. We have a lot of games coming up and a good opportunity for us to really get things going. Being able to have a complete game like that by Kobe was huge."
            Andrade being able to go the distance – he had never thrown more than six innings – gives the Bears a bullpen full of options for Saturdays noon series finale. 
            "I told our guys, that's great, enjoy it for the moment," Rodriguez said. "But, as soon as you take your uniform off, we've got to start focusing on tomorrow, because 12 o'clock is going to come early. We've got to make sure we focus on the inning one, the first pitch. You get 19 runs, that's great, but tomorrow is a completely different day."
 


THE RUNDOWN
WACO, Texas – Baylor baseball (17-17, 3-8) powered past Kansas (14-19, 2-6), 19-2, Friday evening at Baylor Ballpark behind a season-high 22 hits as a team and a complete game by Kobe Andrade.

Andrade threw just 88 pitches and went past the sixth inning for the first time in his career, recording 10 first-pitch outs in the CG. BU was two hits and four runs shy of breaking its program records for such hitting totals in a Big 12 game, as all nine starters recorded a hit and scored a run in the victory.

The Bears wasted no time getting on the board behind Jared McKenzie's mammoth two-run, 489-foot blast in the bottom of the first inning. Then, they added five in the second as Jack Pineda doubled in a pair and Kyle Nevin crushed a three-run homer to make it 7-0.

After KU got one back in the third, Baylor added to its tally with a run-scoring triple from Pineda and an RBI groundout by Tre Richardson. Two more came across in the fourth to make it 11-1 as Esteban Cardoza-Oquendo singled in Cam Caley and Chase Wehsener.

In the sixth, BU put up another five-spot behind a Richardson two-run single, a McKenzie two-run double, and a Nevin run-scoring double off the batter's eye that extended the lead to 16-1. The Bears weren't done, as three more runs crossed the plate in the seventh. Two walks and a hit-by-pitch set up Richardson to scamper across on a passed ball, then Beau Wimpee drove in two on an infield single, making it 19-1.

Andrade faced the minimum in six separate frames and notched a career-high four strikeouts. He faced four or less batters in eight innings on the way to evening up the series against the Jayhawks.

NOTES
• Baylor snapped its six-game losing streak with the win over Kansas.
• BU improves to 60-23 all-time against KU, including a 12-6 mark against the Jayhawks under seventh-year head coach Steve Rodriguez.
• BU racked up a season-high 22 hits, its most since June 1, 2019 vs. Omaha in the Los Angeles Regional.
• The Bears tallied a season-high eight extra-base hits in the victory, extending their streak to 13 games in a row with at least one XBH.
• Kobe Andrade threw BU's first complete game since April 1, 2021 (Tyler Thomas vs. North Carolina A&T).
• Andrade set new career-highs in innings pitched (9) and strikeouts (4).
• Andrade recorded 10 first-pitch outs.
• Five Bears recorded three hits in Jack Pineda, Tre Richardson, Jared McKenzie, Casen Neumann and Harrison Caley.
• Four Bears drove in at least three runs in Pineda (3), Richardson (3), McKenzie (4) and Kyle Nevin (4).
• All nine starters recorded a hit and scored a run for the first time since May 9, 2021 vs. Kansas State.
• Tre Richardson extended his on-base streak to a career-high 25 games with his 11th multi-hit and seventh multi-RBI game of the year.
• Jared McKenzie extended his on-base streak to 21 games, also a career high, with his 12^th multi-hit and eighth multi-RBI game of 2022. His four RBIs also tied a career high.
• Jack Pineda extended his on-base streak to 17 games with his team-leading 14^th multi-hit effort and sixth multi-RBI game of the year.
• Pineda recorded a season-high three extra-base hits, for his third multi-XBH game of 2022.
• Kyle Nevin extended his on-base streaks to 14 games with his ninth multi-hit and team-leading 11^th multi-RBI game of the season. His four RBIs were also a career high.
• Cam Caley made his first start of the season in left field and notched a pair of hits.
• Harrison Caley produced his fourth multi-hit game of the year.
• Esteban Cardoza-Oquendo recorded his fourth multi-RBI game of the season.
• Casen Neumann tallied his first-career multi-hit game with a career-high three knocks.
• Beau Wimpee collected a career-high two RBIs.
 
STAT OF THE GAME
22 – Baylor totaled 22 hits as a team, a season high and most since June 1, 2019 vs. Omaha.

TOP QUOTES
Head coach Steve Rodriguez
On scoring runs early and playing with a lead…
"Having Jack [Pineda] step up and hit a leadoff double, then we're able to build on some things, move a runner and then [Jared McKenzie] hits the home run, it's like a big sigh of relief. Like, 'OK, here we go.' And you had that feeling kind of throughout. Next inning, guys would come up and have great at-bats, lay good swings on things, hit the ball hard and find a hole. Next thing you know, we score five runs. Those were really good opportunities for us to relax a little bit and be able to play some baseball. You could kind of tell we were playing a little tense. It was nice to get those first couple innings out of the way and lets guys relax and play with a little bit of joy and less stress."

Sophomore LHP Kobe Andrade
On his performance…
"It's an unbelievable feeling. That's my first, I had never gone more than six innings in a game, let alone nine innings. It was a great feeling knowing that I did my job. I give all the credit to my defense and offense today. They were unbelievable. I pitched with a lead the whole game, and it's unbelievable as a pitcher knowing that my offense and defense are going to take care of me."
 
Sophomore OF Jared McKenzie
On his 489-foot home run…
"Yeah, I got a hold of it. It felt good. He came with a fastball first pitch. Hitting in the 3-hole, I kind of get pitched a little different than I have the past couple of years. Knowing this pitcher, I faced him last year too, I didn't think he'd come with another fastball. I had a good guess, was sitting changeup, and sure enough I got it. I destroyed it."

WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor (17-17, 3-8) and Kansas (14-19, 2-6) square off in a rubber game on Saturday, April 16, at 12 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.