By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Facing Andrew Morris, a Division II All-American who hasn't lost since transferring to Texas Tech, Baylor baseball didn't get a lot of opportunities in Friday's game at Baylor Ballpark.
            But, they missed the one chance they had early to get back in it, leaving Jack Pineda stranded at third base after a one-out RBI triple in the third. The Bears (21-21, 4-12), dropping their fourth-straight conference game, fell to the ninth-ranked Red Raiders, 7-1, in the series opener.
            "We have to take advantage of those opportunities, especially on a Friday night in the Big 12," Baylor coach Steve Rodriguez said. "I told that to our offense: We've got to score in those opportunities, execute when we have to. I think they've done a really good job of that this past week and for a while now. In Friday night games, we have to make sure we do it."
            One mistake pitch kept Nevada transfer Jake Jackson (3-4) from having his best outing since a 12-3 win over then-No. 23 Duke on Feb. 27. The one pitch was a grooved 1-1 fastball over the heart of the plate that Owen Washburn deposited over the left-field wall for a three-run homer and a 5-0 Tech lead in the third inning.
            Jackson had worked a 1-2-3 second inning, but Tech (30-15, 10-6) scored four two-out runs in the second to break it open. He was able to rest a beleaguered bullpen, giving up six runs on seven hits and three walks with seven strikeouts in six innings.
            "I was just really happy that he was able to have a couple quick innings and get us past the fifth," Rodriguez said. "That was a really good blessing for us, just because of the way our bullpen is right now. I thought he did a good job . . . he had the one bad pitch. And, unfortunately, sometimes that's all it takes."
            Morris (6-0) and reliever Mason Molina combined on a four-hitter while striking out 10 with just one walk and one hit batter.
            "The big thing is, he was really commanding the outside part of the plate – inside on lefties, outside on righties," Rodriguez said of Morris. "A couple of guys did a really good job against a really good pitcher, and we've just got to continue to battle."
            Five of the six runs Jackson allowed came with two outs, including one in the first inning, when Ty Coleman delivered an RBI single to score Cole Stillwell.
            Baylor got a runner to third in the second inning on a one-out double by Casen Neumann and a groundout to the right side by Cam Caley. But, Morris got Harrison Caley swinging to get out of trouble.
            Jackson wasn't as fortunate in the third. Kurt Wilson ripped a double to right field to score one, then Washburn cleared the bases with his sixth home run of the year.
            After Morris hit 9-hole hitter Jacob Shoenvogel in the bottom of the third, Pineda made him pay with a triple off the wall in center field that cut the deficit to 5-1. But, with two of Baylor's best hitters coming up and a chance to make things interesting, Morris struck out Tre Richardson and Jared McKenzie and was never really threatened in his last four innings of work.
            Tech added a run in the sixth on doubles by Wilson and Hudson White, then capped the scoring with another two-out run in the ninth. Baylor reliever Grant Golomb recorded back-to-back strikeouts after a leadoff double by Dillon Carter, but Jace Jung came through with an RBI single to right.
            The Bears will try to bounce back and even the series in Saturday's 3 p.m. game, when Baylor will honor the 2012 Big 12 championship team that used a "Feed the Beaver" rallying cry to win a school-record 24-consecutive games. Stuffed beavers, donning gold Baylor baseball T-shirts, will be handed out to the first 500 fans.


THE RUNDOWN
WACO, Texas – Baylor baseball (21-21, 4-12) fell on Friday night to No. 9 Texas Tech (30-15, 10-6) by a final of 7-1 at Baylor Ballpark to start the weekend series.

Jack Pineda's third-inning RBI triple provided the lone run of the game for the Bears, his fifth three-bagger of the season to move one shy of the nation's lead. Senior RHP Jake Jackson tied his season high with seven strikeouts, but took the loss.

Tech jumped out to a 1-0 lead after the first inning thanks to an RBI single, but Jackson recorded four of the first seven outs of the ballgame via strikeout. With two outs in the third, the Red Raiders struck for four more via an RBI double and a three-run home run to increase their lead to 5-0.

BU got its run in the bottom of the third, as Jacob Schoenvogel was chased in by Pineda's shot off the base of the center field wall. That was all the Bears would get though, as Tech starter Andrew Morris went seven innings allowing just four hits and the one run, while striking out seven.

TTU scored one in the sixth and one in the ninth to increase its tally. Adam Muirhead pitched a clean seventh frame for BU, while Grant Golomb notched a career-high three strikeouts in his two innings of work.

NOTES
• Baylor extended its streak to 21 games in a row with an extra-base hit.
• The Bears have tallied two or more XBH in 10 of their last 11 games.
• BU added to its Big 12-best total of 46 double plays on the 2022 season with another two twin killings in the ballgame.
• The Bears' pitching staff eclipsed double digits in strikeouts for the 11^th time this season and second-consecutive game.
• BU hasn't recorded back-to-back games with 10+ strikeouts since the season's opening series vs. Maryland, when the Bears did so in all three games.
• Jake Jackson tied his season high with seven punchouts.
• Grant Golomb set a career high with three strikeouts.
• Casen Neumann tallied his second multi-hit game of the season.
• Jack Pineda hit his fifth triple of the season, moving him one closer to the nation's lead (six).
 
STAT OF THE GAME
5 – Jack Pineda hit his fifth triple of the season to provide the lone Baylor run in tonight's ballgame.

TOP QUOTES
Head coach Steve Rodriguez
On if the Pineda triple nearly sparked a comeback…
"That's the thing, we are trying to string it together. They have five, and then we get the one but can't get him in from third base, even just to get it to 5-2 to create a little momentum for ourselves. Sometimes that's just what it takes, just one swing up the middle to score the run and then we can start it back up again. The thing is, that was just that one inning. We had opportunities and we just could not string the hits together. I thought a couple of our guys did a really good job against a really good pitcher, so we just got to continue to get better."

WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor (21-21, 4-12) and No. 9 Texas Tech (30-15, 10-6) return for a Saturday matinee at Baylor Ballpark, with first pitch scheduled for 3:00 p.m. CT.
 
For the latest news on the Baylor baseball team all season long, follow its official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts: @BaylorBaseball.