WACO, Texas — The Bears were unable to finish off a series sweep Sunday as they fell to Kansas State 10-3 at Baylor Ballpark on Senior Day.
Baylor (32-13, 14-6 Big 12) had runners on base in eight of the nine innings, but the Bears were unable to cash in with timely hits, leaving 12 runners stranded in the game.
Kansas State (23-26, 7-11 Big 12) opened the scoring in the top of the second with a solo home run off the bat of Chris Ceballos, and an RBI single that made it 2-0.
Baylor starter Jacob Ashkinos couldn’t escape the third inning as K-State plated five more runs on five hits and took a 7-0 lead.
The Bears scored two runs in the fourth thanks to a two-run single by Nick Loftin that cut into the deficit, but the Wildcats were continuously able to work out of jams and avoid further damage.
In the seventh, the Wildcats pushed across three runs on a bases-clearing double that increased their lead to 10-2.
Baylor got one back in the bottom of the ninth as Shea Langeliers crushed a 432-foot solo blast, but that was all on a day in which the Bears celebrated the careers of six seniors.
Seniors Richard Cunningham, Cole Haring, Josh Bissonette, Cole Weaver and TJ Raguse went a combined 4-for-14 at the plate with three walks. Senior closer Kyle Hill did not pitch.
“I just think their guys did a good job keeping our hitters off balance. I was really happy with what our guys did. We swung the bat well. I think we only struck out a couple of times, we hit the ball hard," Head Coach Steve Rodriguez said.
"Unfortunately, we ended a couple of double plays which hurt things, and we couldn’t execute. We had guys on second and third and bases loaded, but unfortunately, that’s just baseball. It’s not like a lack of effort or a lack of desire, it’s unfortunately, just the way that it is We just couldn’t get the big hit today like we have been in the past.”
The Bears will be off for nine days until Tuesday, May 14 when they return to Baylor Ballpark for a midweek contest against UT Arlington. Baylor will play its final Big 12 conference series May 16-18 at Oklahoma State.
