No. 14/22 Baylor baseball lost 3-0 in the series rubber match to No. 15/25 Oklahoma on Sunday afternoon at Baylor Ballpark. The Bears (18-6, 2-4) were unable to generate a hit with runners in scoring position, while one big swing by the Sooners (23-5, 2-1) proved to be the difference.
After the Bears left the bases loaded in the bottom of the first, the Sooners had two on with no outs in the top of the second. BU starter Cody Bradford was one out away from escaping unharmed but his first pitch to Kyle Mendenhall was hit over the left field fence for a 3-0 lead that stood.
Baylor had multiple runners on with one out or less in the third, fifth and seventh frames but no runs came of it.
OU starter Nathan Wiles (4-1) earned the win, giving up five hits and three walks with five strikeouts in 4.1 innings. Bradford (3-2) took the loss, allowing three runs on five hits and two walks with five strikeouts in six innings. JB Olson picked up his sixth save, tossing the final 2.2 innings while surrendering just two walks with one strikeout.
NOTES
*Baylor is 7-5 as a ranked team this season and 5-4 against ranked teams.
*Baylor is 3-3 this season and 6-7 under Steve Rodriguez against Baseball America ranked team (Oklahoma ranked No. 24) and 200-295-1 all-time, including a 35-43 mark since 2011.
*Baylor has lost its last two weekend three-game series after winning its first three with two sweeps.
*Baylor has finished its home schedule with a .500 record or better (13-5 in 2017) in all 18 seasons at Baylor Ballpark (since 1999) and is 410-187 all-time at the park.
*Baylor is 3-4 on its current and season-long eight-game home stand.
*Baylor trails the all-time series to Oklahoma 46-43 but leads 27-19 in Waco.
*Freshman LHP Cody Bradford has tossed at least six innings with three runs or less, two walks or less and two or more strikeouts in all six starts.
*Junior RHP Kyle Ott has a career-high nine-appearance scoreless streak. Over 11.0 innings during the stretch he's allowed nine hits and three walks with 10 strikeouts.
*Sophomore outfielder T.J. Raguse has a four-game on-base streak and three-game hitting streak.
*Senior designated hitter Matt Menard has a career-high-tying 13-game on-base streak.
*Sophomore outfielder Richard Cunningham has a 10-game on-base streak.
*Junior third baseman Steven McLean has an eight-game on-base streak.
*Junior JUCO shortstop Tucker Cascadden has an eight-game on-base streak.
*Freshman catcher Shea Langeliers has a five-game hitting streak as he posted his team-high eighth multi-hit game.
*Senior first baseman Aaron Dodson has a five-game on-base streak.
*Sophomore second baseman Josh Bissonette has a four-game on-base streak.
STAT OF THE GAME
1 – The amount of swings that generated a run by either team.
QUOTE OF THE GAME
“We hit balls hard, just right at people. You can say it wasn’t working but at some point when the ball leaves your bat, you don’t have a lot of control over it. From our standpoint, I thought our guys competed really well, we just didn’t get the two-out hit when we needed it and they were able to get it. It’s unfortunate, but it’s baseball.” – Head Coach Steve Rodriguez
WHAT’S NEXT
Baylor finishes its season-long, eight-game home stand by hosting UTSA on Tuesday at 6:05 p.m. CT.
