Baylor baseball beat Louisiana Tech 5-4 at the Baylor Ballpark on Wednesday, March 6, 2013.
Travis Taylor | Lariat Photographer

The Baylor Bears lost a weekend series to TCU in Fort Worth two games to one. The Baylor baseball team was victorious 3-2 in the first game on Friday night and then lost 2-1 in 15 innings on Saturday before losing a close 5-4 contest on Sunday.

Both Baylor and TCU wore red wristbands for all three games to support the people of West.

After losing their first Big 12 series of the season and with a two-game losing streak, the Bears are now 20-20 overall and 8-6 in Big 12 Conference Play.

Baylor is now fourth in the Big 12 standings behind Oklahoma, Kansas and Kansas State respectively.

On Friday, with the game tied 2-2 in the top of the ninth inning, freshman first baseman Mitch Price entered the game to pinch hit. With the pressure mounting, Price crushed a home run to give Baylor what would eventually turn out to be the deciding third run of the game to push Baylor past TCU, 3-2. The home run was Price’s second home run of the season.

“It was a really, really good college baseball game,” head coach Steve Smith said. “Both sides played it well. We are glad to get the win. We are glad to hopefully encourage our friends in West. Even the umpires got into it tonight with the red wristbands. We are praying for them. We know there’s a lot of hurt families there and we continue to think about them.”

Deciding to pinch hit with Price in the ninth inning was crucial in sparking Baylor’s victory.

“What can you say – some days the buttons you push work,” Smith said. “Mitchell certainly got a good piece of the ball, squared it up well. It was a heck of a college baseball game.”

Senior right handed pitcher Max Garner started the game on the mound for the Bears and delivered with seven innings and only gave up two runs on five hits. Senior left-handed pitcher Crayton Bare earned the win for the Bears by pitching a hitless final two frames to help preserve the Baylor win. Bare is now 4-1 on the season, and he struck out three batters in his two innings of work.

During game two on Saturday, the wind made conditions difficult for the hitters. The pitchers dominated the day as the ferocious wind kept hits shallow.

TCU defeated Baylor 2-1 in 15 innings despite two strong pitching performances from two Baylor right-handed pitchers. Both sophomore right-hander Austin Stone and junior right-hander Josh Michalec delivered for the Bears by combining to pitch 14 and two-thirds innings while only allowing two runs.

“This was a day for the pitchers, and everyone that we ran out there threw the ball really well,” Steve Smith said. “[Austin] kept throwing strikes and worked up in the zone. That’s what you have to have on a day like today [with the wind blowing in].”

Stone pitched eight and one-third innings and only allowed one run. Michalec pitched six and one-third innings and conceded the game-winning run to TCU in the bottom of the 15th inning.

“Michalec got the loss, and it’s unfortunate, and a bit unfair,” Steve Smith said. “He threw extremely well. His stuff was great. They just found a way to get the ball to the wall there.”

In the rubber match on Sunday afternoon to decide the winner of the series, TCU defeated Baylor 5-4 to claim the 2-1 series victory.

“Today was just a day of inches, really,” Smith said. “Some ground balls got through for them, some didn’t for us. They put the ball in play a little better than we did, but it was a very competitive game.”

Sophomore right-handed pitcher Ryan Smith started on the mound for the Bears, and he allowed five runs in six and one-third innings of work. Ryan Smith gave up one run in the second inning, three in the fourth and one more in the seventh. Bare came in and pitched shutout ball for the remaining five outs of the game.

“[Ryan Smith] is going to learn every time he goes out there,” head coach Steve Smith said. “Of all the guys that we throw, he’s probably got the least experience on the mound. I thought early on in the game he was pacing himself. He made some bad pitches, got behind in the count and left some fastballs up in the fourth inning. But after that he really got after it. His stuff was good, he competed hard, we rode him pretty hard and I thought he did a great job.”

The Bears hit the road again today to take on Dallas Baptist and then come back to Baylor Ballpark this weekend for a three-game series against the Texas Longhorns.

Mens Tennis vs. TCU
Travis Taylor | Lariat Photographer

The 15th-ranked Baylor men’s tennis team won the outright Big 12 Regular Season Championship after beating the 37th-ranked TCU Horned Frogs 5-2 Sunday. The team also celebrated senior Roberto Maytin’s “Senior Night.”

“It is hard to win a conference championship,” head coach Matt Knoll said. “We certainly don’t take them for granted. There are so many great teams in this league and to have to travel around and to have to travel around and stick together and find a way to win one is awesome. TCU is a good team and it was a tough night for us. We had already won a share of the title and I think it is hard to feel some sense of accomplishment. We really changed ourselves to come out and play a great match and they came out and pushed us in every spot.”

The Bears clinched the doubles point after the team of sophomore Marko Krickovic and freshman Julian Lenz won their match 9-7. The winning point came on a crowd-pleasing Krickovic overhead. The team of junior Patrick Pradella and senior Roberto Maytin won 8-2.

Pradella, Maytin and Lenz also had strong singles performances. Pradella, ranked 29th, won 6-4, 6-4, Maytin won 6-3, 6-1 and 43rd-ranked Lenz won 6-4, 6-4. The fifth win came from Krickovic.

“We all knew that we had to compete really hard to win this match today,” Lenz said. “And we did a really great job of it. We absolutely didn’t want to share the trophy with Oklahoma, so we just focused on getting these four points and we obviously got it. So we’re all really happy right now and looking forward to the conference tournament.”

The Bears will play the winner of TCU and Texas Tech at noon Saturday in Norman, Okla. to begin the Big 12 Tournament.

The team finished the season with an 18-4 overall record while going 5-0 in conference play. They are also riding a nine-match win streak.

Sophomore outfielder Adam Toth lays down a bunt Saturday against No. 8 Oklahoma. Baylor won the series against Oklahoma 2-1.
Matt Hellman | Lariat Photo Editor

The Baylor Bears are just a half game out of first place in the Big 12 with a 7-4 conference record and a 19-18 overall record. Baylor travels north to Fort Worth this weekend for a crucial three-game weekend series against the TCU Horned Frogs.

“We know what we have to do,” ,” senior right-handed pitcher Max Garner said. “We have to win games. We don’t really have to look at the standings. We’re a half game out of the conference lead and right now we are trying to keep the conference championship here and that’s the main goal.”

This will be the first Big 12 series between the two teams. They did meet in the Southwest Conference in 1996.

Overall, the Bears lead the series against TCU 137-110, so there is plenty of history on the diamond between these two teams.

With all the history between Baylor and TCU, it’s natural that there’s a solid rivalry between the schools.

“Ever since I got here, people didn’t like them and I guess I just got bred into not liking them,” senior shortstop Jake Miller said. “I don’t know whether it’s just another Christian university in the state of Texas or because they’re always good and we’re always good, so people just want to be on top.”

On Friday, the Bears will go with Garner on the mound to open up the first game of the series. Garner has a 2-4 record and a 3.56 ERA with 39 strikeouts in 55 and two-thirds innings of work this year.

“Seeing TCU with a Big 12 patch on their jersey will be new,” Garner said. “It’s fun. I think they’re great for the conference in every sport so I think it’s going to be good.”

When head coach Steve Smith looks at TCU’s team, it’s almost like looking in the mirror at his own Baylor squad.

“I see a team that, they were one-two in the league in all the preseason polls for the same reason because both of them were returning,” Smith said. “They’ve played an incredibly tough schedule to start off with. I think the two of us, we have followed very similar scripts. We went to Ole Miss. We went to Irvine. They hosted Fullerton and UCLA. Both of us could have done something entirely different and probably our overall records would be better but I don’t know if we’d be better. I don’t know if we’d know who we are. Your guys want to play the best and I respect that in them. That’s what we’ve always done and I think they’ll be standing at the end of the day.”

On Saturday, sophomore right-handed pitcher Austin Stone is slated to take the mound.

Stone has a .500 winning percentage at 2-2 and has a 3.95 ERA in 27 and one-third innings of work.

On Sunday, the Bears will turn to their ace in junior right-handed pitcher Dillon Newman. Newman has a 3-2 record and an impressive 2.83 ERA in over 57 innings of work.

Newman has the second best strikeout-to-walk ratio in the nation with just two walks to his 43 strikeouts.

After hitting two home runs, a walk-off homer and a grand slam, to propel the Bears to a 2-1 series victory in a three-game series against Oklahoma, senior third baseman Cal Towey is peaking at the plate for the back stretch of Big 12 play.

After an 11-game home stand, the Bears have just four more games at home and eleven on the road for the remaining season schedule.

“You just have to get used to the crowds,” Towey said. “You can’t let it bother you. You just have to treat it the same way as home. Just be comfortable and it helps a lot when you can put up some runs early and get more comfortable so that you can try to tack on later in the game. You just kind of have to get used to it.”

After struggling early in the season, the Bears are catching their stride and vying to repeat as Big 12 champions.

No. 11 defensive end Terrance Lloyd gets set with the rest of the Baylor defense on Saturday at Floyd Casey Stadium during its game against TCU. The Bears suffered a 49-21 loss to the Horned Frogs.
Sarah George| Lariat Photographer

By Daniel Hill
Sports Writer

West Virginia: 12 of 15, 80 percent

TCU: 14 of 19, 73.68 percent

Big 12 Conference: 26 of 34, 76 percent

So far in Big 12 Conference games the Baylor defense has allowed its opponents to convert on third downs more than 76 percent of the time (26 of 34).

Granted, one of those conference games was against one of the best offenses in the nation, West Virginia.

The prolific West Virginia offense gained a first down on 12 of 15 first down attempts.

Against a notably less explosive TCU offense, Baylor allowed the Horned Frogs to convert on 14 of 19 third down attempts.

“We have to get off the field on third downs,” senior defensive tackle Gary Mason Jr said. “That was our big problem. We could have easily taken away three touchdowns if we could have just gotten off the field on third down. It hurt us a lot. That kind of made the outcome of the game not go our way”

Forcing an opponent into a third down situation is a normal goal for any defense.

However, the Baylor defense has to sustain their first and second down defensive efforts by making the required stops on third downs.

“All week, that was our game plan, to get those guys into third down and long situations,” junior nickelback Ahmad Dixon said. “We knew that they were a powerhouse team on first and second down, that’s when they normally make their big plays. If you get them into third down and make them predictable, they tend to fold.”

Only, TCU didn’t fold on third downs and neither will any Big 12 opponent.

“We had those guys in third down situations, and we just didn’t make the plays we needed to make,” Dixon said.

On third down plays, Baylor has allowed opponents to convert 63.64 percent of the time, which ranks 120th.

Obviously, Baylor has to make changes on third down.

In regards to improving the third down defense, the Baylor defense believes they can and will improve.

“Yes, it’s very fixable,” Mason Jr. said.

“It was all alignments, sometimes guys lined up a little too far from the sticks (first-down marker), and allowed those hitches (route pattern) to convert. But all of that is easily fixable. I’m anxious to go to practice and work on the fixes and what we need to get better on. I hope it all comes together certainly. I’m very positive for this.”

Not only, can alignments be improved upon by the defense, but the fundamentals of tackling also have to be a focus for the Bears.

“That is one of the main things that we have to focus on this week is wrapping up and breaking down and tackling better because we had way too many missed tackles this last game, and that’s just something that we can improve on,” junior safety Sam Holl said.

Tackling and defensive alignments are two things the Bears can do to improve their defense as a whole and improve their stinginess on third downs.

Even though the Bears have struggled on third downs so far in the Big 12, there are still reasons to be optimistic about the defense for the remainder of the season.

“Right now, I feel like we are hungry,” Holl said.

“We are looking forward to the rest of the season. We are looking forward to this week. We can make a statement for the rest of the season. I have no doubt that we will be ready for this weekend,” he said.

Sports Writer

Before Baylor enters the tunnel to run out onto the field at Floyd Casey Stadium, the team hits a sign above the doorway that says “Finish Strong.”

“We aren’t going to put our heads down and throw in the towel,” senior quarterback Nick Florence said. “We still have seven more games left. There is still a lot of football to be played. When it comes to bowls, you are defined by how you finish. We’re going to keep fighting until the end.”

Baylor’s first home game in a month ended up breaking the Bears’ nine-game win streak at Floyd Casey Stadium with a 42-21 loss to TCU last Friday night.

“I just feel like tonight we came out too excited because we had had a bye week last week,” senior wide receiver Terrance Williams said. “I just feel like we came out trying to make too many plays instead of playing our game.”

Florence had an uncharacteristic night, completing 12-of-19 passes for 289 yards, a pair of touchdowns and four interceptions.

“I’ve got to make better throws and better decisions,” Florence said. “We put our defense in a bind and that’s what happens. As an offense we did not play well and we can’t have that if we want to win a Big 12 Championship.”

Baylor head coach

TCU freshman defensive end Devonte Fields recovers a fumble last Friday night Friday as he helps the Horned Frogs beat Baylor by a score of 42-21.
Sarah George | Lariat Photographer

“It is very frustrating. It is very humiliating, not just to us, as coaches, but to our players also and to our university. We did not do a good job of showing up for Baylor tonight.”

TCU freshman quarterback Trevone Boykin threw for 261 yards and four touchdowns, all of which came on third-down plays.

The Horned Frog offense had the ball for 41:52, while Baylor held a mere 18:08.

“We did not feel like we had any rhythm offensively in the first half,” Briles said. “We never really got in any type of flow and turnovers have something to do with that because it takes away your tempo and it sometimes takes away your aggression.”

The Bears got off to a quick start 26 seconds into the game with a 74-yard touchdown pass to Williams.

“It was something we’ve been practicing all week,” Williams said. “Knowing the safety would be guarding me, they threw the ball to a spot where I could run under it.”

But after that first touchdown came two interceptions.

Baylor’s second touchdown came on its first possession of the second half off a five-yard run by Florence.

“They hadn’t played against a lot of four-man rushes,” TCU head coach Gary Patterson said. “Only Sam Houston State had rushed them with four guys, so we had to change up our coverages. The one long pass to Terrance Williams in the second half was my fault. I went to a blitz instead of keeping with the game plan of staying over the top of him, and it hurt us.”

That touchdown was a 77-yard touchdown pass off a quick decision by Williams, the longest Baylor play this season.

“That is part of our high routes. If they blitz I have the choice to do what I want, but I have to make the decision quick. I saw that the defender was flat-footed so I decided to run by him and Nick put the ball up.”

Williams would only record three catches on the night.

The next two offensive possessions ended in interceptions as well.

TCU would go on to score three more touchdowns in the fourth quarter to solidify a win.

“We missed a lot of tackles,” junior safety Sam Holl said. “We’ve got to tackle better. We had them wrapped up a couple of times. They got off and made some yards.”

Sophomore linebacker Bryce Hager and junior nickelback Ahmad Dixon both recorded their first career sack in the ball game.

Dixon and senior safety Chance Casey both recorded a career-high 13 tackles.

“I’m not worried about the way we’re going to respond because I know we’ll be all right,” Holl said. “We’re trained to respond well and clear games. We can’t fix what just happened tonight. We can’t go back and replay it, so we just don’t think about it. We will go into practice this week, work hard and just get better.”

File: Stanford athletic director Bob Bowlsby attends a news conference in Stanford, Calif. on Jan. 13, 2011. Bowlsby has accepted the Big 12 Conference commissioner job to replace the ousted Dan Beebe, people with direct knowledge of the situation said Thursday, May 3, 2012.
Associated Press

By Antonio Gonzalez
Associated Press Sports Writer

A teary-eyed Bob Bowlsby walked out of a Stanford auditorium to a roaring ovation from coaches and staff members Thursday, leaving behind one of the nation’s top athletics program for a conference in desperate need of a strong leader.

Bowlsby informed his staff and a room jam-packed with Cardinal coaches that he will become the Big 12 Conference commissioner, according to at least three people with direct knowledge of the 10-minute meeting. Bowlsby said he will remain with the Cardinal until June.

The people spoke on condition of anonymity because neither Stanford nor the Big 12 has discussed the hire, which could be announced later Thursday. Bowlsby, who is expected to be formally introduced by the Big 12 on Friday, declined comment when he walked out of the meeting.

After more than six years at Stanford, Bowlsby will take over a BCS conference that seems to have found some stability after losing four schools over the past two years. The league will head into this fall with 10 members, including new additions TCU and West Virginia.

The 60-year-old Bowlsby, who had passed up several chances to leave Stanford over the years, replaces the ousted Dan Beebe, who was replaced on an interim basis by Chuck Neinas, a former Big Eight commissioner.

Bowlsby is a nationally respected college administrator who was hired away from Iowa in 2006 after 15 years spent running the Hawkeyes’ athletic department.

Of all the decisions he made at Stanford, fans will forever remember his hiring of Jim Harbaugh in 2006. Harbaugh built the football program into a national power, winning the Orange Bowl over Virginia Tech in 2011 and finishing fourth in the final AP poll.

It was the program’s best ranking since the unbeaten 1940 team finished No. 2.

Bowlsby also hired offensive coordinator David Shaw last year to replace Harbaugh, who departed to the San Francisco 49ers. Shaw kept the Cardinal on track, going 11-2, including an overtime loss in the Fiesta Bowl to Oklahoma State. Andrew Luck also finished Heisman Trophy runner-up both seasons.

Stanford’s rigorous academic standards present unique circumstances, yet the school has won the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup 17 straight years. The award is given annually by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics to the program with the most success in all sports.

Stanford is also one of the country’s largest programs with 35 sports, including 19 for women. Stanford sent more athletes to the 2008 Beijing Olympics than any other college in the U.S, winning 25 Olympic medals. If Stanford were a country, it would have ranked 11th — tying with Japan — in total medals.

Bigger challenges lie ahead for Bowlsby in the Midwest.

The Big 12 was hit hard two years ago and wound up losing Nebraska to the Big Ten, Colorado to the Pac-12 and, as of July 1, Texas A&M and Missouri to the Southeastern Conference. Beebe was fired in September as Oklahoma, Texas and others were flirting with the Pac-12 and the Big 12 seemed on the brink of falling apart.

The conference is reportedly working toward a new television deal with ESPN, and Neinas was pushing members to agree to a long-term grant of media rights to the league that would make it all but impossible for schools to bolt. No deal has been struck yet, but that will likely be among the first items on the agenda for the next commissioner.

After reaching a 12-year contract worth about $3 billion last year with Fox and ESPN, the Pac-12 announced plans to launch a new conference-owned network to supplement coverage and create more exposure for Pac-12 athletes. Bowlsby had a role in the venture, which will launch this fall with the national cable network, six regional networks and a digital network.

College Football Writer Ralph D. Russo in New York and AP Sports Writers Janie McCauley in San Francisco, Betsy Blaney in Lubbock, Texas, and Jim Vertuno in Austin, Texas, contributed to this report.

Steeplechaser Taylor Jackson competes against other Texas schools, placing 10th at the Michael Johnson Dr Pepper Classic on April 23, 2011, at the Hart Patterson Track and Field Complex.
Matt Hellman | Lariat Photo Editor

By Savannah Pullin
Reporter

For many people, simply having the opportunity to meet professional athletes is a dream come true.

The athletes of Baylor’s top-20 track and field teams, however, have much more to anticipate this weekend.

The Bears will host tough competition Saturday at the Hart-Patterson Track and Field Complex as they compete in the Michael Johnson Dr Pepper Classic.

Among schools such as TCU, UT Arlington, and 22 other schools, Waco will see the talents of Olympian Sanya Richards-Ross, scheduled to compete in the 400 meters, and former Baylor All-Americans Tiffany Townsend (100m), LaKadron Ivery (100m, 200m), Marcus Boyd (400m) and Michael Liggins (400m).

Sophomore Tiffani McReynolds said the presence of such great athletes brings encouragement and inspiration as she prepares to run at home for the first and only time this season.

“There are definitely a lot of stars and people who you look up to like Sanya and Jeremy [Wariner], and of course Michael Johnson,” McReynolds said. “It’s really cool to see when they come out here, and it just kind of pumps us up as a team because of the Baylor pride. It’s a really fun experience.”

Head coach Todd Harbour shared the same inspirational view as McReynolds, saying it helps his athletes to see what their futures could hold.

“To see [Richards-Ross] out here training every day, it helps your athletes know that if you continue to work hard, those are the possibilities in front of you,” Harbour said. “Michael Johnson started out here just like all these guys did.”

Harbour said on Tuesday that entries were still being taken for the meet.

Many athletes, such as junior Everett Walker, are anxious to see if they will have the opportunity to run against some of the best in the country.

“It’s pretty exciting,” Walker said. “Hopefully I get to run against them. Last year a couple of guys ran against them, and I haven’t had that chance yet. I’m hoping I get that chance this week.”

The Baylor athletes seem to be feeling the pressure more this week as they prepare for the lone home meet of the season.

While McReynolds has been recruiting fans to come out to the meet and support her and her teammates, she continued to keep in mind her one goal for the weekend.

“I’m a little bit nervous this time just because last year I wasn’t able to get that number one at home, which was kind of heart-breaking for me, so this year I have the pressure on myself to go ahead and bring home the gold since we are at home,” McReynolds said.

McReynolds admitted that her nerves get to her a little bit more during home meets because of the home crowd and the home pressure.

However, she said it is also more comforting running on the track she spends so many hours practicing on.

“This is the track that we die on almost every day,” McReynolds said. “So we’re very comfortable with this track.”

On the other hand, Walker said he’s just excited to get a chance to perform in front of familiar faces at this level.

“It’s more comfortable [running at home],” Walker said. “I just can’t wait to run in front of family and friends for the first time this year, so it will be pretty exciting.”

However, Walker said he feels some heat as he tries to move into the top five in the NCAA rankings.

“You can say there’s a lot of pressure because everyone who’s coming out expects you to run well because it’s the home meet,” Walker said. “Who wouldn’t want to run well in front of the home crowd?”

Field events begin at 9:30 a.m.

Most students spent spring break lying out on the beach, skiing on the slopes or just finding some way to relax. Baylor track and field, however, spent the week preparing for and competing in their first outdoor meet of the season.

The team opened the outdoor season with promising performances, bringing home a total of six wins in the two-day competition Thursday and Friday at the TCU Invitational in Fort Worth.

Many athletes shined in the field events during the first day of competition.

Sophomore Erin Atkinson, who broke the school record in the weight throw multiple times during the indoor season, shattered another school record in the hammer throw.

She busted through the previous record of 162 feet, 8 inches with a throw of 197-7, breaking the record by nearly 35 feet. After winning the event, Atkinson currently ranks first in the Big 12 and fifth in the NCAA.

Junior Skylar White also brought home a victory for the Bears in the discus throw with a solid throw of 166-9, practically a meter farther than her nearest competitor.

Her throw gives her a top rank in the Big 12 and third rank nationally.

Baylor claimed four more wins in its second day.

“It was a good, solid day for our first outdoor meet of the season,” head coach Todd Harbour said in a press release.

The men’s 4×100-meter relay, consisting of seniors Woodrow Randall and Whitney Prevost, along with junior Everett Walker and sophomore Blake Heriot, turned in the fastest time in the nation this season at 39.74 seconds.

“Our 4×1 crew looked good, and it was great to have Whitney (Prevost) back out there,” Harbour said.

The women’s 4×400-meter relay also shined in their event. Freshmen Alyssa Nichols and Raena Rhone, junior Christina Holland, and senior Diamond Richardson scooted by the competition with a finishing time of 3:39.12.

“We got a couple wins in the field events yesterday, and our distance crew came out and competed hard for a victory today,” Harbour said.

Individually, sophomore El Hanbli had a promising season-opening time of 52.65 in the 400-meter hurdles to bring home the fifth win for the Baylor Bears.

Freshman Matt Galvin scored his first collegiate victory in the 3,000-meter run. He finished in 8:45.37, leading a trio of Baylor athletes who took home the first, second and third place finishes in the event.

The Bears will travel to Orlando, Fla, this weekend for the UCF Invitational.

Baylor’s bullpen lost control late in Tuesday night’s game against TCU, and the Bears fell, 9-4. Junior Colt Browder took the loss after allowing two costly walks that helped the Horned Frogs grab an eighth-inning lead they would not lose.

Baylor entered the bottom of the eighth ahead 4-3 but surrendered six runs in the frame.

After striking out the leadoff hitter, the Bears allowed four consecutive walks that included two from Browder and brought home the tying run.

Junior Nick Wright, whose walk let TCU tie the game at four, later gave up a 2-RBI single and hit back-to-back batters, the first of which loaded the bases and the second of which gave the Horned Frogs a 7-4 advantage.

TCU managed a dubious honor despite grabbing the win, tying an NCAA team single game record with 10 hit batters.

With Baylor’s three hit batters, Tuesday’s game set a new NCAA record of combined hit batters. The previous record was 12 when South Florida (8 hit batters) faced Central Florida (4) on April 1, 2008.

The Bears briefly took a 4-3 lead in the top of the seventh. Junior Josh Ludy drove in the first of three runs in the inning with an RBI-groundout, junior Logan Vick drilled an RBI-double and freshman Michael Howard reached on a throwing error that allowed Vick to score.

Ludy finished the game with two RBI and is tied for second on the team in batting average at .327.

The Bears next face Michigan State (4-6) today at 6:35 p.m. at Baylor Ballpark. The Spartans were swept by Texas A&M last weekend in a three game series.

No. 22 senior pitcher Trent Blank pitches against TCU on Tuesday at Baylor Ballpark. The Bears beat TCU 7-1.
Matthew McCarroll | Lariat Photographer

By Greg DeVries
Sports Writer

No. 25 Baylor baseball was four outs away from a no-hitter as it improved to 4-0 on the season, defeating the No. 15 TCU Horned Frogs Tuesday by a score of 7-1 in front of a crowd of nearly 2,800 at Baylor Ballpark.

The winning pitcher was senior right-hander Trent Blank (2-0).

The Bears opened the scoring early. A sacrifice fly to left-center field from junior center fielder Logan Vick put the Bears up 1-0 in the first inning. Junior designated hitter Nathan Orf scored the run.

The Bears’ offense continued its success in the second inning. Junior shortstop Jake Miller scored from third base on a passed ball by TCU pitcher Brandon Finnegan. Baylor extended its lead to 2-0.

“The team that scores first wins a high percentage of the games. I think the biggest thing was getting the four in the bottom of the eighth. That changes the game a little bit in how you manage it,” head coach Steve Smith said.

After stalling in the third inning, the Bears picked the scoring back up in the fourth inning. Sophomore pinch hitter Lawton Langford scored from second on junior third baseman Cal Towey’s single to center field.

Baylor made a pitching change heading into the fifth inning. After pitching four hitless innings, senior right-handed pitcher Trent Blank handed the ball to junior right-hander Kolt Browder.

Browder was pulled in the top of the eighth inning. He threw three hitless innings before senior right-handed pitcher Joey Hainsfurther took the mound. The Horned Frogs finally got their first hit of the game with two outs in the eighth inning.

“You try not to think about [the no-hitter],” Hainsfurther said. “Honestly, I hadn’t thought about it until somebody down in the bullpen thought it was smart to say in the seventh inning, ‘Hey, they don’t have any hits yet, do [they]?’ I don’t think that helped much, but they were battling at the plate so you had to think that one was going to come eventually.”

In the bottom of the eighth inning, freshman right fielder Adam Toth scored on a passed ball. Senior catcher Josh Ludy then hit a single to right field that scored two runs.

After the Bears loaded the bases again, freshman left-fielder Michael Howard drew an RBI walk to make the score 7-0.

“I’ve been seeing the ball pretty well,” Ludy said. “And [I am] just trying to be patient with the situation and understand what they’re trying to … get out of me, and understand where the fielders are playing and trying to adjust to that.”

A sacrifice fly by TCU’s third baseman scored the first run of the game for the Horned Frogs in the top of the ninth inning. This run was the first allowed by the Baylor bullpen this season.

Langford had his first career three-hit game. He had a double and also scored a run. The 4-0 start is Baylor’s best start in four years.

The Bears travel to play Texas State at 6:30 p.m. today in Round Rock.