Meagan Downing | Lariat Photographer
By Tyler Alley
Sports Editor
Baylor baseball fell to Michigan State 4-0 Wednesday at Baylor Ballpark.
Baylor (9-6) had only five hits on the night and could not get any runners across home plate.
Spartan pitcher David Garner was the winning pitcher of the game, with sophomore left-handed pitcher Brad Kuntz getting tagged with the loss.
Freshman right-handed pitcher Austin Stone started the game for the Bears but only lasted 1.2 innings. After giving up two walks and hitting a batter, Stone was replaced by Kuntz. Kuntz would strike out the next batter to end the inning and get out of the bases loaded jam.
Michigan State first cracked the scoreboard in the top of the third inning when Spartan third baseman Torsten Boss bunted toward third base and advanced to second on a throwing error. Second baseman Ryan Jones hit a double to right field in the next at bat, scoring Boss.
Freshman outfielder/left-handed pitcher Michael Howard relieved Kuntz in the sixth inning. Howard allowed back-to-back one-out singles and walked the next batter to load the bases.
Boss came through for the Spartans again, scoring a runner with a fielder’s choice and moving the runners to third and second base.
Junior right-handed pitcher Kolt Browder came on in relief with two outs. He allowed a single to Spartan right-fielder Jimmy Pickens, scoring the second run of the inning and making the score 3-0.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Bears had a chance to put runs on the board. Junior first baseman Max Muncy had a lead-off single. Two batter later, junior center-fielder Logan Vick singled to right field, advancing Muncy to second and bringing up Howard with two men on. Howard hit the ball up the middle, but a diving stop led to a double play, ending the Bears’ chance to score.
Freshman right-handed pitcher Ryan Smith pitched the seventh and eighth inning. Spartan center-fielder Anthony Cheky reached on a fielder’s choice before stealing second. Left-fielder Jordan Keur singled to right, bringing in Cheky for the Spartans’ final run of the game.
Control was a problem for the Baylor pitching staff, as it allowed 10 walks to Michigan State with six strikeouts. The Spartans, on the other hand, allowed five walks to nine strikeouts.
Michigan State only had two more hits than the Bears — eight to six — but the 10 walks helped the team score its four runs.
Baylor stranded 10 men on base, but the Spartans actually stranded more with 16.
Junior third baseman Cal Towey had the best game offensively for the Bears with two hits. Vick drew two walks along with his one hit.
