By Jeffrey Cohen | Sports Writer
Baylor’s bats started to find some life in the top of the ninth while trailing by six runs.
Redshirt freshman pinch hitter Hunter Snow got hit by a pitch while freshman right fielder Brady Janusek walked to put two runners on with no outs.
Redshirt senior Tyce Armstrong — the reigning college baseball Player of the Week — laced a ball down the left-field line to drive in one run.
Redshirt sophomore catcher Brayden Buchanan then got hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs. Right after Janusek scored on a wild pitch, freshman left fielder Dylan Perez cut the deficit to three and brought the tying run to the plate on an RBI single.
Redshirt sophomore pinch hitter John Youens loaded the bases once again on a single after redshirt freshman Brytton Clements flew out to right field. The last two batters struck out swinging to douse Baylor’s hopes for a comeback.
The ninth-inning comeback fell short as Baylor (25-23, 11-13 Big 12) fell to Texas State (28-21, 10-14 Sun Belt) 9-6.
Bennett Fryman got the Texas State bats going in the bottom of the second, mashing a low breaking ball over the right-field fence, landing near the train tracks that sit just outside the ballpark.
Rashawn Galloway added to Texas State’s lead with a solo home run off the batter’s eye in the third.
The Bobcats had to rally with two outs in the fourth to keep their momentum going. Justin Vossos singled with a grounder through the left side of the infield, and Tanner Carson lined a ball to left field to put runners on first and second. Chase Mora found the left field corner to drive in Vossos and extend his team’s advantage to 4-0.
The Bears finally got a run on the board in the top of the fifth with a lead-off solo shot by redshirt junior shortstop Travis Sanders to make it 4-1.
They continued to crawl back in the sixth. Freshman outfielder Dylan Perez (2-for-5, RBI) led off with a double and came around to score on a single from Clements.
Clements (2-for-4, RBI) advanced to second on the throw from center field and moved to third on a groundout off the bat of fifth-year center fielder Ty Johnson. Freshman third baseman Cole Lanclos made it a 4-3 game with a sacrifice groundout to second base.
Texas State did not waste time responding to the Baylor offense. Jaquae Stewart hit the Bobcats’ third home run of the game in the fifth.
They tallied three more runs in the sixth. Vossos scored on a wild pitch while Galloway drove in two more runs on a double to the right-center field gap to jump ahead by five.
Texas State scored its final run in the seventh with an RBI double from Mora to lead 9-3. It marked six straight innings that the Bobcats put up at least one run.
The loss serves as another obstacle for the Bears as they fight for a shot at the NCAA Tournament.
Baylor returns to Waco for its final home series of the regular season against UCF (27-18, 15-9 Big 12). The Bears take on the Knights at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Baylor Ballpark. All three games will be streamed on ESPN+.
