Bears Finish Sweep of Wildcats Sunday

Sunday, April 29

Manhattan, Kan.

1 p.m.

Kansas State University

18-26, 3-15

Baylor

26-17, 9-9

Baylor

Kansas State

Apr 29, 2018 | Baseball

Box Score Photo Gallery Box Score (.pdf)Game Highlights

MANHATTAN, Kan. – A three-run home run by Baylor shortstop Nick Loftin in the sixth inning opened a four-run lead for the Bears and lifted them to an 8-5 victory and a three-game series sweep of K-State Sunday afternoon at Tointon Family Stadium.

K-State (18-26, 3-15 Big 12) led by a run after the first inning and scraped across runs in the second and third innings to tie the game. Baylor (26-17, 9-9 Big 12) held a one-run lead, 5-4, when Loftin blasted his three-run homer off Wildcats reliever Alex Belch.

The Cats brought the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning, but BU closer Troy Montemayor retired the last three Wildcat hitters he faced for his 10^th save of the season. The Bears have now won 10 straight games overall and pick up their first sweep in Manhattan since 2012.

"That three-run homer hurt," said head coach Brad Hill. "You're sitting right there with some hope and that three-run homer is a dagger. We had a lot of opportunities early. We could've had five or six runs on the board and that changes the whole game.

"Two good at-bats to start it off [in the ninth] and you've got momentum, but we couldn't follow it up with any more good at-bats."

A pair of freshmen, Jordan Maxson and Dylan Watts, led K-State with three hits apiece. Watts laced an RBI double in the second inning and Maxson recorded his first career triple in the fifth.
Senior Hanz Harker belted a solo home run in the eighth inning, his second of the year.

Loftin finished the day with a game-high three RBI for Baylor while first baseman Andy Thomas was 3-for-5. Davis Wendzel hit his second home run of the series, a solo shot in the third.

Wildcats starting pitcher Will Brennan went five innings and allowed three earned runs (five total) with a career-high four strikeouts. The sophomore lefty suffered the first loss of his career in his third start.

"He was pretty sharp," Hill said of Brennan's performance on the mound. "Maybe not as sharp today as he has been, but he still competed."

Relievers Jared Marolf and Jaxson Passino combined to keep Baylor scoreless over the game's final 3 2/3 innings after Belch yielded Loftin's homer. The pair of relievers allowed just one hit each and totaled four strikeouts.

"We showed some fight," added Hill. "Marolf and Passino did a nice job for us, throwing three zeros up there to keep us in it."

Brennan, who also hit leadoff, led off the first inning with a walk and later came around to score on a sacrifice fly lifted by Drew Mount to give the Wildcats an early 1-0 lead. The Cats brought seven batters to the plate and drew three walks in the inning. Mount upped his team-leading RBI total to 44.

The Bears responded with two runs in the top half of the next inning, both unearned on one hit. Thomas led off the inning with a double and later scored on an error.

Watts' two-out RBI double scored Brett Owen to level the score in the bottom of the second before Wendzel's solo homer in the top of the third to put Baylor back in front, 3-2.

Kyle Barfield tied the game in the bottom of the third with a sacrifice fly to bring home Mount, only to see BU regain the lead with a run in the top half of the fourth. A double by Josh Bissonette followed by a single from Levi Gilcrease put the Bears in front, 4-3.

BU extended its lead to 5-3 with an RBI groundout from catcher Shea Langeliers in the fifth.

Maxson trimmed the Cats' deficit back to a single run at 5-4 when he tripled down the right field line and later scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the fifth. It was Maxson's first triple of the season.

Loftin's three-run homer in the sixth handed the Bears a four-run cushion at 8-4. Cole Haring drew a leadoff walk and Gilcrease singled before Loftin's homer.

Harker's eighth-inning solo home run put the Bears' lead at 8-5.

K-State stranded 12 runners on base and were 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position. The Wildcats limited Baylor to .176 (3-for-17) with runners on base and 0-for-8 with two outs.

The Cats welcome in-state rival Wichita State to Tointon Family Stadium Wednesday night. The game, which is scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. first pitch, will be televised on COX Channel Kansas and will stream free on K-StateHD.TV and the K-State Sports app on Roku and Apple TV. Fans can also live on the K-State Sports Network with free, live audio streamed on kstatesports.com.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

K-State scored five runs on nine hits with one error and left 12 runners on base. Baylor scored eight runs on nine hits and committed three errors and stranded six baserunners.
Maxson and Watts each had three-hit games for K-State.
Maxson recorded his first career triple.
Harker belted his second home run of the season.
Brennan suffered his first loss on the mound in his third career start.
Loftin hit a three-run homer and Wendzel hit a solo homer for BU. It was Wendzel's second of the series as the Bears hit eight in the series.
K-State was 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
Wildcat pitchers limited BU to .176 (3-for-17) with runners on base and 0-for-8 with two outs.

NOTES

Baylor now leads the all-time series, 48-27, with a 44-22 mark in Big 12 play.
Hill is 22-29 in his career vs. Baylor.
BU wins its first series over the Cats since 2015 and first sweep in Manhattan since 2012.
Baylor has now won 10 straight games overall.