Baylor eliminated from Big 12 tournament with 9-4 loss to Kansas State
OKLAHOMA CITY – Baylor baseball dropped its elimination game to Kansas State, 9-4, on Thursday in the 2021 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship inside Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City. The Bears (31-20) jumped ahead 3-0 on the Wildcats (32-22) before giving up a seven-spot in the seventh inning.
Second-year freshman Jared McKenzie started the scoring off in the bottom of the third with a leadoff home run for his 10th of the season and put BU up 1-0. Baylor came back in the fourth with another two runs, both with two outs in the inning. A pair of singles from Chase Wehsener and Jack Pineda and a wild pitch set up runners on second and third when McKenzie came through with a two-RBI single up the middle to give the Bears the 3-0 edge.
K-State got back in the game in the sixth with back-to-back two-out solo home runs as Baylor led 3-2 heading into the seventh. The Wildcat offense exploded in the seventh inning with seven runs to take control 9-3. Baylor added a run in the home-half after fifth-year senior Andy Thomas hit an RBI-triple off the wall to make it 9-4, the eventual final.
Fifth-year senior Jimmy Winston (6-4) was tabbed with the loss in relief, while K-State’s reliever Carson Seymour (3-4) earned the win. Fifth-year senior Hayden Kettler was solid on the mound after hurling 5.2 innings while giving up two runs on five hits and striking out two.
NOTES
• Baylor is now 37-41 all-time in the Big 12 Championship and 33-33 inside Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark.
• Kansas State evened the season series at 2-2.
• McKenzie hit his 10th home run of the year after not hitting any in the shortened 2020 season.
• McKenzie finished the day 2-for-5 with three RBI.
• Pineda went 2-for-5 with a run scored.
• Thomas hit his first triple of the season.
QUOTE FROM COACH ROD
“K-State has a very good offense, obviously their numbers show that and the success that they’ve had down the stretch just showed that offensively they’re a really good program. We had our older guys going on the mound today and we just made a few too many mistakes. Truthfully, the (seventh) inning got away from us because we gave up free bases and a bunch of singles and then obviously the home runs but we just couldn’t stop it when we needed to.”
WHAT’S NEXT
The Bears will hope to hear their name called during the NCAA Tournament Selection Show on Monday, May 31 at 11 a.m. CT on ESPN2.