Bats Struggle as Baylor Drops Conference Opener against Kansas, 9-1
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Baylor baseball (13-4, 0-1) dropped its conference opener, 9-1, to Kansas (16-2, 1-0) on an extremely windy Friday night at Hoglund Ballpark.
The Bears’ batting order mustered just five base knocks in the defeat and were out-hit by the Jayhawks, 9-to-5, with eight of KU’s hits going for extra bases. Baylor’s pitching staff combined to allow a season-high eight free passes.
“They got after us tonight; there’s no question about that,” head coach Mitch Thompson told ESPN Central Texas post-game. “They swung the bats better and had more hard-hit balls than we did. We walked them too many times. That goes to show you that the free-base thing does come true a lot. We’ll try and bounce back tomorrow.”
Following a 29-1 victory over Minnesota on March 12 in which the Jayhawks tied an NCAA record with five consecutive home runs, Kansas continued its hot streak at the plate into Friday’s ballgame.
The Jayhawks chased Baylor’s ace, left-handed pitcher Ethan Calder (Jr.), out of the game after just four frames — his shortest outing of the season. Calder surrendered five earned runs, four hits and three walks on 92 pitches (58 strikes thrown).
“Ethan was a little bumpy. He struggled to get all of the pitches he felt like he could have got. The umpire was good, running a tight zone and not giving anything off the edge. It’s a tough night if you can’t get a little here, and [Kansas] made him pay.”
The Jayhawks added three more runs in the fifth inning to extend their lead to 7-0. Veteran righty Cole Stasio (RSr.) replaced Calder from the bullpen and allowed two earned runs, three hits and two walks.
Dominic Voegele (So.), the Big 12 preseason pitcher of the year, dominated the Bears on Friday and retired the first 10 batters he faced until Enzo Apodaca (RSr.) lined a double into left-center field.
Voegele didn’t allow a base runner in five of his seven innings on the mound. Baylor’s lone run came in the sixth inning when shortstop Tyriq Kemp (Sr.) strung a single through the right side and later came around to score on a Kansas throwing error.
“He’s the preseason pitcher of the year in the conference for a reason. He’s got really good stuff and didn’t make many mistakes on the third-base side of the plate,” Thompson said. “He forced us to hit balls to right field, and there were a lot of balls that weren’t going anywhere to right field tonight [because of the wind]. I thought he was very good. He dominated us pretty good for six, seven innings.”
Veteran righties Patrick Hail (6Sr.) and Drew Leach (RSr.) combined for three frames out of the bullpen.
Two of Baylor’s five hits came in the ninth inning off right-handed pitcher Thaniel Trumper (RSr.). With the bases loaded and one out, center fielder Ty Johnson (Sr.) grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to close the contest.
Final: Kansas 9, Baylor 1
W: Dominic Voegele (3-1) L: Ethan Calder (3-2)
WHAT’S NEXT
The Bears (13-4, 0-1) will continue its series against the Kansas Jayhawks (16-2, 1-0) at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Hoglund Ballpark. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.