Baylor Baseball’s Season Ends in Big 12 Quarterfinals with 8-7 Walk-Off Loss to Kansas

SURPRISE, Ariz. – No. 8 seed Baylor baseball (29-27) saw its season come to a close with an 8-7 walk-off loss to No. 1 seed Kansas (40-16) in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament on Thursday afternoon at Surprise Stadium.

The Bears battled all the way back from a late 7-1 deficit and tied the game on a two-out, two-strike, two-run single from second baseman Pearson Riebock (So.) in the top of the ninth inning to send the game to extras. Ultimately, though, Kansas came through with a walk-off homer from its nine-hole hitter, Savion Flowers (So.), in the bottom of the 10th.

“They battled their tails off today,” head coach Mitch Thompson told the Baylor Sports and Media post-game, when asked about his club’s fight. “We were down against the top-seeded team in the tournament and never say die. We got back into it, and different guys stepped up all day long. It was awesome to see so many different guys compete.”

The Bears were completely shut down by KU’s starting pitcher, Dominic Voegele (Sr.). Once the Jayhawks got into their bullpen, however, Baylor started to mount a comeback with a four-spot in the eighth, highlighted by a bases-loaded double from designated hitter Brytton Clements (RFr.).

The top of Baylor’s batting order — Travis Sanders (RJr.), Tyce Armstrong (RSr.) and Brady Janusek (Fr.) — have carried the Bears down the stretch, but were a combined 1-for-12 at the plate in the defeat. It was the third time all season that Sanders failed to reach base in a game.

Baylor was out-hit by Kansas, 10-to-8, and struck out 12 times. The Bears were 4-for-17 (.235) with runners on and 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position (.200). The Jayhawks left 10 batters on in the ballgame, but overpowered Baylor with four long balls.

“It was 7-1, and it wasn’t looking good, and there haven’t been many positives, but all of a sudden, there we go,” Thompson said. “We get four, and then it’s 7-5, and we’re back in it. I give our guys a lot of credit for that. The heart and the competitive spirit are fantastic. We just didn’t quite have enough. I give credit to Kansas. They got it done, but our guys fought and competed really hard. We got a lot to be proud of.”

Despite a two-run home run from catcher Augusto Mungarrieta (Jr.) in the second inning, right-handed pitcher Zack Wallace (So.) pitched exceptionally well across the first four frames, limiting the potent Kansas offense to just a 2-0 lead.

While Wallace tried his best to keep the Jayhawks at bay, Baylor’s offense couldn’t get anything going and didn’t record a hit against Voegele, who has given the Bears fits in the past, until the fourth inning.

Kansas finally broke through in the top of the fifth with back-to-back home runs from shortstop Tyson LeBlanc (Jr.) and center fielder Tyson Owens (So.). Wallace couldn’t rebound and was eventually pulled in favor of lefty Stefan Stahl (Sr.), who surrendered a base-loaded walk, and another run came across on a wild pitch that got past catcher Brayden Buchanan (RSo.).

Wallace finished the contest, allowing seven hits and six earned runs across 4.2 innings tossed, while punching out five batters. Stahl eventually settled in and totaled three strikeouts and surrendered one hit in 1.1 innings of work.

The Bears finally got on the board, 6-1, against Voegele in the seventh inning when left fielder Dylan Perez (Fr.) singled, and center fielder Ty Johnson (5Sr.) plated him on an RBI double into the right field corner; Johnson was the first Bear on the afternoon to force a three-ball count. 

Voegele exited after seven frames; he allowed four hits and punched out eight Bears on 96 pitches, 68 of which were strikes. His earned run average sits at 6.01 on the season.

The Jayhawks added an extra insurance run off veteran righty, Grayson Murry (Sr.), via an RBI single up the middle from Flowers, who finished 2-for-3 with the walk-off blast.

With Voegele finally out of the contest, the Bears started to climb back into the game in the top of the eighth as Armstrong forced a walk, Janusek singled, and second baseman Pearson Riebock (So.) drew another free pass to load the bases.

Clements shot a two-run double into the right-center field gap, and Perez brought two more runs home on a sharp grounder that got past the Kansas first baseman to trim the Jayhawks lead to 7-5.

Left-handed pitcher RJ Ruais (Jr.) struck out the side in the bottom of the eighth to give the Bears one final chance, and Riebock came through with the game-tying single, following a leadoff base knock from third baseman Cole Lanclos (Fr.) and a walk from Armstrong. Riebock and Lanclos were the only Baylor batters with multiple base knocks.

Closer Caleb Bunch (5Sr.) took care of the Jayhawks in the bottom of the ninth but surrendered the walk-off homer to lead off the 10th; he finishes the season 5-3 with a 3.48 ERA.

Final (10 Innings): Kansas 8, Baylor 7

W: Boede Rahe (6-1) L: Caleb Bunch (5-3)

POTG: Pearson Riebock (2-for-4, R, 2 RBI, 2 K)